London Stansted to Valladolid Airport
The city of Valladolid is situated around 190km (120 miles) north-west of Madrid and is home to some of the best Renaissance art and architecture in Spain. The Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabel were married here in 1469 and they later made the city their capital, while both Christopher Columbus and the author of Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes, have lived here.
Flights between London Stansted and Valladolid Airport are operated by Ryanair. The airport is around 10km (6 miles) from the centre of Valladolid. On weekdays there is a bus from the airport to Valladolid at 3.15pm, 5.15pm and 7.20pm, on Saturdays at 3.15pm, 5.15pm and 5.45pm, and on Sundays at 3.15pm, 5.15pm and 7.40pm. The one-way bus fare is 3 euros (£1 is approximately equal to 1.45 euros). Taxis to Valladolid cost around 18 euros, although this is slightly more on Sundays.
Places of interest in Valladolid include:
- Museum of Sculpture. Valladolid was an important centre for sculpture during the 16th and 17th centuries and this museum contains some of the best examples of Renaissance sculpture in Spain. Highlights include ‘Recumbent of Christ’ by Gregorio Fernandez and Juan de Juni’s ‘Entombment’. The museum is housed in the Colegio de San Gregorio, notable for its ornate facade and Plateresque style staircase.
- Oriental Museum. The 18th century Colegio Agustinos is home to one of Valladolid’s top museums. Its rooms are stuffed full of works of art collected from across the Asian continent, and is particularly strong on Chinese objects such as porcelain, silk embroidery and coins. The Philippines are also well represented due to the former Spanish presence in that country.
- Cathedral. Work started on the cathedral in the 16th century but was never fully completed due to the death of both the architect and Felipe II who commissioned the project. However, there is still much to admire including Juan de Juni’s stunning alterpiece. The cathedral museum contains some fine examples of religious sculpture and a couple of portraits attributed to the great Spanish painter Velazquez.
- Cervantes’ House. Situated in an unattractive part of Valladolid is this simple whitewashed building which was home to the author of Don Quixote during the final years of his life. Visitors are shown around the rooms which have been restored to how they would have appeared in the early 17th century. The rooms contain some of the original furnishings and artefacts from the period.
- Christopher Columbus’ House. The explorer was a tired and ailing man when he arrived in Valladolid in 1504 to live out the last couple of years of his life. Columbus had missed out on the great wealth accumulated by later explorers of the New World such as Hernan Cortes and he died in relative poverty. The house where he spent his final days now contains an exhibition tracing life on the newly discovered continent.
- Patio Herreriano Museum. The former monastery of San Benito houses this private collection of more than 800 pieces of contemporary Spanish art, including works by Joan Miro and Antoni Tapies.
|