Astorga

Astorga sits at the junction of the Camino Francés and the Vía de la Plata, and it has been a crossroads since Roman times — the town was the hub of the Roman gold mining operations that extracted wealth from the nearby mountains.

The city has two unmissable buildings: the Catedral de Santa María and the Palacio Episcopal. The cathedral is a mix of Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque, with a splendid retablo by Gaspar Becerra. The Palacio Episcopal is pure Gaudí — he designed it in 1889 for the Bishop of Astorga, and it's one of only three Gaudí works outside Catalonia (León's Casa Botines being another). The Neo-Gothic exterior looks like a fairy-tale castle; inside, it now houses the Museo de los Caminos, dedicated to the pilgrim routes that converge here.

Astorga has a chocolate tradition that dates to the 17th century, when cacao arrived from the Americas. The Museo del Chocolate tells the story. Several shops sell artisan chocolate and mantecadas (butter cakes). Try both.

The Maragato culture of the surrounding region is distinctive. The Maragatos were a closed community of muleteers who controlled trade routes across the meseta for centuries. Their most famous contribution to cuisine is cocido maragato — a hearty stew served in reverse order: meat first, then chickpeas and vegetables, then the broth. It's the opposite of the normal cocido sequence and makes more sense than you'd expect.

Multiple albergues, hotels, and restaurants serve the city. Full services available.