Cáceres

Cáceres, the provincial capital and one of Spain's oldest cities, is a prosperous agricultural town with a vibrant nightlife that draws villagers from the surrounding pueblos every weekend. The Roman colony called Norba Caesarina was founded in 35 BC, but when the Moors took over in the 8th century, they named the city Quazris, which eventually morphed into the Spanish Cáceres. Ever since noble families helped Alfonso IX expel the Moors in 1229, the city has prospered. The pristine condition of the city's medieval and Renaissance quarter is the result of the families' continued occupancy of the palaces erected in the 15th century.