3 Best places to stay in Leon

This is your chance to sleep in one of Spain’s finest Renaissance buildings, famous for its lavishly sculpted Plateresque façade. Founded in the 12th century to house pilgrims, and rebuilt in the 16th century for the knights of Santiago, the parador reopened in December 2020 after a lengthy restoration.

Today it deftly combines contemporary furnishings and art with original, traditional and antique pieces. There’s a superb restaurant, gorgeous cloister and grand staircase. It’s atmospheric, arty and cosy and the place to stay in Leon if your budget stretches this far.

The parador is very peaceful, set back on a large square next to a church, overlooking the river Bernesga. Modern low-rise buildings around the Plaza San Marcos house a mix of residential, offices and shops with a fair amount of traffic, although you won’t hear it in the hotel. It’s a five-minute walk from the train station; Leon’s spectacular cathedral is an 18-minute walk away.

This luxurious little boutique hotel in a hundred-year old townhouse, located just over the bridge from the train station, opened its doors in 2019. Expect spacious, well-equipped rooms (the big one with the enormous terrace is a delight), high end linens and Nespresso machines.

The basement has a welcome indoor pool (so pretty it was used in a music video) for cooling off after a busy day sightseeing. There’s easy public parking and a good breakfast – all in all, a great choice for anyone who loves cool design with their creature comforts.

Located in San Isidoro’s monastery – originally built in the 12th century but re-done in the Renaissance – this 3-star hotel opened in 2005 with ornate public rooms. Bedrooms are modern, if slightly monastic, and overlook the pretty cloister or the Roman walls.

The hotel is right on the Camino, so good for pilgrims or history lovers –and as an added bonus, guests are given a free tour of the basilica, with discounts on the tickets for the wonderful Royal Pantheon, now a museum.

The hotel offers free parking (in the pedestrian area, so be sure to ask how to get there when you book).