Salamanca, verdict by verdict

Salamanca earns its golden nickname: the Plaza Mayor's arcaded sandstone turns amber at dusk and stays full of students and families until late, the university's facade hides the famous frog carving that visitors hunt for luck, and climbing the two cathedrals together gives a rooftop walk over a city built almost entirely of one glowing stone. Casa Lis adds an Art Nouveau jewel-box of glass and lalique to the list, and the whole centre is walkable in minutes rather than metros.

The fair trade-offs: this is a small, compact city where the sights fit into a day and change, winters are cold and grey on the Castilian plain, and nightlife dies outside term time because so much of the buzz is student-made. The payoff is density: nowhere else in Spain packs this much architecture into this little walking, and the Plaza Mayor after dark is the single best plaza hour in the country.

A full day covers the Plaza Mayor, the university and the cathedrals with time for Casa Lis; stay overnight to see the plaza lit, which is when Salamanca makes its case best. Add Ciudad Rodrigo's ramparts or the Arribes gorge as a second day, or fold the city into a Madrid-Portugal route since the rail link runs through. It suits travelers who want one perfect plaza and a university town that still belongs to its students.