Unless you are driving to Portugal from Spain you would probably not find any reason to go to Badajoz, the city. Scene to many a bloody battle from being wrested from the Moors in 1230 by Alfonso IX and his Chrsitian soldiers to the Duke of Wellington losing almost 5,000 troops to French resistance in 1812 and to being overrun by Franco’s troops in 1936 none of its Roman or Moorish heritage can be found instead you’ll find pretty non-descript housing estates scattered around in no particular order.
As becomes evident from traveling around, agriculture is a mainstay of the province, particularly cork and olive. Tourism is slowly becoming more important hence the refreshing lack of tourists and the reasonable prices of services.
The proximity to Portugal is most evident in the border towns specially Olivenza where the facades giving onto the Plaza Mayor are decorated in the Portuguese Manueline style and befitting to age-old protection needs there are remnants of numerous fortifications.
Towards the border with Andalucia, the town of Zafra boasts one of Spain’s most beautiful paradors, Alcázar de los Duques de Feria remarkable for its white marble Renaissance patio designed by Juan de Herrera. Very close by you’ll find the Plaza Mayor with its whitewashed arcades, it actually consists of 2 plazas; the 18th Century Plaza Grande and the quaint 16th Century Plaza Chica.
