Route: Seville to Oviedo, in western Spain
Length: 800 kilometers
Time requirement: one week
The first great road builders in Europe were the Romans, who covered their empire with fortified roads 2000 years ago. After the fall of the Romans, the paths were used, restored and extended in the following centuries. Many of today's roads follow the paths on which Roman legionnaires once walked through the country. One such former Roman road is the so-called "Ruta de la Plata", the silver road that runs through the whole of western Spain. The journey begins in Seville, where Christopher Columbus, the world explorer, is buried in the cathedral and continues to the Atlantic coast in Oviedo. In addition to Roman excavation sites and Romanesque buildings, the town of Salamanca is a special highlight on the 800-kilometer route. And of course, the route also leads through culinary paradises: various wine regions and the home of Serrano ham.