What to See in León - Top Sights and Attractions

Iconic stained-glass windows and a museum. Santa María de Regla de León Cathedral is a Catholic church, the episcopal see of the diocese of León in north-western Spain, consecrated under the name of the Virgin Mary. It was the first monument declared by the Royal Order of Spain on August 28, 1844

Initiated in the 13th century, it is one of the greatest works of the Gothic style, with French influences. Also known as the Pulchra Leonina, which means ‘Beautiful Leonese,’ it is located on the Way of Saint James, or Camino de Santiago.

The León Cathedral is mostly known for taking the “dematerialization” of gothic art to the extreme, that is, the reduction of the walls to their minimum expression to be replaced by stained glass, constituting one of the largest collections of medieval stained glass in the world.^[1]

Contemporary art in avant-garde gallery. The Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León, better known as the MUSAC, is a contemporary art museum in the city of León, Spain.

Inaugurated in April 2005 by Felipe, Prince of Asturias, this cultural institution aims to be a "Museum of the Present", in the words of its curator Agustín Pérez Rubio, and thus only collects artworks from the latest generation of artists, between 1992 and 2012. The museum has won international prestige for its 21st-century collection and innovative programming, being labelled, for example, as "one of the most astonishingly bold museums to hit the Spanish cultural landscape in years" by The New York Times.

The MUSAC building is celebrated for its avant-garde architecture, and it has been awarded a number of prizes, such as the 2007 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture. Designed by the architectural studio of Luis M. Mansilla and Emilio Tuñón, the multicolored panels that adorn the exterior of the museum resemble the stained-glass windows of a cathedral. The architects drew their inspiration for this work from the main rose window at the local 13th century Gothic cathedral, Santa María de León.

MUSAC has become a landmark for the city of León, and an emblem of the new 21st century Spanish architecture, as showcased in a 2006 exhibition at the MoMA of New York City, which selected the MUSAC as one of the arquitectural projects that make Spain today "an international center for design innovation and excellence".^[2]

Gothic-style 16th-century church. The Convento de San Marcos was a convent in León, Spain, that is today an operating luxury parador hotel. It also contains a consecrated church and museum, and is one of the most important monuments of the Renaissance in Spain. It is one of the greatest architectural jewels of León, together with the Cathedral, the Basilica of San Isidoro and la Casa Botines. It has a highly ornamental plateresque facade.

The darkest period in the monastery of San Marcos's five centuries of history is concentrated in just four years. During the course of the Spanish Civil War cells, rooms, stables, cloisters, church, choir, museum and every fast corner of the building were transformed into impromptu dungeons or jailers' offices, in what became officially known as "Campo de concentración de San Marcos" (San Marcos concentration camp). Between July 1936 and the end of 1940, up to 7,000 men and 300 women were imprisoned at the same time. It is estimated that, over the entire war and the period immediately following, the number of Republican militia members and political prisoners that passed through its cells totaled some 20,000. In the province of León, around 3,000 deaths are recorded due to the repression, and a good number of these came from the dungeons of San Marcos.

The origins of this building lie in the twelfth century, in the days of Alfonso VII of León. His sister, the Infanta Sancha of Castile, made a donation in July 1152 to construct a modest building on the outskirts of the walled city, on the banks of the Bernesga river, where "the poor of Christ" could stay. This would be a hospital-temple of shelter for pilgrims travelling the Camino de Santiago. Also, the building was the main residence for the Order of Santiago in the Kingdom of León. In 1176, Pedro Fernández de Castro, the first maestre of the Order of Santiago was elected as the first prior, and in 1184 he was buried in his church.^[4]

Medieval church with pantheon and museum. The Basílica de San Isidoro de León is a church in León, Spain, located on the site of an ancient Roman temple. Its Christian roots can be traced back to the early 10th century when a monastery for Saint John the Baptist was erected on the grounds.

In 1063 the basilica was rededicated to Saint Isidore of Seville. Isidore was archbishop of Seville, and the most celebrated academic and theologian of Visigothic Spain in the period preceding the Arab invasions. With the agreement of Abbad II al-Mu'tadid, the Muslim ruler of Seville, Isidore's relics were brought to Leon where they could be interred on Christian soil. The tomb of the saint still draws many visitors today. An equestrian statue of Saint Isidore dressed as a Moor-slayer is visible, along with many other sculptures, high on the facade.

In 1188, the Cortes of León were held in here. It was the first sample of modern parliamentarism in the history of Europe, according to the UNESCO and John Keane's book "The Life and Death of Democracy".^[6]

Church in León, Spain. San Juan y San Pedro de Renueva is a church in León, central Spain.

It was built in the mid-20th century in Neo-Renaissance style by will of the local bishop, Luis Almarcha Hernández. Its main artistical feature is the entrance gate, in Baroque style, taken from the ruined monastery of San Pedro de Eslonza, located 22 km outside León in the municipality of Gradefes. It dates from 1711 and was designed by the architect Pedro Martínez de Cardeña. It has three orders, the first characterized by four Ionic columns over pedestals, the second similar to the former, apart the use of Corinthian columns and the narrower length. It is sided by two circular windows, and surmounted by another one over a coat of arms. The façade ha five niches, now empty, but originally housing statues of saints.

The central façade is sided by two slender bell towers dating to the 20th-century edifice.^[7]

The Auditorio Ciudad de León is the municipal auditorium of the Spanish city of León. It was designed by the Madrid architecture studio Mansilla + Tuñón Arquitectos and inaugurated on 3 May 2002. It was awarded the Spanish Architecture Prize in 2003 and was a finalist in the 2003 Mies van der Rohe Prize for Contemporary Architecture of the European Union and the VII Spanish Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism.

It is located next to other contemporary buildings such as the MUSAC (Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León), designed by the same architects Luis Moreno Mansilla and Emilio Tuñón Álvarez, the building of the Junta de Castilla y León in León or the Europa building. Its cubist façade, an abstract stack of geometric hollows, establishes a dialogue with the nearby Hostal San Marcos, the former Convent of San Marcos.

The auditorium has a main hall, with a capacity varying between 600 and 1200 spectators, and two multi-purpose exhibition halls, which can host artistic performances, conferences and exhibitions.