León Cathedral

León Cathedral tickets: which one to buy

León Cathedral stands on the Plaza de Regla in the centre of León, Castile and León, Spain, and it is ticketed, with an audio guide included; the ticket also covers the cloister and the cathedral museum, and a separate tour of the upper walkways, the triforium, gives close views of the stained glass. It is one of the most beautiful Gothic cathedrals in Spain, famous for its stained glass windows, which have earned it the nickname House of Light.

León is on the French Way of the Camino de Santiago, and pilgrims stop at the cathedral. Walking tours of León combine the cathedral with the Basilica of San Isidoro, the Casa Botines designed by Antoni Gaudí, the Hostal de San Marcos and the Barrio Húmedo, known for its tapas bars. León is about two hours from Madrid by high-speed train. Night visits with special lighting of the stained glass are offered on some summer evenings.

Visiting León Cathedral: what to see

The cathedral was built mainly between 1255 and 1302 in the French Gothic style, inspired by Reims, and it stands on the site of Roman baths and an earlier Romanesque cathedral. It is known for having more glass than stone: its walls are almost entirely filled with stained glass windows, about 1,800 square metres in total, dating from the thirteenth to the twentieth centuries, which fill the interior with coloured light. The windows show biblical scenes, saints, kings, knights, plants and scenes of daily life. The weight of the vaults is carried by flying buttresses outside. In the nineteenth century the cathedral was at risk of collapse, and it was restored between 1859 and 1901. The west facade has two towers and three portals carved with sculpture, including the Last Judgement and the White Virgin.

Inside, the choir stalls are carved in walnut, and the cloister holds tombs and frescoes. The rose windows on the west and north facades are among the finest in Europe. The cloister holds the tombs of nobles and clergy and frescoes from the fifteenth century. The cathedral museum displays Romanesque and Gothic sculptures, manuscripts and silverwork. The retablo mayor, the main altarpiece, holds paintings by Nicolás Francés. The trascoro, a screen behind the choir, is carved in Renaissance style. The tomb of Ordoño II, king of León, lies in the ambulatory. The cathedral's flying buttresses can be admired from the garden behind the apse. The White Virgin statue on the portal is a copy; the original is inside.

León Cathedral opening hours and the best time to go

The cathedral is open daily, with a break at lunchtime and shorter hours in winter. The stained glass is best seen on sunny days, particularly in the morning, when the light comes through the east windows. León is busy in summer and during Holy Week, when processions fill the streets, and during the festivals of San Juan and San Pedro in late June. The Barrio Húmedo's tapas bars are lively in the evening. Allow about an hour for the cathedral, and another hour for the Basilica of San Isidoro nearby. The Basilica of San Isidoro, about ten minutes' walk, holds the Royal Pantheon with Romanesque frescoes known as the Sistine Chapel of Romanesque art.