Redecilla del Camino

Redecilla del Camino is the first village in Castilla y León on the Francés, and it makes a good first impression. In the 12th century, two pilgrim hospices operated here — one of them, San Lázaro, lends its name to the current municipal albergue, which has around 50 beds.

The star attraction is inside the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Calle: a Romanesque baptismal font dating to the late 12th century. It's an extraordinary piece of carving — a large stone basin in the shape of a lobed cup, decorated with an intricate representation of a fortified city across four stories, complete with eight semicircular towers, arched windows, and triangular roofs. Most scholars believe it represents the Heavenly Jerusalem, a theme drawn from Jewish tradition that was deeply influential in medieval art. It's considered one of the finest Romanesque baptismal fonts in the province of Burgos, and reason enough to step inside.

The village is small — well under 200 people — but has a bar-restaurant, a small store in the bar, and a tourist information office, which is remarkable for a town this size but easily explained by its location on the route.