Aragon Guide

Aljaferia Castle, Zaragoza City - Muslim Spain makes its mark at the Aljafería, the country's finest Muslim-era edifice outside Andalucía. The Aljaferia was built as a pleasure palace for Zaragoza's Muslim rulers in the 11th century. From the 12th century Zaragoza's Christian rulers made alterations, and in the 1490s ...

Destinations in the Aragonese Pyrenees - Ainsa & Boltana. Ainsa is the historic capital of the Sobrarbe region. Located between the Ara and Cinca rivers, points the access to Broto and Bielsa valleys. Ainsa main square is one of the biggest and well conservated of Spain. Boltana is located 7 kilometres from ...

Loarre Castle, Loarre, Aragonese Pyrenees - Loarre is the most important Romanesque fortress in Spain. It lies in the Sierra de Gratal, an isolated region nestled deep within the foothills of the Pyrenees. The name Loarre is believed to be a derivative from ancient Iberic meaning rocky castle or fortress. Today, the earliest visible ...

Mihrab (prayer room), Zaragoza City - Also opening off the northern porch is a small, octagonal oratorio (prayer room), with a magnificent horseshoe-arched doorway leading into its mihrab (prayer niche indicating the direction of Mecca). The finely chiselled floral motifs, Arabic inscriptions from the Quran and pleasingly simple ...

Patio de Santa Isabel, Zaragoza City - Inside the main gate, cross the rather dull introductory courtyard into a second, the Patio de Santa Isabel, once the central patio of the Muslim palace. Here you are confronted to north and south by the exquisite interwoven arches typical of the opulence and geometric mastery of Muslim ...

Peracense Castle, Peracense, Teruel - Overlooking the village of the same name, set on impressive cliffs is Peracense castle. It is referred to as Pietra Solez in documents dating from 1284, and one of the most magnificent military structures of all the medieval castles in Teruel and Spain. It is practically intact  and can be ...

Trasmoz castle, Zaragoza Province - Trasmoz is a small town in the region of Tarazona y el Moncayo located in the province of Zaragoza. Trasmoz castle, is known as the "Castillo de las Brujas" as it is believed that witches used it for their meetings. Becquer mentions it in some of his stories. There is an archaeological ...

Troubadour Tower, Zaragoza City - The oldest construction of the Aljaferia is called Torre del Trovador (Troubadour Tower). The tower received this name from Antonio Garcia Gutierrez’s 1836 romantic drama The Troubadour. The drama was converted into a libretto for Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Il trovatore in 1853. The ...

Zaragoza City - Zaragoza, the capital of Aragon, has all the attractions of a modern, populous city with excellent avenues, such as that of Independencia, Sagasta, Gran Via and squares, such as that of Paraiso, Los Sitios... The Zaragoza's appeal lies in the fact that it has been left relatively untouched by ...