As with Burgos, León is organized around a central Gothic cathedral, which stands out for its nearly 19,000 square feet of kaleidoscopic stained-glass windows.
The city’s designated official viewing point, the parking lot of the convention center, is a little less lofty than the cathedral, but it will be an excellent spot to experience the 1 minute 49 seconds of darkness. Professional astronomers from the European Space Agency and amateur spectators will gather at 7:33 p.m. on Aug. 12 to look up (with the appropriate safety glasses, of course). One of them, the historian Xuasús González, 45, has been eagerly waiting for this eclipse since 1995, when he learned about it in high school. He hopes astronomy will be a catalyst for tourism in an often overlooked region.