El Bierzo (León): 11 places to see, from Las Médulas to the Camino de Santiago

In recent times, the interior tourism in Spain is having a great boom, and it is interesting to know the new destinations for a getaway.

In this regard, if you don't know her yet, the El Bierzo region, in the northwest of the province of León, has great attractions that justify that getaway.

See them spectacular landscapes of Las Médulas, discover surprising places in the cultural heritage of the Camino de Santiago, and also enjoy the wine tourism, are sufficient arguments to ask you a getaway or vacation in El Bierzo.

And we tell you this after various trips that we have made in recent times, in which we have had the opportunity to discover a good part of its numerous attractions.

Where is El Bierzo and what is it like?

The first thing that characterizes Bierzo is its location in the limits with Galicia and Asturias, on a plain surrounded by mountains that shows a variety of landscapes where deep valleys with lush forests stand out.

Also that it is a prominent enclave of the Camino de Santiago French.

The best things to do on a getaway to El Bierzo

The first thing I want to highlight is that, in a getaway to Bierzo, you will be able to visit the spectacular place of Las Médulas, ancient gold mines from Roman times, which is declared Heritage awarded by the Unesco.

You will also be able to see pallozas and forts in Los Ancares y pretty towns with stone houses, like Penalba de Santiago.

You can also visit unique monumentsAs a mozarabic church in the aforementioned Peñalba de Santiago, or the Church of Santiago en Villafranca del BierzoWith its Door of Forgiveness of the the Camino de Santiago.

El wine tourism It is also a notable activity, since in the bierzo you can enjoy visit wineries who make wine from old vines with the characteristic grapes Mencia ink y white Godello.

Of course, they are not missing nature activities to hiking and cycling routes.

Finally, the gastronomy Another notable argument is its numerous gastronomic products noted, such as roasted peppers, and very peculiar typical dishes, such as the bottle.

and with good restaurants where you can taste these gastronomic preparations and the delicious wines of the DO Bierzo.

Curiosities of the history of Bierzo in León

Regarding the history of the El Bierzo region, you should know that there are vestiges of human presence from the Paleolithic, having been found from polished axes to cave paintings.

It was also one of the places where the castreña culture of the asturians, to the point that the Romans integrated the bierzo within the Asturian people.

An example of this are the remains of castros that now you can see, like the Castro Bergidum near Cacabelos.

A period of great strength was the time of Roman domination, in which El Bierzo became a great center of gold exploitation, whose best example today are the aforementioned marrows.

A historical sample of the uniqueness of the bierzo is that during the Liberal triennium, from 1821 to 1823, this region acquired the rank of province, and its capital was Villafranca.

Although during the 20th century its economic activity focused on coal mining, currently its main activities are and slate production.

In fact, it is considered the slate quarry europe, along with the neighboring area of ​​Valdeorras.

As a curiosity, you will also find it interesting to know what the only region of Castilla y León that has a county council as the management and administration body of the same, as provided in the Statute of Autonomy of this Community.

Best places to see when visiting El Bierzo (our experience)

Below we are going to highlight the best places you can visit in El Bierzo, and activities you can do.

Las Médulas, World Heritage Site

If there is a must-see that should take you to travel to Bierzo, is, without a doubt, the spectacular landscape of the ancient Roman mines in Las Médulas.

This cultural landscape It dates back more than 2000 years and is the result of the aforementioned work of the Romans to extract gold.

The implosion produced in the mountains to extract gold has currently resulted in a clay rock formations landscape reddish in color surrounded by lush forests.

To get to know Las Médulas you must do a circular route, either on your own, or better in a tour, which will allow you to walk through a chestnut forest or discover surprising corners such as the large caves resulting from the implosion.

It is essential that you start or end the visit by going up to the Orellán viewpoint, from where you will have the most spectacular panoramic views of Las Médulas.

Gate of Forgiveness on the Camino de Santiago in Villafranca del Bierzo

If there is an emblematic place on the route of the Camino de Santiago through El Bierzo, that is the Door of Forgiveness of the Church of Santiago, Villafranca del Bierzo.

This town is known as the little Compostela for its historical connection to pilgrimages.

And specifically, the aforementioned door of that church is opened exceptionally so that pilgrims who, due to illness, cannot reach Santiago can obtain indulgences.

This church was founded in the 11th century from a monastery of French Benedictines.

But also, in your visit of Villafranca del Bierzo You should also know the collegiate church and San Francisco church, with its enormous Mudejar coffered ceiling, and we advise you to walk through its water street where you will see several manor houses.

Wine Tourism Activities in El Bierzo

El wine tourism It is also another important argument that will lead you to visit El Bierzo, activity that is promoted through the brand BIERZO WINE TOURISM.

