Convento de San Marcos & Museo de León

More than 100m long and blessed with a glorious façade, the Convento de San Marcos has more the appearance of a palace than the pilgrim's hospital it was from 1173. The Plateresque exterior, sectioned off by slender columns and decorated with delicate medallions and friezes, dates to 1513, by which time the edifice had become a monastery of the Knights of Santiago.

Much of the former convent is now the supremely elegant parador, Hostal de San Marcos. Although you need to stay here to appreciate its full splendour, the former chapterhouse, with its splendid artesonado, and the exquisite cloister are both open to the public. The cloister is technically part of the Museo de León, accessible through the church at the eastern end of the convent and given over mostly to archaeology.

If you're here on a weekend, head to the riverbank, next to the Puerta de San Marcos, where you may find old men with balls of steel playing petanque and other peculiarly Spanish pursuits.