Ayuntamiento de Astorga, Castile and Leon, Spain

4AlbertSalichs 5:00 PM Sep 6, 2022

Very beautiful Baroque town hall in the main square
Ayuntamiento de Astorga is the Town Hall of the town and it is located in the main square, in the old town of this city, in Leon Region, in the North of Spain. It was built at the end of 17th Century in a Castilian Baroque style in this arcaded square. Really it is a very nice building, which you can see in front of the entrance of the main square, if you come from Cathedral. Very interesting and nice place. (See also Palacio de Gaudí, Astorga Cathedral, Plaza Mayor de Astorga, Palacio Gaudí - Museo de los Caminos, Ancient roman walls and La Domus del Museu del oso y los pájaros)

4onero 5:00 PM Aug 19, 2011

A 'people size' town square in a great town.
Of all the towns I visited on my long and gruelling Camino de Santiago (see my review of that classic walk), Astorga was the town I liked best. Starting life as an old Roman garrison fort on a hill, its old city walls (mostly gone now) enclose an historic centre which is still generally flat and easy to traverse. It has many attractions, like Gaudi's famous Episcopal Palace (see my review), a Roman archaeological museum, and the delicious Museum of Chocolate. But at the heart of Astorga is its Plaza Major (Town Square). Astorga's Plaza Major (perhaps 100 feel wide by 100 yards long) is a classic low-rise town square (see my photos). Most of its buildings are only three floors high. It has colonnaded cafes and shops on three sides, and a 17th Century Baroque town hall at the top end. Crowning the town hall is an 18th Century clock tower, on which a male and a female automaton (known as Colesa and Perico) dressed in local rural costumes strike the hour and half hour on a massive bronze bell. There are many shops in all the streets near the Plaza Major, and various sights like the Roman archaeological museum are close nearby. Five minute's walk away is Astorga's Chocolate Museum, which memorialises a time when Astorga was famous for chocolate. (However, the museum may disappoint some. There is no tour as such. Just static displays with Spanish placards to explain them, and a small theatrette showing a film on the manufacture of chocolate ... in Spanish. On the other hand, it has a good stamp for your Camino passport, and there is a shop with dozens of different chocolates available to taste, and to buy. Kathie reckons the tasting is worth the price of admission!) I loved Astorga, its shops and museums, its restaurants and its food. Most of all I found the town peaceful and its people very friendly. That's why I rate it the best town I passed through on my Camino de Santiago, and I'd live to return someday for a longer visit.