Salamanca is known as «La Dorada», the golden city; because the houses are made from sandstone that appears to glow. The locals from Salamanca speak Castilianisan – perfect Spanish. The initial Spanish grammar came from here, and Salamanca is still 'the Center' to learn proper Spanish. You are in the best hands here, 50 000 of the 130 000 inhabitants are students at a university – and as you can imagine they generate a lively nightlife.
Salamanca provides all the facilities that you are used to in a big city, and is small enough to have the ambience of a small country town. The Plaza Mayor is known to be the most beautiful place in Spain and is the center of the very well preserved, original city remains that has been classified by UNESCO as being part of the World Cultural Inheritance List.
In addition, Salamanca is a great starting point for excursions to the mountains close by or if you would like a change, to see something else, Madrid (2.5h) and Portugal (1h) are not far away.
As far as festivals go, the Féria de San Mateo in September is a very colourful and eventful two week spectacular festival with concerts, parades, exhibitions, bullfights and markets.