OReilly

I am in the early stages of planning a 3 day trip to Extremadura, in early Spring, and would welcome your advice.

I intend to explore some of the main towns: Caceres, Merida, Guadalupe, Trujilio, Badajoz and also spend some time driving around the countryside. As always, there is so much to see so little time

I think that the Parador at Caceres would make a good base, but there are several other lovely ones in the region. Any recommendations?:
http://www.manorhouses.com/indices/i...r1=Estremadura

Also, when I checked the web-site, it shows just one price for a room but I am sure I have read that some of these paradors have suites. Are there different standards of rooms?

And now the difficult question: Given I only have three days, is what should I leave out and what should I keep or add?

Many thanks in advance for your help.

Best regards Ger

Maribel

Hi Ger,
With only 3 days for the area, I would stay in the middle, not up in the Vera Valley or below in Mérida but instead , in the center, either at the Cáceres or the Trujillo Parador.

The Cáceres Parador is more expensive but it's located in the Old Quarter, which is an architectural gem.

From a 3 night base in either city, you can choose AMONG excursions to Guadalupe (a must!), Mérida (good road down there from both cities), which will take you most of the day to see the fine collection of Roman ruins and the Roman Art Museum, up to Monfragüe Park if you're a nature lover, Herávs, if you want to see one of the oldest remaining medieval Jewish quarters. The furtherest north I would attempt would be to Charles V's Yuste, which would take you to the Vera valley. You won't have time to do it all, but the above list will give you the highlights of the area. We have 10 nights for our trip and area adding Gredos on our way down and Oropesa on our way back to Madrid. We'll venture down as far as Zafra.
I imagine you'll come down to Extremadura from Madrid, so you could visit Trujillo on your way to Cáceres. With only 3 days, I would stronly suggest you eliminate Badajoz. If you want to glimpse one of the most delightful fortified hill towns of the Portuguese Alentejo, from Càceres, it's a short hop over to charming Marvao.
Personally the order of importance for me would be-
Cáceres and its Old Quarter
Trujillo, birthplace of Pizarro
Guadalupe for its Monastery
Mérida for its superb Roman art

If you get those accomplished and have extra time, add the others.

For the spring the standard rooms in Cáceres cost 112,90 and in Trujillo, 97,10. The 2 cities are about 1/2 hr. apart. As for the levels of accomodations, the Parador price list gives you the rate for the standard rooms only, but in both Paradors there are also other rooms available. In Trujillo there are doubles with parlor and also suites. In Cáceres, superior doubles with queen bed, "special" doubles, doubles with parlor and also singles. If you book on line, you can see the different room types available and their tariffs.

I'll send you our travel notes later on today.
I'll fallen very behind-email box is overflowing.

Regards,
Maribel

Maribel

Hi Ger,
Just tried to send you my info but it came back undeliverable-think the message was too large. Would you please send me another message with the other return address? Thanks.

car

OReilly
a 3 day trip is tight, I agree with Maribel previous post that your base should be trujillo or Caceres, I like better Caceres, With a bit more active nightlife and restaurants.
Asuming you are coming from Madrid, you
could make a short stop at Oropesa and enjoy the views from the Parador.
From there drive to Jarandilla de la Vera, visit el "Monasterio de Yuste"
and from there to Caceres.(long day)
Next day dedicated to Trujillo and Caceres will keep you really busy.
For your third day you will have to choose between Gualdalupe or Merida, I don't think there is time to do both and go back to Madrid?
Forget Badajoz or Portugal, they will just don't fit in three days.
Last time we went to Caceres the Paradors both in Caceres and Trujillo were full, so we took rooms in the hotel Melia Caceres, a modern reform of an ancient Palace. And we had good rooms at reasonable prices, in a great location. The resturant was expensive and not very good, but your choice of restaurants and bars in Caceres is large.
Going back to the choice of Guadalupe and Merida, I will recommend Guadalupe as a more unique place, Merida has great roman ruins but similar to others you can visit elsewhere.
Plus the drive from Trujillo to Guadalupe has beatiful views.

OReilly

Maribel & Car, thank you SO much for this advice - it is exactly what I need as I always try to do too much I will strike Badajoz from the menu! Now I have to do some reading and make some other hard choices. I MUST see Merida (it is impossible for me to pass on Roman ruins) but also want to see Guadalupe.

I think I will be flying into Madrid. I have checked on ViaMichelin, and it appears that the region is the same distance from Madrid, Seville and Lisbon airports. I am assuming that the road from Madrid would be better than the other two and also I know the flights from London are more frequent.

I have sent a note to Caceres Parador and information on the superior rooms and suites (for three days, I can probably afford to spoil myself).

Maribel

Hi Ger,
Glad you finally received my email! And I agree with car that from that vast, ambitious list above, you'll have to pick 2 or 3 highlights for your 3 days-can't possibly do it all unless you add a few more days.

If you choose the Cáceres Parador you can spoil yourself with one of those special doubles with parlor or a suite. I think it makes a better base. And as car says, you can stop in Oropesa for a coffee break on your way down from Madrid. And I would approach Extremadura from Madrid rather than from Seville or Lisbon.
From your base in Cáceres, it's 48 km. east to Trujillo and 68 km. south to Mérida.
Have fun! And if you'll be there in late March, we may run into each other!

Maria

Ger,

We were in Extremadura in November and loved every minute of it! Check this sight for our trip report which should have lots of details that you may find helpful. (Search using Extremadura and Spain)

Let me know if you have any additional questions and i will do my best to anwer them!

Maria

OReilly

Maria, thank you.

Actually, it was reading YOUR wonderful trip report, and the discussions between you and Maribel about HER upcoming trip, that inspired me to consider MY trip So both of you are responsible for enticing me into Extremadura.

I have printed your trip report and I thank you for your kind offer of assistance. From what I have read so far, my major problem will be constricting my itinerary to something that can be achieved within three days.

I have done a lot of research so far, and have received good information from the Spanish Tourist board. There appears to be little printed information available on the region, so, if you have found any interesting Internet sites, please forward them.

I would also welcome any recommendation regarding books (fact (histories preferred) or fiction (Spanish writers translated to English preferred)) about that specific area.

Best regards .. Ger

PVB

We have driven through Extremadura on three different trips and found it fascinating. If you have to choose, I would agree with skipping Guadalupe in favor of Merida. The Roman theater there is outstanding. We also enjoyed walking around the Casa Mitreo -- remains of a Roman villa. However, you don't say which days of the week you'll be there. The Roman Art Museum is closed on Monday and when we were there the last time (November) also open very short hours on Sunday. Re Guadalupe: the tour through the monastery was available only in Spanish...not a problem for us, since I speak it and could translate for my husband and friends. However, it would have been pretty much a total loss otherwise. I don't know if this is true all year round or only off season. (At the royal palace in Aranjuez the guide told us that tours are given in Spanish only in the off season but in many languages in the summer.)

OReilly

Thank you PVB.

You bring up an excellent point about what will be open. The trip will probably be Friday-Sunday/Monday, so I had better make sure my plan takes into account opening times