In this regard, the bierzo brings together a series of characteristics that make it a peculiar territory for the cultivation of vines.

Specifically, it has a own microclimate or with a unique terrain due to its location in a big tectonic pot watered by various rivers and surrounded by mountains.

Another peculiar characteristic is that 80% of its vineyards have old vines and the exploitation is done mainly with smallholdings.

In fact, the bierzo owns the largest old vineyard extension in Europe with an area of ​​almost 2.500 hectares, and with 1.109 winegrowers and 70 certified wineries.

This allows the production of native grapes that give a differentiating characteristic to the Bierzo wines.

Specifically, Mencía for red wines whose production represents 75% of the total wine qualified with designation of origin, and Godello for whites.

It should also be noted, in relation to the harvest, that some wineries, such as estévez, which produces the wines Verses of Valtuille, they are using the zoning system that differentiates its wines according to the type of land where the vines are planted.

Best wineries to visit in El Bierzo

For all this, one activity you can do is visit some of its wineries.

Eg Four Steps Winery what do you find in Cacabelos, a town that houses the headquarters of the DO Bierzo, one of the smallest in Spain, but with the greatest variety of terrain.

Four Steps It is owned by the Galician winemaker Martin Codax, who wanted to create a Mencia red, for which he preferred to do it in the bierzo due to the greater availability of hours of sunshine than in Galicia.

With a production of 600.000 bottles a year, its vineyards have vines that are more than 100 years old located at high altitudes, and its most notable wine is Four Steps Black, with more than 8 months in the barrel and a year of rest in the bottle.

The Cuatro Pasos wine tourism visits You do it in an old building of the previous owner in the center of Cacabelos, and are held in the mornings with advance reservation, with an hour-long tour of the winery and subsequent tasting.

Other wineries you can visit are Estefanía-Tilenus Wineries, Peique Wineries y Pitaccum Wineries.

Now, if what you really want is to know and taste a variety of wines from the designation of origin, you have the alternative of La Vino wine cellar, located in the center of Cacabelos.

In a pleasant environment, you can taste a wide variety of wines from the region.

Peñalba de Santiago in the Valley of Silence

If what you are looking for is to know a pretty village with rural stone architectureIn this region you have one of the most beautiful in Spain.

Is Penalba de Santiago, an almost village located at the bottom of the leafy and isolated Valley of Silence, which makes up a beautiful set of stone houses very well remodeled.

Also noteworthy is its mozarabic church, a vestige of the presence of the population of Hispanic-Visigothic origin that lived in Spain during the Muslim occupation, which adopted uses and customs of the Arab dominators, such as the architecture with horseshoe arches.

Templar castle of Ponferrada

From the monumental point of view, the main façade of the building will catch your attention. Templar castle of Ponferrada.

The origin of the castle dates back to the 12th century when the Templars settled in the current area. Ponferrada, although the current structure of the fortification is the result of changes made in the 14th and 15th centuries.

The castle is a large polygonal enclosure of more than 8.000 square meters, with different defensive structures such as walls y barbicans.

Now, when you enter the grounds, the first thing you will see is a large green esplanade surrounded by the wall.

There is a modern building that houses a library and a research and historical studies center, where up to 1.400 books are preserved, including facsimiles of works of Leonardo da Vinci.

Pallozas and Castro de Chano in Los Ancares

The getaway to the bierzo it will also allow you to know nature corners , the The Ancaresdeclared Biosphere Reserve awarded by the Unesco.

This natural area encompasses mountains and valleys that border Galicia and Asturias, and is home to a rich The fauna which includes the bear, the capercaillie, the wolf, and the roe deer, among lush forests of oaks, holly, beech and chestnut trees.

En The Ancares you can still see vestiges of an ancient way of life, as in fact you can visit some pallozas, specifically, the Mr. Antonio's Palloza en Loss of Ancares.

It should be noted that also in this area you can visit the Castro de Chano, vestige of the presence of the asturians, In which Interpretation Center and guided tour you will learn curiosities related to it.

As a curiosity, from the road that from Villafranca del Bierzo takes you up Piedrafita port en route to Galicia, you can detour to the town of Balboa.

There you will find a small group of stone houses crowned with a castle on a hill, where a bar-restaurant installed in a large palloza of modern construction.

Monastery of Santa María de Carracedo

En the bierzo you also find others heritage places of interest, specific, churches and ancient monasteries, like those already mentioned churches of Villafranca del Bierzo and Mozarabic from Peñalba de Santiago.

