Photos courtesy of Parador de Vilalba
This fine example of a Galician keep is all that remains of what was once a great fortress. No one is quite sure of the tower’s origins, but historians place it somewhere between the 11th and 13th centuries.
The Castro family from Castile owned the castle until the middle of the 14th century, when Pedro I transferred the property to the Andrade family. This family did much for the community by building monasteries, churches, and hospitals.
100 years later the castle was rebuilt. Though there is no record of the castle's demise, in the 20th century all that the government could salvage from the rubble was the tower.
Pamela’s Perspective
At this parador only six rooms are located in the medieval tower; the other 42 are in a new building. There is no difference in price, so I would opt for the tower rooms.
Parador de Vilalba
A 15th-century tower
Contact
Calle Valeriano Vadesuso, s/n
27800 Vilalba (Lugo)
Tel: ++34 982 51 00 11
Fax: ++34 982 51 00 90
Official parador website
Reserve with Booking.com
Fast facts
48 rooms: 6 in tower and 42 in a newer building
Double rooms: 65–95 euros
Single rooms: 80% of double
room rate
Rates include tax. Breakfast extra.
Free Wi-Fi
Open: all year
Getting there
Vilalba is 36 km north of Lugo in Galicia on N-634. The parador is in the center of town and signposted. Local buses stop in town, but there is no train connection.
What to do
Nearby: horseback riding; fishing; swimming; tennis; hiking
After crossing the dry moat on a tiny wooden bridge, you enter the tower through an arched portcullised doorway into a two-story-high entry hall. A medieval atmosphere prevails with arrow-slit windows set in ten-foot-thick walls, wrought-iron light sconces, horseshoe archways, and frescos of medieval scenes decorating the walls.
Each of the three floors in the tower holds two guest rooms. You can either climb a winding stairway past the arrow-slit windows to your room or take an elevator. The surprisingly large rooms have beamed ceilings and hardwood floors and are simply furnished with wooden headboards, writing desks, and wrought-iron reading lamps. To see out of the tiny windows, you must walk into the recesses of eight-foot-thick walls.
The majority of rooms at the Parador de Vilalba are in a modern annex that has been built in the style of a typical Galician palace. The restaurant and bar are also found in this modern building.
Something special
Atmospheric tower rooms