The cimorro
The apse as a defensive tower, seen from outside the wall.
Fernando — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rafa Esteve — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rafa Esteve — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rafa Esteve — CC BY-SA 4.0
**Spain's first Gothic cathedral — and its apse is not an apse but a defensive tower in the city wall** — at the eastern end of the old town. Built from the **12th century**, ⚠ **it is reckoned the country's oldest Gothic cathedral** — earlier than Burgos and Toledo. ⚠ **What makes it unique is its incorporation into the wall**: **the eastern apse (the *cimorro*) is built as a massive defensive tower** forming part of the city's defences — ⚠ **battlemented and with arrow slits**; **the church is a fortress**. ✅ **The stone inside is strange**: **a local sandstone veined red and white** giving the columns a striking mottled look. ✅ **Its museum holds the *Agnus Dei* and sculpture by Alonso Berruguete.** ⚠ **Its western front was rebuilt** in the 18th century.
The apse as a defensive tower, seen from outside the wall.
Columns veined red and white in the eastern parts.
Paintings and sculpture by Berruguete and others.
Plaza de la Catedral, 05001 Avila, Spain
Basilica of San Vicente**A Romanesque church just outside the walls, holding a carved tomb among the fi3 minutes walk4.5
The Convent of Saint Teresa**A Baroque convent built on the site of the house where Teresa of Ávila was bor6 minutes walk4.6
The Walls of Ávila**The most complete medieval city walls in Europe — 2.5 km, 88 towers and 9 gate11 minutes walk4.7
Los Cuatro Postes**Four stone columns and a cross on a hill outside the city — and the best view 16 minutes walk4.8**One circle: inside the wall in the morning, outside it for the view at sunset — the city is very small.** ✅ **The order**: **start with the wall-top walk** — **early, before the sun or the wind get up**; ✅ **and from it you understand the whole shape of the city**. ✅ **Then the cathedral** (⚠ **and walk round it outside to see the *cimorro***), **then the basilica of San Vicente** just outside the eastern gate. ✅ **Then the Santa Teresa convent** in the southwest, **built on the site of her house**. ✅ **Lunch inside the walls** — ⚠ **and try the *chuletón de Ávila*** (an enormous veal chop) and ***yemas de Santa Teresa*** (an egg-yolk and sugar sweet, the city's most famous). ✅ **⚠ And in the afternoon walk out to Los Cuatro Postes** — **about 1.5 km west across the river** ⚠ (down and then up, or take a taxi); ✅ **and from there you see the whole walled circuit at once** — **the view you know of Ávila**, ✅ **best at sunset** when the granite turns gold. ⚠ **One day is enough** — ✅ **and the city makes an ideal day trip from Madrid** (about an hour and a half by train).