Live cameras in Ávila, Spain

Ávila stands on a rocky rise above the Adaja river in Castile and León, at about 1,132 meters above sea level, which makes it the highest provincial capital in Spain. About 59,000 people live here, roughly a hundred kilometers northwest of Madrid. The city is famous for its medieval walls, begun in 1090 and still complete: about two and a half kilometers of granite ramparts with 88 round towers and nine gates, and visitors can walk along a large part of the top. Inside lie the fortress-like cathedral, churches and noble palaces. Ávila is also the birthplace of Saint Teresa of Ávila, the sixteenth-century mystic and reformer, and convents linked to her life are scattered around town. The old city and its churches outside the walls form a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

About the cameras

Ávila's cameras are operated by the DGT, and each sends a new still frame every few minutes. The roads around the city link it to Madrid, Salamanca and the mountains to the south: the AP-51 toll road toward the AP-6 and Madrid, the A-50 toward Salamanca, and national roads such as the N-110 and the N-403. Given the altitude, these views are often most useful in winter, when snow, frost and ice can affect the roads, and the DGT may limit traffic on higher stretches.

Ávila keeps Central European Time. Winters are cold, with January averaging just above freezing and snow arriving on several days most years, while summers are warm and dry with cool nights. The late Spanish clock means winter mornings stay dark until about half past eight, and summer evenings stay light until about ten.

• Winter mornings: frost and occasional snow on the roads
• October: the Fiestas de Santa Teresa, around October 15
• Evening: the walls are floodlit after dark

Nearby, the Cuatro Postes viewpoint, just across the river on the road to Salamanca, offers the classic view of the entire walled city, and the Sierra de Gredos rises to the south with peaks over two thousand meters.

Sources: Ávila, Spain - Wikipedia · Old Town of Ávila - UNESCO World Heritage Centre · DGT infocar traffic information (Spain).