What you can see on the Tordesillas webcam
From an upper floor, the camera looks across the Plaza Mayor: the stone paving laid out in a grid, the arcades on stone columns that run round the square, the yellow façades with rows of balconies above, and café terraces under white umbrellas. It shows how lively the square is and how the sun and shade move across it, and the town's name is written in the corner of the picture.
The arcaded Plaza Mayor of Tordesillas, live
The town council's tourist office streams this camera from an upper floor on one side of the Plaza Mayor. It looks across the square's grey stone paving, laid out in a grid, to the far sides, where two-storey houses painted yellow stand on arcades of stone columns, with wooden balconies and shutters above and café terraces under white umbrellas below.
It is a live video, so it shows the life of the square as it happens: people crossing to the shops under the arcades, vans making deliveries, the terraces filling in the evening. In the afternoon the near half of the square lies in shadow while the far side is in full sun. The name of the square is printed in the corner of the picture.
The treaty and the queen
The Treaty of Tordesillas was signed on 7 June 1494; tradition places the negotiations in the Casas del Tratado, two joined palaces that now hold a museum about it. A few years later the town became a royal prison: Queen Joanna of Castile, known as Joanna the Mad, mother of the Emperor Charles V, was confined here from 1509 until her death in 1555. The Plaza Mayor took its present shape in the 17th century, a perfect square entered by four streets and lined with arcades and two-storey houses, whose large balconies were designed for watching festivals; the town hall stands in it.
When to watch Tordesillas
Spain is one hour ahead of the UK and Ireland. At 704 m (2,310 ft) on the Castilian plateau, Tordesillas has hot summer days, cool nights and cold winters, when fog often lies over the Duero valley. In the afternoon the near side of the square falls into shade while the far side is in full sun. On the Wednesday of Holy Week, a night procession, the Encuentro Doloroso, takes place in the Plaza Mayor.
Around Tordesillas
The Royal Convent of Santa Clara began as a Mudéjar palace built in 1340 by Alfonso XI, and its patio and chapels can be seen on guided visits. A medieval bridge of ten pointed arches crosses the Duero below the town, and the vineyards of Rueda, known for their white wines, start just to the south.
Getting to Tordesillas
Madrid is about 113 miles (182 km) away by motorway. Coming off the ferry, Santander is about 150 miles (240 km) away and Bilbao a little further, both as the crow flies; Tordesillas makes an easy first night on the way to Salamanca, Portugal or the south.
