This was a seven week road trip that would result in an impossibly long single piece so, as with other long trips, for convenience it has been divided into eight separate posts. The several Parts are being published, in order, at regular intervals.
Part 1: Prelude, Structure of the Trip and Practicalities
Part 2: Catalonia (Aiguablava) and Madrid
Part 4: Cuenca and Teruel
Part 7: The North West: Puebla de Sanabria, Cambados and Pontevedra
Part 8: The North West: Ferrol, Santiago de Compostela and Heading Home
CUENCA
Length of Stay: 3 Nights
On the Road: Toledo to Cuenca
The driving distance by autopista is around 180 kilometres (110 miles). Don’t do that, for the joy here is driving through the rolling rural landscape of the Meseta Central, stopping where you will to drink it in. Our companions on these wanderings were a good quality road atlas and this excellent website https://www.spain.info/en/query/autonomous-regions-spain/. If you drill down in the website from this page to the provinces within the relevant autonomous region (the latter being Spain’s main administrative areas) you reach an interactive map showing any potentially interesting sights. They may be historical cities, monasteries and castles, beautiful parks and gardens, sleepy ancient towns or national parks. So our journey took us through the provinces of Toledo and Cuenca within the autonomous region of Castilla-La Mancha and a day of gentle landscapes populated with hedgerows that were a blitz of red, purple, yellow and white flowers with poppies extending their redness more widely into the surrounding wheat fields. With stops for refreshment in the roadside cafés (covered in Part 1) we wheeled up the narrow streets of the old city section of Cuenca to our hotel by mid-afternoon.
The City of Cuenca
Superficially Cuenca shares similarities with Toledo. An old city set on a bluff around which curl (in this case) two rivers creating gorges, it shares a role as a tourist draw with Toledo. About an hour from Madrid by train, this is also a city accessible for day trips and weekenders. Its historic Casas Colgadas (Hanging Houses) are the main attraction but its lofty location and compact old town make it a special place to come. Crouched atop its high narrow bluff, the old city is much smaller than that in Toledo. Its encircling gorges are deeper and its ancient buildings less overtly striking than their Toledano counterparts. And the modern city sprawls away south on the other side of the river at the base of the bluff rather than spreading north from the walls. And at 946 metres (3,100 feet) Cuenca is a puff-inducing 420 metres (1,400 feet) higher than Toledo.
For us the sheer height of the bluff and the steepness of its sides (and its streets) militated in favour of choosing a hotel on the bluff in the heart of the old city close to the main square, the Plaza Mayor, rather than the Parador in its converted monastery which sits on its own (lower) bluff across the narrow valley from the old city.
Our visit crossed a weekend (when the city is busy and the restaurants crowded) and a Monday (when the city was quiet and not all the restaurants open). As a slow traveller I valued the quiet and, if that is your preference, I would suggest a visit during the first four days of the week.
Places Visited and Activities
Tren Touristico (The Tourist Train)
https://trenturisticocuenca.com/en/
A sibling of the one in Toledo, this ‘train’ shares all the same characteristics of that one. It shared another trait which was that the constraints of old city topography means it cannot negotiate any but a few of the maze of steep narrow streets. It spends quite a bit of its time in the lower, modern city and you have to crane your neck looking upward to look at the older buildings on the cliff-like slopes. The website allows pre-booking of tickets but is in a muddle of Spanish and English that is not always easy to follow through. The ’train’ leaves from the old town’s Plaza Mayor, so it was gentle stroll down from our hotel.
