Travel blog - Tips to explore the world on a budget: Soria

There is much more to having a true sense of the medieval than just being old. There is something special about a town that feels completely shut off, or even guarded. There are tall, thick walls, low entrance gates you need to walk through, old, small churches hidden in secluded corners, and narrow streets.

Soria is in north-central Castile and León, set along the Douro River. The city blends ancient Celtiberian history, a strong literary tradition, and beautiful natural surroundings. Just 7 km north, the Numancia Archaeological Site preserves the Celtiberian city that famously resisted a Roman siege for 13 months (134-133 BC) before its people chose death over surrender. The Church of Santo Domingo, built in the 12th century, has one of Spain's finest Romanesque facades, with detailed sculptures and a striking rose window. Soria is called the "City of Poets" because writers like Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Antonio Machado, and Gerardo Diego found inspiration here. The Ermita de San Saturio, an 18th-century baroque hermitage on a rocky outcrop above the river, contains frescoes and marks the place where the city's patron saint lived. Outside Soria, you can visit Laguna Negra de Urbión, a glacial lake surrounded by pine forests and cliffs, and the Cañón del Río Lobos, a 25-km limestone gorge with the 12th-century Ermita de San Bartolomé. Soria's signature dish is torreznos de Soria: crispy fried strips of cured pork belly with a Quality Guarantee certification.