City founded by King Alfonso VIII in the 12th century. It preserves part of the walls with some of the defensive towers and the four access gates. In the Plaza Mayor the Tuesday market has been held since the 13th century. The Cathedral consists of two perfectly differentiated buildings: the Old Cathedral from the XII-XIV century, in the Romanesque style, and the New, which began to be built at the end of the XV, and in which the most famous architects of the time participated. The baroque altarpiece by the Valladolid sculptor Gregorio Fernández stands out. The Cathedral Museum contains paintings, sculptures, goldsmiths and textiles of a religious nature. In front of the Cathedral, the seventeenth century Dean's House, the Palace of Justice, the House of the Two Towers, the palace of the Marquis of Mirabel where the Hunting Museum is located. The Ethnographic and Textile Museum is also very interesting. Monfragüe Natural Park (pending to be named National Park), occupies an area of 18,000 h. and constitutes one of the most important reserves of Mediterranean flora and fauna. From Villarreal de San Carlos, where the Interpretation Center is located, you can go up to the Almohad castle and visit the caves with cave paintings of the Castle and the Bats. There are several routes of varying difficulty where you can stop at the Puente del Cardenal and the Salto del Gitano where you can admire the landscape and the birds that nest in the rocks. More than 75% of the protected species inhabit this Natural Reserve of the Biosphere, such as the Iberian lynx, the imperial eagle or the black stork.
Festivities: on the Tuesday Mayor or first Tuesday in August in the Plaza Mayor de Plasencia a large medieval market is held where all the food and handicraft products of the area are sold.