Rock paintings have been discovered and artefacts found include everyday pottery, tools, and gold and silver jewellery.

In the Iron Age, Celtic tribes built forts surrounded by moats but they were pastoral people, living in small villages, and did not build cities.

These include a twelfth century Romanesque cathedral, many other churches, city walls, ancient houses and a castle.

The Parador was the home of Ferdinand II of León who died here while returning from a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.

The Parador occupies the Caracol Tower, a sixteenth-century castle, part of the former walled enclosure of the town.

[9] The ancient town of Toro lies beside the Duero 39 km (24 mi) to the east of Zamora.

Ferdinand III of Castile was crowned King of León in the town in 1230 and his wife Elisabeth of Swabia (Beatriz) died here.

[11] Fermoselle is a medieval village located on the border with Portugal and on the edge of the Arribes del Duero Natural Park.

[13] The lagoons are home to numerous species of birds, and this is the second largest wetland reserve in Spain after Doñana National Park.