Inside the walls of Ávila, the streets are narrow, cobbled and often steep, and the city feels smaller than its fame. The walls enclose an oval about two and a half kilometres around, and most of what is inside can be walked in an hour or two. The pattern of lanes, with arcaded squares and small plazas, is the medieval layout, and it is still lived in: there are schools, bakeries, and old people on benches in the afternoon.
The cathedral, a fortress church with a crenellated apse that forms part of the wall, stands on the east side. Inside it is cool and dark, and the stone has a slightly pink tone. Walk to the Mercado Chico, the old marketplace, to see the town hall, and wander to the Puerta del Alcázar to see the wall's finest gate. Santa Teresa was born here in 1515, and her birthplace is now a church and a small museum.
Beyond the walls, the plateau is bare and wide and the weather is its own character. Winters are bitter, summers dry, and spring and autumn the best seasons. The Gredos mountains rise to the south, with snow on the peaks into early summer, and the roads that climb into them are among the best in central Spain, with hairpins, open views and little traffic. A good plan is to loop through the sierra and return to Ávila for dinner.
Fuel is plentiful at the edge of town, and the old city has more bars and restaurants than you could possibly try in one visit. Order chuletón and a glass of red from Cebreros, a local wine from the Gredos foothills. A motorbike can be parked near the gates, but the old town is largely pedestrian, so plan to walk in. Take a good jacket in the evening, because the cold comes down fast once the sun sets behind the wall.