Fodor's Expert Review Ciudad Monumental

Travel back a few centuries in Cáceres's Ciudad Monumental (aka "casco antiguo" or "ciudad vieja"), one of the best-preserved medieval quarters in Europe. It's so convincingly ancient that Game of Thrones used it as a filming location. There isn't a single modern building to detract from its aura, a testament to the fact that Cáceres became a backwater plagued by war after Spain's Golden Age. It's virtually deserted in winter and occasionally dusted with a light coating of snow—a fairy-tale sight. Most of the city's main monuments are located here, but of Cáceres's approximately 100,000 residents, fewer than 400 reside within this tiny enclave.