León 

I suspect that León is the least visited of the great cathedral cities of Spain, being a little out of the way unless you are following the Camino de Santiago, the Way of Saint James pilgrimage route. But it is a fabulous place, reeking with atmosphere and charm, and well worth making the effort to see. The link goes to a new municpal tourist information website, which is quite fine, or will be when the machine translations get rewritten into proper English. This gripe apart (and it is not a minor one when the city council's stated aim for the portal is for it to promote León abroad), the new website is well designed, pleasant to use, and has all the content you would expect from a website of this kind - sights, routes, eating and drinking (here rendered as "Table and Tablecloth," see what I mean about the machine translations?), webcams and videos (the latter particularly enticing, being top-quality spots), a travelogue you have to register to see, an accommodation booker, how to get there, getting around, history, and much more. Congratulations and good luck to those responsible!
Added on: 02-Jun-2004 | hits: 525
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Ayuntamiento de León 

Leon's municipal website now has a certain amount of tourist information in English under "León, Your City." The tourist information website at leon.es is much more thorough, though (see below, under "León").
Added on: 14-Jan-2005 | hits: 156
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MUSAC 

I have never visited Castile and León's relatively new Museo de Arte Contemporáneo but, to judge by its website, it goes for the kind of modern art favoured by academics (in contrast, say, to the more populist approach of Bilbao's Guggenheim).
Added on: 22-Oct-2005 | hits: 190
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León Cathedral 

Standing about number four in the world ranking of top Gothic cathedrals, León Cathedral is undoubtedly impressive and surprisingly likeable. Its mark of distinction is its vast, unmatched extension of stained glass windows, no less than 18,000 square metres of them, so overwhelmingly huge an expanse of window that the cathedral walls simply cannot function as walls normally do: without the flying buttresses against them, the cathedral roof would crush them. The link goes to León Cathedral's Spanish-only official website.
Added on: 14-Nov-2006 | hits: 194
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San Isidoro 

The Basilica of Saint Isidore is León's second or third-most important historical building after the cathedral. Originally a monastery dedicated to John the Baptist, its name was changed when the remains of Isidore, Bishop of Seville, were moved there. Apart from the church and cloisters, "considered the most complete example of Romanesque architecture in Spain, some say the Western world," its most interesting feature is the Pantheon, containing the tombs of twenty-three kings and queens of León, twelve infantes and a couple of earls. Its vivid Romanesque murals, "hardly" restored, are truly extraordinary, depicting both biblical scenes and the day-to-day country life of the time: their figures look oddly modern, almost kitsch, like something the Disney factory might produce. This is the basilica's Spanish-only website - info about and pictures of the Pantheon are under "La Colegiata."
Added on: 15-Nov-2006 | hits: 225
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Hostal de San Marcos 

The Hostal de San Marcos, a 16th-century monastery-hospital built as a refuge for pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela, is simply awesome, especially when approached from the direction of León Cathedral. It is now a GL parador, and a beer in the cafeteria will cost you three times its normal price, but be well worth the money. Here is the relevant page from Paradores (if they haven't moved it, which they do constantly), and here is an additional link to an interesting, informative pdf.
Added on: 15-Oct-2006 | hits: 126
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