Torre del Bujaco

The Torre del Bujaco is the most visible and visited of Cáceres's medieval towers, standing at the corner of the old city walls overlooking the Plaza Mayor. It is a solid square Almohad tower built in the twelfth century, with walls two metres thick and a flat top that offers the best elevated view of both the old city and the plaza below.

Climb to the top via a narrow interior staircase to look out over the terracotta rooftops of the Ciudad Monumental — storks visible on almost every tower and church — and down into the busy plaza where the cafes have been operating since at least the seventeenth century. The view alone is worth the modest entry fee.

The tower stands next to the Ermita de la Paz (Hermitage of Peace), a small Renaissance chapel built into the city walls, and opposite the bronze statue of San Pedro de Alcántara that marks the beginning of the walk into the old town.

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A story
The name "Bujaco" is thought to derive from Abu Jacob, a Moorish king said to have built or occupied the tower in the twelfth century. Local tradition in Cáceres holds that the tower was used as a lookout and signalling post during the wars between the Moorish taifa kingdoms, and that it changed hands several times before the Christian reconquest in 1229. The tower has been used as a prison, a granary, and a watchtower at various points in its history.