Guadalupe is a village located in Villuercas-Ibores-Jara, in Cáceres province. Mostly known for its Royal Monastery, a UNESCO site, Guadalupe also has some interesting examples of traditional civil architecture, charming, arcaded houses, fountains and amazing views.
This destination mini-guide covers what you need to know before visiting Guadalupe – from what to see and do to practical info and personal tips on things like how to get there, where to stay, or when to go.
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Table of contents
Five historical facts about Guadalupe:
1. Guadalupe was founded where, according to the legend, in the thirteenth century, a shepherd found a statue of Virgin Mary on the banks of the river, and a chapel was built in her honour.
2. After being declared a royal sanctuary, the chapel was transformed into the monastery that made Guadalupe an important pilgrimage site.
3. Real Monasterio de Guadalupe has been a World Heritage site since 1993.
4. Guadalupe has been listed as one of Spain’s most beautiful towns (by Los Pueblos Más Bonitos de España) since 2018.
5. The local religious celebration in honour of Virgen de Guadalupe, patron saint of Extremadura, coincides with official Day of Extremadura (8 September).
How to get to Guadalupe
You can get to Guadalupe either by coach or by car.
Getting to Guadalupe by coach
Company Samar has daily services to Guadalupe from Madrid (Estación Sur) and Miajadas. Tickets can be purchased in advance online.
Coach journey duration to Guadalupe:
From Madrid: 3h 45min
From Miajadas: between 1h 15min and 1h 25min, depending on the service
Company Alsa serves Guadalupe from Cáceres every day of the week except Saturday, and Trujillo from Monday to Friday. Tickets can be purchased in advance online.
Coach journey duration to Guadalupe:
From Cáceres: 2h 20min
From Trujillo: 1h 35min
Guadalupe bus stop is located in Avenida Conde de Barcelona, near the town hall (Ayuntamiento).
Getting to Guadalupe by car
If you’re driving to Guadalupe from Madrid, your main point of reference will be the A-5/E-90 road (Autovía del Suroeste). Get off at exit 171 onto the CC-120 road and in Peraleda de la Mata, join the EX-118 road to Guadalupe.
If you’re driving to Guadalupe from Plasencia, you’ll need to get on the EX-A1 road (Navalmoral de la Mata-bound), then join the A-5/E-90 road just Navalmoral, only to get off soon after at exit 178 onto the EX-118 road to Guadalupe.
If you’re driving to Guadalupe from Trujillo, get on the EX-208 Guadalupe-bound and join (same road) the EX-102 in Zorita to Guadalupe. If you’re driving from Cáceres, get on the A-58 to Trujillo and then follow the same directions.
If you’re driving to Guadalupe from Mérida, your point of reference will be the A-5/E-90 road (Madrid-bound). Get off at exit 316 (Ciudad Real-bound) onto the N-430/E-903 road and just before arriving at Obando, join the EX-116 to Guadalupe.
From Trujillo to Guadalupe: 1h 5min
From Mérida to Guadalupe: 1h 30min
From Cáceres to Guadalupe: 1h 37min
From Plasencia to Guadalupe: 1h 40min
From Madrid Airport to Guadalupe: 3h
Parking in Guadalupe: parking in the centre of Guadalupe can prove tricky. Traffic through the main square is restricted on weekends and is diverted towards the outskirts (past all sorts of steep, narrow and difficult to navigate streets). Unless you’re staying somewhere where parking is included, leave your car at the free parking lot in Avenida Eusebio González and walk.
What to see in Guadalupe
Real Monasterio de Guadalupe
A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993 and one of the three monasteries in Extremadura you can visit, Real Monasterio de Guadalupe should be your top priority, even if (like me) you’re not a religious person. It’s just one of those impressive sights worth seeing once. Standing tall overlooking the main square, Real Monasterio de Guadalupe displays a mix of Gothic, Mudejar, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical styles.
The monastery can only be visited on a (Spanish only) one-hour guided tour purchased on site. The tour shows you around these spaces:
Mudéjar cloister. A superb fourteenth-century cloister decorated with large paintings depicting battles, royal scenes and historical figures. This is the only space in the monastery where pictures are allowed.