Walking the Old City and Using the Local Bus
At the risk of repetition this old city is small but the streets and alleyways are ever so steep. We deliberately based ourselves at the top of the old town, a bare 100 metres up the road from the Plaza Mayor. In that square, tucked just behind the arched entrance ways on the southern point of the triangular space, is the town’s tourist office whose staff we found to be helpful and the source of one of those tourist maps that turns out to be a very useful tool for those doing their own strolls around a city with a weave of narrow alleyways and streets, some of which are step-streets to accommodate the changes in height on the bluff. I found that this was one of those places that I preferred to enjoy from the wanderings rather than visits to the key sites (the cathedral that dates back to the Norman era, the hanging houses, of which only three remain, and the vertigo-inducing bridges). The lived-in city comes to the fore when you just peel away from the main street that winds up from the newer parts of the city: here the washing hanging from a balcony to dry, there the woman trailing through the small park with the children, boisterous and recalcitrant in equal measure.
There is a public bus route (L1/L2) that runs along the main street of the Old City – see this website with its interactive map https://transviago.com/lineas-urbanas-cuenca/. We found this bus quite useful as you can get from the Plaza Mayor up the hill to the northern gate to the city (Arco de Bezudo) and the viewing points by the car parking area beyond (where the bus terminates). Otherwise this would be an uphill walk of about 750 metres. There are also some cafes on Calle Larga opposite the terminus bus stop, so some striking views down across the old city, taking in the Casas Colgadas, can be combined with a break before you catch the bus for the return trip. The bus also heads down the hill to the heart of the newer city at Plaza de la Constitución. Here are a range of city centre shops (not tourist-orientated ones) in a pedestrian street and more local eating places. Here also there is flatter ground and, if you feel like a stroll, Parque de San Julian, actually no more than a large square, but a peaceful alternative for a quiet time.
Mobility Access
Whilst there are some flatter areas that do not involve slopes and steps, these are limited. Even the Plaza Mayor slopes noticeably from north to south. The Parque de San Julian has solid packed gravel surfaces; no problem for walking and with benches scattered all through.
A Short Drive up the Huécar Valley
It has to be said that the gorges that carve their way north around the bluff on which the old city perches give some remarkable views. This drive, a total of no more than about 25 kilometres (15 miles), needs and should be taken slowly, with frequent stops to admire the views down the gorge through the woods. I say ‘needs’ because the road winds extensively and is quite narrow in parts. If you head out up the hill through the old city walls at Arco de Bezudo at the north end of the old city and head out along the road cut into the heights of the gorge, it winds around the slopes before dropping down to the Rio Huécar where the road joins the main road up the valley from the city, CUV-9144. If you turn down the valley towards the city you can, after just over two kilometres (1.2 miles), turn up a side road on the left that heads up the other side of the valley. Coming from this direction it is only marked by a small sign set back from the road that says ‘Pista Forestal’. This road can be followed all the way up to the Mirador Cerro del Socorro (where the square stone column topped by the figure of Christ sits high above the city). We didn’t make it all the way. The Mirador Rincón Seco (a literal translation is the Dry Corner Viewpoint) is less than halfway and, with its parking area just off the road, gave us its own view down the gorge to the old city. As you have to retrace your steps to get back to the main road down the gorge no matter how far up the road you go, we felt enough was sufficient by that stage.
This gentle drive was elegantly finished by taking tea and coffee in the courtyard of the Cuenca Parador. If you are not staying (and we did not) the ancient monastery of San Pablo now houses the Parador and is a peaceful place for a stop, although you can only see the old city and the Casas Colgadas from the terrace outside the hotel where there are no places to sit.
Mobility Access
Not an issue – it is a drive, but you need your own car. In the Parador the surfaces are flat and paved and the terrace outside is the same.
Getting Around
If walking around the old city is difficult, given limited capacity to do so then my suggestion is to use the L1 or L2 bus line and, if venturing further into the newer part of the city, using local taxis. Moving using your car is not a clever idea as the streets the locals find their way along seem unfeasibly narrow to me and there is virtually nowhere to park on the street. There is a large car park dug into the rock of the bluff on the main street part way up the hill to the Plaza Mayor, but it is still 400 metres uphill to reach that square. The alternative is the car park area beside viewing terraces at the top of the old city where the L1/L2 bus terminates.
