Castilla Leon

Castilla Leon (Castile and Leon) is the largest Region in Spain being in the north west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is bordered by Asturias and Cantabria to the north, Aragon, the Basque Region, and La Rioja to the east, the Regions of Madrid and Castilla La Mancha to the southeast, Extremadura to the south and Galicia and Portugal to the west. Castilla Leon was originally two separate kingdoms. Despite the region covering nearly one fifth of Spain's surface area, it is relatively sparsely populated.

Most of Castilla Leon consists of a large portion of Spain's high plain and is surrounded by mountainous regions. The plain is dry and arid with an average altitude of about 800 metres (2,600 ft). Winters are long and cold with average temperatures between 4 ° and 7 ° in January. Summers are short and hot with average temperatures between 19 ° and 22 °, with the three or four summer months very typical of a Mediterranean climate.

Castilla Leon is divided into nine provinces, which are - Avila, Burgos, Leon, Palencia, Salamanca, Segovia, Soria, Valladolid, Zamora. Each of these provinces are named after its respective provincial capital. There is no official capital of Castilla Leon, however Valladolid serves the purpose in some ways.

There are many places of interest in Castilla Leon. Here are just a few -

Aranda de Duero, Avila, Burgos, Laguna de Duero, Leon, Palencia, Ponferrada, Medina del Campo, Salamanca, Segovia, Soria, Valladolid, Zamora.

Castilla Leon is known for its many castles. These are some of those which are tourist destinations -

Alcazar of Segovia, Almenar de Soria, Ampudia, Arenas de San Pedro, Arevalo, Bonilla de la Sierra, Burgos, Castilnovo, Coca, Cornatel, Cuellar, Aguilar de Campo, El Barco de Avila, Gormaz, Fuensaldaña, La Adrada, Iscar, La Mota, Miranda de Ebro, Mironcillo, Monleon, Montealegre de Campos, Peñafiel, Ponferrada, Portillo, Puebla de Sanabria, Puente del Congosto, Simancas, Torrelobaton, Turegano, Fuentes de Valdepero, Villaviciosa, Zamora.