A Walking Tour of Leon

Monday 9th June 2014

The group met at the hotel lobby in the afternoon and was introduced to the local tour guide who would be taking us on a walking tour of Leon. The tour guide was very good at narrating the history of the city and describing the architectural features of the places we visited.

We walked out of our hotel and turned right towards a square where 6 lanes converge into a round-about. One of the lanes from the 'square' leads into the Old Town. The City Hall is located at one corner of the square. An important building at this square is the Casa de los Botines.

 Casa de los Botines

Casa de los Botines is designed by the famous Catalonian architect Antonio Gaudi. A friend of the architect,  Eusobi Guell had asked Gaudi to build a house for one of his customers, Simon Fernandes and Mariano Andres, in the centre of Leon. Fernandes and Andres used to buy fabrics from Guell and they wanted a residence with a warehouse in Leon. Today the building is named after its last owner, Joan Homs i Botinas, and the Savings Bank, Caja Espana now occupies the building.

Gaudi built a building with a medieval air and numerous neo-Gothic features. It has four floors, a basement and an attic. with an inclined roof he added towers in the corners to give it a Gothic look.  The owners lived on the first floor with offices below and the upper floors were rented out. The entrance is decorated with the statue of St George slaying a dragon.

 a nearby buiding houses a government office

 wrought iron fence around the Gaudi's building

 the statue of St George slaying a dragon at entrance of Casa de los Botines

After marvelling at the building built by Gaudi, we walked on along the Roman wall that protected the Old Town of Leon. The history of Leon started from pre-Roman ages through the Moorish Spain and back to Christian stronghold from where the Reconquesta was planned and executed. Many restaurants and shops have been built along the wall - some of which have been incorporated into te wall.