Museums. Three museums line the cloister gallery, where you’ll see vestments and accessories, historical books and manuscripts, and religious sculptures.
Sacristy. It’s made up of three different spaces – an entrance hall, the main sacristy room, and a chapel. In the lavishly-decorated sacristy there are eight fantastic paintings by the renowned Extremadura artist Francisco de Zurbarán.
Relicario. An octagonal, profusely ornamented Baroque building holding numerous relics and a collection of treasure.
Camarín. This chamber, also octagonal,, contains the statue of the Virgin.
After the guided tour, or while waiting for your tour to start, you can visit the Monastery church. Highlights of the church include the seventeenth-century altarpiece, a Plateresque-style grille, and the eighteenth-century chorus.
Location: Plaza Sta. María de Guadalupe
Practical info: the Monastery opens at 9.30am and the first tour starts at 10am. You must purchase your ticket on-site. Cash payments only. For the latest info regarding opening times and ticket prices, contact Guadalupe Tourist Office.
Plaza de Santa María de Guadalupe
Open to the traffic on weekdays, Guadalupe’s main square feels a bit chaotic at times, with delivery vans and cars circulating near tourists walking around, taking snaps of the Monastery or sitting outside at the bars (a word on that below). The area outside the monastery church offers a great view of the square against the surrounding hills.
Location: Calle Santa María, 17
With the odd exception, I generally find that bars at main squares are to be avoided, and this definitely applies to Guadalupe. You can easily confirm that by doing a quick Google Map search – the few bars at the main square all have consistently terrible reviews, their business mostly depending on the many one-off visits by first-time visitors.
Plazuela de los Tres Chorros
Dominated by a fifteenth-century stone fountain that effectively acts as a roundabout, this charming little is a good place to observe traditional two-storey arcaded houses, where the first floor is supported by chestnut wood beams.
Location: Plazuela de los Tres Chorros (intersection of Calle Sevilla, Calle Tinte and Calle Eras)
Idea: If you walk here from the main square via Calle Sevilla, don’t stop at the square – keep walking along to the end of Calle Eras (until you reach the gate) and keep enjoying arcaded houses for a bit longer.
Mirador del Parque de la Constitución
This viewpoint is probably the best place to admire the Gothic architectural elements of the monastery and adjoining church (capitals, pinnacles, turrets) as well as the numerous white chimneys of the Parador, with its pretty ceramic details, all set against the stunning Villuercas mountain range.
Location: Calle Viña Mayor
Mirador de Guadalupe
For a good general view of the whole village, stop at this viewpoint located to the south of Guadalupe, just off the CC-171 road, on your way to or from Guadalupe. Or you can walk there instead, since it’s only twelve minutes away on foot from the main square.
Location: (Coordinates) lat. 39.44876, long. -5.33012
Tip: for yet another good view of Guadalupe, walk up to Calle Barrera del Sol, lined up with humble little houses on one side, and a stone wall on the other. There’s a cracking spot for taking pictures outside house number 9 (you’ll see chickens inside).
What to do in Guadalupe
Look for the gates
Arco de Sevilla, in Calle Sevilla.
Arco de San Pedro, in Calle Corredera, 2.
Arco del Chorro Gordo, in Plaza Sta. María de Guadalupe, 7.
These three gates formed part of the village’s inner defensive infrastructure, built in the sixteenth century to protect the thriving trading activity and manage the huge influx of pilgrims.
Arco del Tinte, the only one with nothing built on top of it, located in Calle Tinte.
Arco de las Eras, in Calle Eras.
Wander around
Beyond the imposing nature of the Royal Monastery, much of Guadalupe’s charm lies in its streets, so take your time to walk around and get lost while keeping your eyes peeled for beautiful architectural details.
Some relevant buildings you might not want to miss:
Casa de Gregorio López, the former house (today, a butcher’s) of a fifteenth-century lawyer, humanist and member of the Council of the Indies, located in Plaza Sta. María de Guadalupe, 30.
Iglesia de la Santísima Trinidad, an eighteenth-century, Baroque church turned concert hall and exhibition centre, located in Calle Marqués de la Romana (opposite the Parador).
