Going to Zaragoza

Our plan was to cross Spain from the Mediterranean across to the Atlantic following the Pyrenees without getting too high into the mountains which at this time of year were beginning to get snowy and cold.

The first major stop on this route was the city of Zaragoza, the capital of Aragon and the fifth most populous city in Spain. But first we stopped over in the small hill town of Cardona.

We were here to cut up the drive but also because of the castle on the hill and the medieval streets of the old town. The castle has been part converted into a luxury hotel but this has also meant that that the rest of the buildings have been restored as well – a good public/private partnership!

We moved on to Zaragoza from here to the large dedicated free motorhome parking area near the university. This is right opposite a tram stop so it’s really convenient to get into the centre of town.

After a 10 minute tram ride we got off at the central city and walked into the large Plaza del Pilar. To one side of this is the massive Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Pilar and at one end the incredibly impressive Cathedral of the Saviour or La Seo de Zaragoza.

We spent some time in the Basilica, taking the lift to the top of one of the towers where there are great views across the city.

The inside of this cathedral is enormous and it is split into lots of different areas where services can be carried out independent of what is happening elsewhere in the building.

After this we went over to La Seo which has paid entry. The outside of this church is less impressive although it is a mix of mudejar (a mix of Jewish, Christian and Muslim created by Muslims who remained behind after Christians reconquered the Iberian peninsula) and gothic styles.

Inside there are 15 chapels around the outside of a large wooden choir and main altar which are very ornate.  Each of the chapels is different to the next and are dedicated to different saints.

All of this culture was hungry and thirsty work so it’s a good thing that Zaragoza is considered the most happening city for Tapas in Spain.

Tapas in Zaragoza is a bit different to how it works in the tapas restaurants we’re more familiar with at home. It is considered more of a snack and an accompaniment to drinking and bars have rows of Tapas dishes on their counters (as well as hot dishes that you can order separately). You pick your Tapas dishes and buy your drinks and then find somewhere to sit, perch or stand and the food gets brought out to you.

To make the most of our short time in Zaragoza we decided to food crawl through the buzzy El Tubo area of town where there is a huge concentration of bars. We had 3 or 4 different dishes between us in each bar, all washed down with a cool beer.  Each of the Tapas dishes cost around €3 so it’s really good value and you can have a filling lunch for a really reasonable price.

Some of the real highlights were the iberico ham (of course),  crispy pork crackling and the Angulas eels (known as elvers in the UK).

We had such a fun time in Zaragoza that we decided to stay a little longer.  There is plenty to do and the previous day we had missed out on a major attraction, so we headed for the Aljaferia Palace first thing. This meant a tram ride followed by a bus but it was an easy journey, the public transport in Zaragoza is really good.

The Aljaferia Palace is a fortified medieval palace that was built in the 11 century for the Islamic rulers of Zaragoza. The palace passed into Christian hands in 1118 and was expanded in the 15^th century. Since 1987 it has been the seat of Aragon’s regional parliament.

The intricate Moorish architecture of the building is amazing and many of the brightly painted ceilings are still intact today. However the walls are mostly bare as they would have been hung with tapestries.

After touring around the Aljaferia Palace we headed back to the El Tubo part of town for another Tapas crawl where we ate as well, if not better than the day before. Zaragoza is a great city which flies under the radar.

It would be a great place for a weekend away of sightseeing, eating and drinking without the massive crowds of cities like Barcelona.