Parador de Villafranca del Bierzo Antonio Pereira Restaurante Mencia

#Ancient towns and villages worth visiting The Bierzo area in León Province in northwestern Spain is a region where culture and nature are compatible. According to incomplete statistics, there are more than 400 castles, some of which have been converted into hotels and restaurants. There are scattered ancient towns, monasteries, vineyards and farms. 📌Villafranca del Bierzo Translated as Frank Village or Bierzo Free Town, it can be reached by driving west from Ponferrada for half an hour. It is one of the core towns in the Bierzo production area. ⛪️There are several churches and monasteries built in the Middle Ages in the town. The Iglesia de San Francisco on the top of the mountain retains the ancient wood-carved mosaic dome, which is particularly beautiful and elegant. This is also a good viewing point to overlook the scenery of the town. 💃The 19th-century theater (Teatro Villafranquino) in the town is the cultural center of the town and is still in use. ☕️Villafranca del Bierzo Parador State-owned Castle Hotel is also an ideal viewing spot. You can order a cup of coffee, sit on a bench, and stare at the scenery of the ancient town. 🍇 Cantariña vinos de familia winery. From the town, along the Camino de Santiago, stroll a few kilometers to the vineyards of Cantariña Winery. You can look at the large vineyards while tasting wine with local cheese. I drank the particularly pure local white grape variety Godello and the very elegant Mencía. The winery's red wine is blended with 90% Mencía and 10% Palomino, a white grape variety commonly used to make sherry, so it has a more delicate and light feeling. 📌 Canedo Palace Driving more than ten kilometers northeast, we arrived at the Palacio de Canedo, a cultural monument in Arganzo with a history of at least 300 years. The entire building retains a strong medieval style, with hotels, restaurants, wineries, chestnut, sweet pepper and other local products processing, shops, and ancient vineyards on the slopes of the valley surrounding the castle. You can take a battery car to wander in the vineyard. There are not many rooms in the hotel, especially medieval style. If you have time, you can stay here for a night or two to fully experience the medieval pastoral life. 💡La Fábrica de Luz Energy Museum Before returning to Ponferrada, you can visit the Energy Museum converted from a thermal power plant that operated from 1920 to 1971. Today, it is an exhibition hall and cultural center, as well as a green botanical garden, to experience the transformation from polluting industry to clean energy life.

Such a good dinner - the chef was on sparkling form. Generous portions. Delicious wines. Such a treat to be served so professionally too. This is a great place for great food.

Pro. Excellent local quality product, beautidully presented and mouth watering home made desertsCons. Lack of ambience/outdoor terrace, too new for a parador and a bit overprized opposed to other places in the village

Everything was perfect, from the attention of the workers to the products and their presentation. Paradores is a guarantee of quality and satisfaction. We will come back!

Family dinner and everything was very good, the service was a little slow due to lack of staff, but the important thing was the food, very good.