Zamora is a city built on a rock above the Duero, and it is overlooked in a way that suits its quiet temperament. The old town sits on a ridge on the north bank, with a medieval stone bridge reaching across the river, and the whole place feels slightly apart from the rest of the busy plain around it. It is said to have more Romanesque churches than any other city in Europe, about two dozen, built mostly in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries when Zamora was a frontier town between the Christian north and the Moorish south. Their rounded arches and plain stone walls give the streets a sober, weathered look that is especially fine in evening light.
The cathedral, small by the standards of Spain, has an unusual dome covered in scale-like stone tiles that looks almost Byzantine, and it is a good landmark when you are looking for the centre. The city is also known for its Holy Week processions, which are some of the most solemn in the country, with hooded brotherhoods marching in silence through the old streets. If you pass through in the days before Easter, you will find the roads blocked and the hotels full.
The Ruta de la Plata follows an ancient line that the Romans used to carry silver and other goods from the mines of the south to the north, and later pilgrims used it too, on their way to Santiago. Today the road runs across the high, open plateau of the northern meseta, with long views, a lot of wheat and sunflowers, and few bends. It is good cruising but not twisty riding, and the wind can be strong. For the best conditions, aim for spring, when the fields are green and poppies grow beside the road, or early autumn.
With around sixty-five thousand residents, Zamora has fuel in abundance and plenty of bars. A traditional dish is arroz a la zamorana, made with pork, and the local sheep's milk cheese is excellent. A coffee in the main square or on the bank of the Duero is a gentle way to pass the middle of the day, and the shade under the old walls is welcome in summer, when the plain can be very hot.