DISCOVER LEON
The city of Leon, located at 42.59°N latitude, 5.57°W longitude, is the capital of Leon province in the autonomous community of Castile and Leon, in northwest Spain. Its population of 135,794 (2002) makes it the largest municipality in the province, accounting for over one quarter of the province's population. Its urban area population is calculated at 185,391 (2003).
Leon is famous for its gothic Leon Cathedral and many other monumental buildings, such as the Real Colegiata de San Isidoro (which holds the Royal Pantheon, a mausoleum in which medieval Kingdom of Leon's royal family were buried, and also has one of the world's best collections of Romanesque paintings); Casa de Botines (an early work of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi, nowadays occupied by a bank); San Marcos (originally the Military Order of Santiago's home, built in the 16th century); or the new MUSAC, the Castile and Leon Museum of Contemporary Art.
Leon is also known for its "fiestas", like Easter. Leonese processions are declared to be of International Interest and, on those days, many people from all over the world visit Leon to see and participate in its traditions.
 MONUMENTS AND PLACES OF INTEREST
Leon possesses impressive monuments, from outstanding mediaeval to avantguarde modernity buildings.
The most notable monuments are the Rayonnant gothic Cathedral, with its excellent stain glassed windows, the Basilica de San Isidoro, with its Romanesque paintings, and the old monastery of San Marcos (currently a luxurious parador) with an exuberant plateresque facade.
One can also find the Casa de Botines, a neogothic styled building and an excellent example of the arquitecture of Antoni Gaudi. The Palacio de los Guzmanes, the site of the provincial diputacion (parliament), contains an impressive patio in the plateresque style by Gil de Hontanon.
The old quarter of the city conserves a large part of the medieval wall and some remains of the original Roman wall. Visitors are obliged to visit the Barrio Humedo (the drinking and partying area) and the Plaza del Grano.
Leon is the headquarters of the MUSAC - Castile and Leon Museum of Contemporary Art. Its building has an impressive modernist structure designed by the architectural team of Mansilla & Tunon. One of the building's most distinctive features is its facade formed by thousands of large stained-glass panels.
The nearby Leon Auditorium, also by Mansilla & Tunon, has an equally stricking presence of crisp white cubes perforated by irregularly set windows.
FOLKLORE AND CUSTOMS
Among the Leonese customs, Semana Santa (Holy Week), during which there are numerous processions through the centre of the city, stands out. One of the most beautiful is the so called Procession of the Meeting which acts out the meeting of three groups representing Saint John, the Virgin Mary and Christ in the explanade in front of the Cathedral.
Associated with Semana Santa is the pagan procession for the burial of Genarin, a poor person run over by the first rubbish truck in Leon.
The procession consists of a march through the city with Orujo (an alcoholic drink) at the head of the procession to the front of the city walls where the man was supposedly run over and then leaving cheese, a bottle of Orujo and two oranges at the spot.
FOOD IN LEON
Within the wide range of Leonese cuisine the following dishes are the most representative: cecina (cured, smoked beef), morcilla (a superb variant of blood sausage), botillo (a dish of meat-stuffed pork intestine), garlic soup, el cocido leones (a mix of meat with vegetables and chickpeas, served after a vegetable-vermicelli soup) and mantecadas (a sweet).
Another very important part of the gastronomy of Leon are the tapas that you can get in most of the many bars in the city. The most important thing about these tapas is that they are free unlike in most cities in Spain.
It is a very common thing to do to go "de tapas" i.e. to go for a few drinks ("un corto", which is a very small beer, "una cana", which is roughly half a pint of beer or "un vino," a glass of wine) just before lunch but more normally as a light form of dinner.
From Wikipedia.org, the Free Encyclopedia
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