Valladolid is an enchanted location – take advantage of your time at the Conference to visit one of Spain’s most charming cities A city located in the northeast of the country, Valladolid is the capital of the province of the same name. It serves as the headquarters of the provincial tribunals, and of the Governing Council of the Autonomous Community of Castile-Leon. According to the 2012 census, the city has a population of 311,501 inhabitants. It is Spain’s 13th most populated city and the biggest of north-eastern Spain. Although there are remains of settlements from the early Palaeolithic period, along with Vacceo and late-Roman archaeological sites in the area, Valladolid did not have a stable population until the resettlement of the Douro basin, when Alfonso VI granted a lordship to Count Pedro Ansúrez in 1072. Throughout the Middle Ages the city was the headquarters of the Court of Castile, and was provided with fairs and Royal Laws, along with different institutions such as a Collegiate Church, university, Royal Court and Chancellery and mint. King Charles I preferred Valladolid as his political capital, and it later served as the capital of Imperial Spain from 1601 to1606, until that function was definitively moved to Madrid. At that point the city entered into a period of decline that it only emerged from with the arrival of the train and the growth of the grain sector in the 19th century, augmented by industrialisation in the 20th century. The Valladolid historic centre has preserved a complex of palaces, noble homes, churches, squares, avenues and parks, along with a collection of museums highlighted by the National Museum of Sculpture, the Patio Herreriano Contemporary Art Museum and the Oriental Museum, along with the museum-homes of José Zorrilla and Cervantes. Valladolid’s strategic location and transportation system, including an extensive motorway network, high-speed train (AVE), airport, and its status as the logistical centre of the future European Atlantic Corridor, have helped the city to become the main industrial centre of Castile and Leon, and one of the most important in northern Spain. In April of 2013, Valladolid won the Reina Sofia Award for Accessibility for Municipalities, thanks to its efforts towards the integration, normalisation and active participation of all citizens, regardless of their physical capacity. Links of interest: Tourism Province of Valladolid Stendart City Guides Vallatapas