Carrión de los Condes: Culture and the Camino de Santiago

Carrión de los Condes offers several distinct reasons to visit: the Corpus Christi tradition of flower carpets, churches and museums connected with history dating back to the 12th century, an urban recreation area and a stage of the Camino de Santiago. You can therefore plan your trip around a festival, architectural and art history, or a specific stretch of the route. The following places can help you choose a focus and match your hotel search to the purpose of your trip.

Corpus Christi: flower carpets as a reason to visit

For Corpus Christi, the Feast of Corpus Christi, nearly two kilometres of floral carpets are created in the streets of Carrión de los Condes. The carpets are part of a recurring tradition, and visitors can take part in making them. This means that the focus is not only on the finished street scenes, but also on the opportunity to help create them. In 2008, Corpus Christi was recognised as a festival of regional tourist interest. If you want to visit for the carpets, plan your trip around the festival period. Schedule your visit to coincide with the festival rather than treating the tradition as a year-round attraction.

Churches and monastery: architectural history from the 12th to the 13th century

The Iglesia-Museo de Santiago dates from the mid-12th century; its façade dates from around 1160. The Iglesia de Santa María del Camino is a Romanesque church dating from the mid-12th century and the oldest church in the city. The two churches offer different ways to explore architectural history: at Santiago, the date of the façade stands out, while Santa María is notable as the oldest church.

The Monasterio de Santa Clara was founded in 1231 and is one of the oldest Poor Clare monasteries in Spain. The museum in the monastery houses Mudejar coffered ceilings, a 15th-century Flemish sculpture, a Filipino ivory Christ and choir books. The collection brings together different forms of art and objects. The coffered ceilings, sculpture and choir books each offer their own themes to explore in the museum. Temporary exhibitions may change.

Two museums, two different focuses

The Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Carrión de los Condes is housed in the premises of a former pilgrims’ hospital. Its church section, dating from the late 12th century, survives. The museum also features a permanent exhibition of paintings by José Luis Valenciano Plaza. Here, a historic building and a permanent collection of paintings come together. Along with the museum in the Monasterio de Santa Clara, it offers a different perspective on art and architectural history: one museum is housed in a former pilgrims’ hospital, while the other holds the monastery’s art and collection objects mentioned above. Temporary exhibitions may change.

Recreation area, the Camino de Santiago and getting there

Parque El Plantío is an urban recreation area accessible via Plaza Mayor. It offers a different focus from the churches and museums: here, the emphasis is on a recreation area within the city rather than architectural history and collections. For those planning the Camino de Santiago in stages, Carrión de los Condes is the starting point of the second stage to San Nicolás del Real Camino. This makes it possible to identify the town as the starting point for this specific stretch of the route. By road, Carrión de los Condes is connected to Palencia via the CL-615; the provincial capital is 40 kilometres away.

Discover more destinations: Cervera De Pisuerga, Quintanilla De Onsoña, La Serna, Guaza De Campos, Cardeñosa De Volpejera, Quintanilla De Las Torres, Pedraza De Campos, Población De Campos.

For the regional travel overview: Palencia.