Extremadura

Welcome to one of Spain's most beautiful cities. While the suburbs of Cáceres are largely unremarkable in the manner of so many Spanish cities, the Ciudad Monumental (Monumental City) at its core is truly extraordinary. Narrow cobbled streets twist and climb among ancient stone walls lined with palaces, mansions, arches and churches, while the skyline is decorated with turrets, spires, gargoyles and enormous storks' nests. Protected by defensive walls, it has survived almost intact from its 16th-century period of splendour. At dusk or after dark, when the crowds have gone, you'll feel like you've stepped back into the Middle Ages.

Stretching at its feet, the lively, arcaded Plaza Mayor is one of Spain's most beautiful public squares.

Mérida, capital of Extremadura, was once also capital of the Roman province of Lusitania (as Emerita Augusta, founded 25 BC) and is still home to the most impressive and extensive Roman ruins in all Spain. The ruins lie sprinkled around town, often appearing in the most unlikely corners, and one can only wonder what still lies buried beneath the lively, modern city.

Whether bathed in the warm light of a summer sunset or shrouded in winter mists, Trujillo can feel truly magical. The town's historic core is one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Spain. Beginning in the Plaza Mayor, its splendour extends up the hillside into a labyrinth of mansions, leafy courtyards, fruit gardens, quiet plazas, churches and convents enclosed within 900m of walls circling the upper town. It all dates to the 16th century, when Trujillo's favourite sons returned home from the Americas as wealthy conquistadors, and what they bequeathed to their home town lives on in a most beautiful way.

Looking for all the world like an Andalucian pueblo blanco (white village), gleaming-white Zafra is a serene, attractive stop along the A66 between Seville and Mérida. Affectionately labelled 'Sevilla la chica' ('the little Seville') for its similarities with Andalucía's capital, Zafra was originally a Muslim settlement. Its narrow streets are lined with baroque churches, old-fashioned shops, glassed-in balconies and trad­itional houses decorated with overflowing bougainvillea and hot-pink splashes of geraniums. The newer part of town isn't all that enthralling, but Zafra's historic core is a beauty.

Spain's 14th national park is a dramatic, hilly 180-sq-km paradise for birdwatchers (and other nature lovers). Straddling the Tajo valley, it's home to spectacular colonies of raptors and more than 75% of Spain's protected species. Among some 175 feathered varieties are around 300 pairs of black vultures (the largest concentration of Europe's biggest bird of prey) and popu­lations of two other rare large birds: the Spanish imperial eagle (12 pairs) and the black stork (30 pairs). Deer, otters, genets, badgers, rabbits, foxes and wild boar are other inhabitants.

The best time to visit is between March and October, since many bird species winter in Africa.

The pretty hamlet of Villareal de San Carlos, from where most hiking trails leave, is the most convenient base. There are also amenities in Torrejón el Rubio, on the south side of the park.

Guadalupe's renowned, Unesco World Heritage–listed monastery is located, according to legend, on the spot where, in the early 14th century, a shepherd received a vision of the Virgin Mary. A sumptuous church-monastery was built on the site, drawing pilgrims from across the world ever since. Now cared for by nine Franciscan monks, it remains one of Spain's most important pilgrimage sites, especially for South American and Filipino Catholics. The building is an architectural delight, crammed with historical riches.

On the northwest side of Alcántara, a magnificent 2nd-century Roman bridge – 204m long, 61m high, with six arches and much reinforced over the centuries – spans the Río Tajo below a huge dam retaining the Embalse de Alcántara. The restorations may have dulled the bridge's obvious antiquity but it's still a stirring sight. From the bridge, a beautiful 20km walking circuit follows the river then loops up into the hills via a village and a prehistoric menhir.

Surrounded by the Sierras de Tormantos and Gredos, with mountains often still capped with snow as late as May, Extremadura's fertile La Vera region produces raspberries, asparagus and, above all, pimentón (paprika), sold in charming old-fashioned tins and with a distinctive smoky flavour. Typical, too, are half-timbered houses leaning at odd angles, their overhanging upper storeys supported by timber or stone pillars. With its gurgling streams and easily manageable roads, La Vera makes a great driving tour from Plasencia.

About 25km west of Hervás, the ghost village of Granadilla is a beguiling reminder of how Extremadura's villages must have looked before modernisation. Founded by the Moors in the 9th century but abandoned in the 1960s when the nearby dam was built, Granadilla's traditional architecture has been painstakingly restored since the 1980s as part of a government educational project. Enter through the narrow Puerta de Villa, overlooked by the sturdy 15th-century castle, which you can climb for brilliant panoramas.

Since the completion of the A66 motorway, many bypassed towns have disappeared into quiet obscurity, but not Monesterio: this is one of Spain's (and certainly Extremadura's) most celebrated sources of jamón (ham). The chance to learn more about this Spanish culinary icon and, even better, to sample it in one of the town's numerous bars, is reason enough to take the motorway exit.