San Nicolás del Real Camino

San Nicolas del Real Camino is a small village in the province of Palencia, the last one before the Camino Frances crosses the River Cea into the province of Leon. It is a quiet adobe hamlet on the flat meseta with a population of barely more than fifty.

The village takes its name from the medieval Hospital of Saint Nicholas, a pilgrim hospital that once stood here, and from its position on the Camino Real, the royal road that connected the meseta towns. The parish church of San Nicolas de Bari preserves a medieval image of the saint. Beyond that there is little monumental heritage. The village is included in the route guides because it is one of the few inhabited stops on this stretch.

Services are very limited. There is one main pilgrim albergue with a small bar-restaurant attached. There is no shop, no pharmacy, no ATM, and no medical service.