It is also worth highlighting the monastery of Santa María de Carracedo located near Cacabelos, an architectural complex founded in the year 990 by the Benedictines, and later restored in the XNUMXth century.

Here you have information with schedules and ticket prices to visit the monastery of Santa María de Carracedo.

Church of San Miguel in Corullón

I also want to highlight the church of San Miguel in Corullón, of supposed Templar origin, with an architecture whose southern façade shows the purest Romanesque, and is inspired by the Collegiate Church of San Isidoro de León.

Prada's Canedo Palace

If there is a popular visit, it is the Canedo Palace, a monumental building located near Cacabelos and surrounded by vineyards, where for three centuries the Lords of Canedo They made their wines.

Acquired at the time by Jose Luis Prada, an enterprising and peculiar character, very popular in León, now the Canedo Palace It is an ideal place to make a complete wine tourism visit.

there you can visit their winery and organic vineyards, eat in your big restaurant, stay in his hotel, or buy in their huge and spectacular store with gastronomic products of the region.

It is said that the Canedo Palace It is the second most visited place by tourists in El Bierzo, after Las Médulas.

Hiking and nature activities in El Bierzo

Just like nature destination what is it, you can practice Hiking, cycling, Mountain bike or various Adventure activities.

For example, you can go see some of the waterfalls that are found in the region, such as The Pelgo, or go hiking or by 4×4 vehicle to the El Picón Viewpoint, from where you have the best 360° views of the Bierzo region.

For them you can sign up, for example, for the activities organized Binatur, company of active tourism en Paradela of Muces, which offers you its ideal vacation accommodations for groups or families.

During your stay you can practice annual such as hiking, cycle tourism, rafting, kayaking, paintball or zip lines.

Specifically, if you are passionate about Mountain bike, in El Bierzo you have the option of doing the route called The Circular Look, a signposted route of up to 300 km that allows you to surround the entire region.

Among its signposted routes you have the options of the Route of the Caminos de Santiago del Bierzo, about 200 km, and the Ruta of Biosphere Reserves.

Another recommended company to do nature activities es Bierzo Natura.

Where to stay in El Bierzo: Villa Mencía

Of course, for you getaway to Bierzo you have a wide range of hotel accommodationat urban hotels in Ponferrada to rural hotels in the most diverse places in the region.

In this regard, we recommend where we stay whenever we travel to El Bierzo, el rural hotel Villa Mencia en Corullon, and not just because they are friends Eva y Mariano, but because their attention and service deserve a rating from their customers 9,3 points on booking.com.

It is a stone house located at the foot of a hillside, next to the two main monuments of Corullon, His little castle and Romanesque church of San Miguel.

Eva y Mariano They are veteran hoteliers who until recently ran a popular and very popular holiday establishment on the beach of Campello, in Alicante, the Hostal San Juan., where Mariano He gained a well-deserved reputation at the head of his restaurant's kitchen.

Villa Mencia It has ten simple, well-equipped rooms with a very cozy decoration.

Its living room with fireplace, ideal for winter, and the viewing terrace, for when the weather invites you to enjoy the outdoors, will give you the feeling of being in your own country house.

The name of the hotel comes from the name of the typical grape from the Bierzo region, Mencía, which is an obvious nod to the other great attraction that Villa Mencía.

I mean your restaurant which offers dishes made from the typical cuisine of Bierzo with local products, such as bottle, but it has also become a gastronomic reference in El Bierzo thanks to its delicious Alicante rice dishes.

Here you have other accommodation alternatives in hotels and rural houses in El Bierzo.

Gastronomy and restaurants in El Bierzo: what to eat

As we have already mentioned, in the bierzo you find a gastronomy to native gastronomic products y typical dishes.

In this regard, it stands out the bottle, a powerful preparation with backbone, rib and pork tail stuffed in casing and well cooked, which well justifies some annual Botillo days.

And as for those mentioned gastronomic products, El Bierzo has the following quality assurance brands, in addition to those already mentioned wines y bottle: roasted pepper, chestnuts, pear conference, Cherry, and Reineta apple.

Finally, in the section of restaurants, you should know that you can enjoy an establishment with Michelin star, Muna restaurant, from the chef Samuel Naveira, in Ponferrada.

Restaurants that we know and can highlight are The Moncloa de San Lázaro, in Cacabelos, run by Ada, Daughter of Jose Luis Prada, where you also find a very complete wine and other gastronomic products store.

We can also recommend the Casa Mendez restaurant in Villafranca del Bierzo and, of course, the restaurant Villa Mencia, where the friend Mariano Now he offers his gastronomic creations that earned a good reputation during his time of residence in Alicante.

Here you have various options restaurants in El Bierzo.