Miajadas-Trujillo destinations: Trujillo

Trujillo is one of Extremadura’s main tourist destinations. Located in the Miajadas-Trujillo area of Cáceres province, this small town features one of Spain’s most beautiful squares and an old town full of fine historical buildings.

This destination mini-guide includes what you need to know to visit Trujillo – from the main sights and other things to see and do, to practical info and personal tips on things like how to get there, where to park or when to go.

Five historical facts about Trujillo​:

1. Settled on a prehistoric granite batholith, Trujillo became a place of relevance during Roman times, when it was known as Turgalium.

2. The Moors arrived in 900 and they built the castle, several cisterns and part of the fortress.

3. Trujillo is closely related to the colonialization of the Americas. It’s the birthplace of Francisco Pizarro (conqueror of Peru) and Francisco de Orellana (the first European to navigate the entire length of the river Amazon), among others.

4. By the sixteenth century, the city of Trujillo expanded beyond its walls. The fortunes made in the Americas by many locals played a major role in Trujillo’s development. Palaces, chapels, and hospitals were built, old buildings were restored.

5. Despite numerous efforts made for over a century, a train line is yet to arrive in Trujillo.

How to get to Trujillo​

You can get to Trujillo either by coach or by car.

Getting to Trujillo by coach

Bus company AvanzaBus serves Trujillo from main destinations such as Badajoz, Cáceres, and Madrid. Tickets can be purchased in advance online.

Coach journey duration to Trujillo:
From Badajoz to Trujillo: from 2h to 2h 10min
From Cáceres to Trujillo: from 40min to 45min
From Madrid (Estación Sur de Autobuses) to Trujillo: from 3h 10min to 4h 5min

Bus company Damas serves Trujillo from Extremadura destinations such as Miajadas, Don Benito, and Villanueva de la Serena. Times and prices can be checked on Interbus’s website, but tickets must be purchased on the bus.

Coach journey duration to Trujillo:
From Miajadas to Trujillo: 1h
From Don Benito to Trujillo: from 1h 30min to 2h 5min
From Villanueva de la Serena to Trujillo: from 1h 30min to 2h 5min

Trujillo’s bus station is located in Campo de San Juan, 2, about 15 minutes away on foot from the main square.

Getting to Trujillo by car

If you come from the north or from the south, your main point of reference will be the A-5/E-90 road. If you’re driving down from Madrid, get off at exit 253 towards Trujillo. If you’re driving from Mérida or Badajoz, you can get off either at exit 259 towards Trujillo (sur) or exit 253 towards Trujillo. Trujillo is also well connected by road to Cáceres via the A-58 road.

Typical car journey duration to Trujillo:
From Cáceres to Trujillo: 35min
From Mérida to Trujillo: 55min
From Badajoz to Trujillo: 1h 30min
From Madrid (Airport) to Trujillo: 2h 50min

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What to see in Trujillo

Castillo de Trujillo

Trujillo’s castle, sitting atop a hill known as cabeza de zorro (‘fox’s head’), has two different enclosures. The oldest enclosure is a defensive fortress built by the Moors in the ninth century which includes two cisterns and a horseshoe arch.

An enclosing bailey was built a bit later and it includes a sixteenth-century hermitage. You can walk from tower to tower along the walls of this GoT filming location and enjoy some fantastic views. If you visit Trujillo in winter, look out for the snowed-capped peaks of Gredos mountains in the distance.

Location: Plaza del Castillo

Iglesia de Santa María la Mayor

Built from the remains of a former mosque, this late Romanesque-Gothic church has a beautiful interior, with an imposing main altarpiece featuring 25 paintings, and two towers you can climb. The views from the bell tower are, in my opinion, the second best (only after the views from the castle). Each side of the tower offers a different perspective of the city and the surroundings: the square, the city walls, the castle or the pastureland.

Location: Calle Santa María, 17

​Casa-Museo de Pizarro

This little museum dedicated to the life of Francisco Pizarro is located in the Pizarros’ original family home, a two-storey house with a patio. The ground floor exhibition is a representation of how local people of a certain social status lived back in the fifteenth century, while the first-floor exhibition is dedicated to conqueror Francisco Pizarro’s life in the Americas.

Location: Calleja del Castillo, 1

Aljibe

This tenth-century cistern (aljibe) lies under an unassuming little square. Built by the Moors to provide the local population with fresh water, the cistern has three naves crowned by barrel vaults and is ten metres deep. Look out for the remains of red iron oxide on the walls. It can only be visited in a guided tour.

Location: Plazuela del Altamirano

Torre del Alfiler

This Gothic tower is one of the most distinctive symbols in Trujillo’s skyline. Originally part of the Moorish citadel, it was later transformed into the keep of a nearby fortified palace. Today, it’s home to a little visitor centre focused on local and regional history and to several storks nesting on top. The architectural features and the pretty tiles decorating the top of the tower are best appreciated from outside, specially from Subida al Castillo. The views from the tower itself are rather disappointing – visiting the tower seems dispensable to me, unless you buy the combined entry ticket from the local Tourist Office.

Location: Calle Ballesteros, 7

Plaza Mayor

Trujillo’s Plaza Mayor frequently features in travel publications as one of Spain’s most beautiful squares. Dominated by an equestrian statue of Trujillo-born Francisco Pizarro, the main square is where guided tours usually start and end, and where the main local festivities and celebrations take place. Take your time to walk around the square, which is lined with restaurants, public buildings and very grand palaces. Particularly notable are the Palacio de los Marqueses de la Conquista (temporarily home to the Oficina de Turismo), and the Palacio de Piedras Albas.

