298km (185 miles) SW of Madrid, 256km (159 miles) N of Seville
A national landmark and the capital of Extremadura, Cáceres is encircled by old city walls and has several palaces and towers, many financed by gold sent from the Americas by the conquistadors.
One of six cities in Spain designated World Heritage sites by UNESCO, Cáceres was founded in the 1st century B.C. by the Romans as Norba Caesarina. Its present-day name is derived from alcázares, an Arab word meaning "fortified citadel." After the Romans, it was settled by all the cultures that have made the south of Spain the cultural melting pot of influences it is today. The contemporary city offers a unique blend of the traces these successive invaders left behind.