Galería Mudéjar, a series of arcaded houses along Calle Nueva de los Capellanes.
Hospedería del Real Monasterio de Guadalupe, a hotel with on-site restaurant situated in the Gothic cloister of the monastery.
Did you know? The word hospedería is a general term often referred to accommodation facilities located in historical buildings, while Hospederías de Extremadura is the specific brand of a regional government-sponsored hotel chain (which doesn’t include the hospedería in Guadalupe).
Fountains
Arca del Agua is a water collection, storage and distribution system built in the fourteenth century some six kilometres to the northwest of Guadalupe. Still in use, it’s considered Spain’s oldest working hydraulic infrastructure. Today, the water of many local fountains is still supplied by the Arca del Agua.
Some of the fountains you can see while wandering around Guadalupe:
Fuente de la Plaza de Santa María de Guadalupe
Fuente de los Tres Chorros, in the Plazuela de los Tres Chorros
Fuente Nueva, in the intersection of Calle Real and Calle Don Pedro
Fuente de la Corredera, in Calle Corredera
Fuente del Ángel, in Calle Caldereros
Fuente de la Pasión, in Calle Pasión
Stay or eat at Parador de Guadalupe
Paradores are a state-sponsored nationwide chain of hotels located in historical buildings. Parador de Guadalupe, located in a complex made up of a fourteenth-century former hospital and a sixteenth-century former educational institution, 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 Guadalupe is not an exception, so go ahead and book lunch or dinner. Or simply walk in and have a coffee and have the chance to walk around its cloister.
On my last visit, I travelled as a couple and these are the dishes we had:
• Ibérico ham
• a selection of Extremadura cheeses with crackers, walnuts and quince paste
• creamy rice with vegetables
Location: Calle Marqués de la Romana, 12
Try local food: morcilla de Guadalupe is a local blood made of collard greens, Ibérico pork fat, pepper, fresh pig’s blood, onion, salt, parsley and paprika. The sweet/spicy flavour of this sausage depends on the type of paprika used. After scalding, the sausage acquires a very dark, almost black colour. It’s definitely not for everyone (not a fan of it myself), but you might like it, if you generally like black pudding or haggis, for example.
Things to see and do near Guadalupe
Walk and hike
Guadalupe is located within the Villuercas-Ibores-Jara UNESCO Global Geopark, an incredibly scenic area of international geological significance offering great walking and hiking opportunities. I have yet to discover this area as a walker; I will include walk recommendations as I start completing walking routes.
Mina Costanaza, in Logrosán
Logrosán is a village twenty-eight minutes away by car from Guadalupe, where you can visit the once Europe’s most important phosphate mine in the 1920s. The incredibly insightful guided tour takes you from the former chemical laboratory down to the (21-level) mine via lift and out in a wagon to finalise the visit at the mineral museum.
Location: Carretera de Guadalupe, 11 (opposite San Mateo olive mill), Logrosán.
Opening hours: from Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 3pm.
Tickets: to be booked in advance by phone (+34 927 360 180 or +34 647 805 200 from Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 2pm) or email ([email protected]). Payment to be made at the mine.
Entry fee: €5 (general admission for adults)
Map of Guadalupe and surroundings
Find all the places mentioned in this article on the map below.
When to visit Guadalupe
When planning your trip to Guadalupe, bear in mind that, as it is a major national (and even international) destination for pilgrims. It is rarely quiet and it gets very busy during key religious celebrations. If you’d like to visit Guadalupe without the crowds, avoid Easter, the Christmas period (which in Spain it extends until 6 January), the local religious festivities taking place on 8 September (and the preceding days), and 12 October.
Other things to see and do in Villuercas-Ibores-Jara:
- Walking route: Ruta de la Herrería, in Campillo de Deleitosa
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Irene Corchado Resmella
Hi! I’m Irene (/ee-REH-neh/). Long since settled in the UK, I explore my Spanish home region of Extremadura with an inquisitive mind, a sharp eye, and the duality that comes with being both a local and a visitor. Then I write about it here to help you discover this beautiful yet overlooked part of Spain. If you have any questions after reading this article, submit a comment below! Read more about me.