Location: Plaza Mayor

Alberca

This sizeable (12 metres deep) man-made pool was used by the Moors to water their crops, channelling the water through a system of underground pipes.

Location: Calle Alberca

Iglesia de San Martín de Tours and iglesia de Santiago

There are religious buildings aplenty in Trujillo. The above-mentioned iglesia de Santa María is a must even if you’re not keen on religious tourism, because the views from the towers are amazing. If you’re keen on religious buildings, you may also want to visit iglesia de San Martín de Tours and iglesia de Santiago.

Iglesia de San Martín de Tours is located on the northeastern side of the main square. Built in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, it displays elements of both Gothic and Renaissance styles. Main highlights include a Baroque choir upstairs and a wide balcony with lovely views of the square.

Location: Plaza Mayor

Iglesia de Santiago is a small twelfth-century church located to the west of the main square. Highlights include Romanesque vaulted ceilings, a fourteenth-century Jesus Christ statue and good views from the tower.

Location: Plaza de Santiago

What to do in Trujillo

Look for the city gates

The city gates will give you a good sense of the size of the old walled city of Trujillo as well as provide you with the perfect framing for pretty pictures. Originally, seven gates gave access to the city, but only four of them remain today:

Puerta de San Andrés, in Calle Cuesta de San Andrés, (coordinates: lat. 39.459354, Long-5.884342);

Puerta de Santiago, in Calle Ballesteros (coordinates: Lat. 39.460622, Long. -5.883073);

Puerta de la Coria, in Calle Puerta De La Coria (coordinates: Lat. 39.461419, -5.884925);

Puerta del Triunfo, in Plaza Cementerio (coordinates: Lat. 39.459020, Long. -5.886275).

Wander around

Leisurely walk around Trujillo and take your time to admire the architectural details of the numerous fine buildings you’ll find along the way. These are some of the most notable buildings you may want to look out for:

Alcázar de los Bejarano, a fifteenth-century Gothic palace in Plaza del Cementerio, 5;

Palacio de Chaves-Sotomayor, a fifteenth-sixteenth-century Gothic and Renaissance palace located in Cuesta de la Sangre;

Palacio de Carvajal Vargas (or Ducal de San Carlos), a sixteenth-seventeenth-century Renaissance and Baroque palace in the corner of Calle García de Paredes with Calle de Mingo de Ramos;

Palacio de Luis Chaves «El Viejo», a fifteenth-century fortified palace in Calle Ballesteros;

Palacio de Juan Pizarro de Aragón, a seventeenth-century Baroque palace currently home to a theatre and the local historical archive in Plazuela de Juan Pizarro Aragón.

Stay or eat at Parador de Trujillo

Paradores are a state-sponsored nationwide chain of hotels located in historical buildings. Parador de Trujillo, located in a former convent with two beautiful cloisters, is a good accommodation option if you’re looking for comfort and character.

But you don’t have to stay there to see its facilities. Paradores have good restaurants serving regional food with a modern twist, and Parador de Trujillo is not an exception, so go ahead and book lunch or dinner. Or simply walk in and have a coffee in one of its cloisters.

On my last visit, I travelled as a group of three and these are the dishes we had:

• macerated carrot (complimentary);
• bread with paprika and olive oil (complimentary);
• Ibérico ham croquetas to share;
• baked cod gratin with ratatouille-style vegetables;
• beef cheeks with roasted sweet potato;
• retinta (indigenous breed) sirloin steak with patatas revolconas (a sort of loosely mashed potatoes with paprika);
• acorn cake served with vanilla ice-cream.

Location: Calle Santa Beatriz de Silva, 1 (main entry from Calle Paredones de Santa Clara, 2)

Things do near Trujillo

Walk up to Pico de San Gregorio, in Santa Cruz de la Sierra

Santa Cruz de la Sierra is a small village only a fifteen minute drive from Trujillo. Ruta del Risco Grande is a 6-kilometre linear walk starting at the southern end of the village (past the convent) and ending at the top of a hill at 844 metres high. Along the way, you’ll see several ponds and the remains of an old irrigation system, a cemetery and former village. It takes less than three hours in total to complete it. I’ve done it twice myself. Highly recommended for winter time.

Location: Santa Cruz de la Sierra (Coordinates for the starting point: Lat. 39.334398, Long. -5.846106)

Map of Trujillo and surroundings

Find all the places mentioned in this article on the map below.

When to visit Trujillo

Trujillo is a good place to visit at any time of the year, since monuments open all year round, but there are some things to bear in mind when planning your trip:

Visiting Trujillo in summer: despite its small size, Trujillo has quite a lot to see. I personally avoid sightseeing-heavy destinations from late June to mid-September. Bear in mind that in summer monuments close from 2pm to 5.30pm and walking around (and up, and down) at 35 or even 40 degrees won’t be particularly enjoyable.

Visiting Trujillo over Easter: originally a winter farewell celebration, Chíviri is basically a huge party taking place on Easter Sunday (although it actually starts on Saturday evening). It draws thousands of people from all over Extremadura, some of them wearing traditional costumes; they gather in the main square and spend the day eating, drinking and dancing to some folk tunes blasting from a big stage set up for the occasion. The square is chock-a-block with people, so it may not be the ideal time to visit, unless you want to join the party.