Hotel
Convento do Giraldo (https://www.hotelconventodelgiraldo.com/en/) is in the heart of the old city which explains why we chose it over the Parador, despite the latter’s location in that glorious old building just across the Rio Huécar from the old city. The Parador is linked to the old city by the pedestrian bridge, Puente de San Pablo, and in order to get to the Plaza Mayor there is a walk of 450 metres. Once you reach the other side of the vertigo-inducing bridge, it is all uphill and seriously so.
We needed to be closer and more accessible, hence our choice. It was a choice also made after establishing that, of the better-reviewed hotels near Plaza Mayor, it critically had a lift to the upper floors, which others we considered did not. Locationally this worked extremely well for us and our room was a spacious high-ceilinged corner room with views down across the rooftops of the old city. The room décor style is old-fashioned but comfortable. By contrast the reception area and the restaurant and bar area, which feed out into an adjacent courtyard, have a more modern feel. What let the hotel down, for us, was the attitude of the staff and thus the service. We arrived to find the car parking space on offer by the hotel, which we had booked at the same time as the room, was no longer available. In telling us, we felt without a sense of apology, that the policy had changed and we now had to take pot-luck in the small public car park up the street, the question of why we had not been notified of this change did not seem to be one that troubled the receptionist. Thereafter there was no sense of engagement from the person at reception at all: no greeting and a perfunctory approach to queries. The staff in the bar/restaurant had that faintly supercilious air that makes the guests feel like they are an interruption and the service was often slow to non-existent. On one occasion I sat at a table in the courtyard (well within view of the staff manning the restaurant/bar) for over an hour (I was writing) and no-one approached me or, as far as I could tell, looked in my direction. On this occasion I was fine with being left in peace, but…
Mobility Access
With access direct from the street, smooth stone and wood floors, a lift and only the odd step between levels there were no concerns with the hotel. The public car park the hotel uses (Parking Calle San Pedro) is in a building on the same street about 150 metres up the hill so be aware of that and of the fact that the car park fills up by mid-morning, thinning out later in the day. We were able to get a space in the car park when we needed.
Eating Out
We ate in the hotel one evening and the food was fine if unexciting and the service was better than on other occasions. Otherwise we ate out, including breakfast after we found Melatte (https://www.melatte.coffee) down in the newer part of the city on a crossroads on the main, pedestrianised street, Calle Carretería. The café reflected a more modern sensibility in both style and menu with that menu extending beyond breakfast pastries to pancakes and waffles and on to bagels and, a joy for us, granola and acai bowls. An enthusiastic staff and a well-organised space meant we took the trip down by bus or car each morning. The website is in Spanish only and seems thin, but the key elements of menu (Ver Carta) and directions (Vienes?) are there.
Mobility Access
No issues within, it is all on one level with a step up from the street, Outside the streets are flat and paved and with pedestrian priority. Assuming you come by bus or have arrived by car, and been dropped off, you reach the café with a walk of about 125 metres.
We took a first night dinner at San Nicolas Asador (https://www.asadorsannicolas.com/index.html), just across the street from the hotel. Asador means a spit, so the classic roast suckling pig is the speciality here along with a strongly meat-orientated menu which will send vegetarians off in the directions of omelettes and pizzas. There was nothing obvious for vegans. It was very quiet on the Saturday night we went – that meant peaceful to us. Very much a place with an informal, friendly feel as far as service was concerned. No English on the website or on the menu so go armed with your dictionary or Google Translate (although the latter does not always get the nuances of ingredients or methods of cooking).
Mobility Access
The restaurant is up a flight of stairs from the street but otherwise no issues. For warmer weather there is an outside terrace just along a short alleyway at the back of the building.
At Tomates Verdes Fritos (https://www.restaurantetomatesverdesfritos.com) vegetarian and vegan options are not a problem. They form the bulk of the dishes on the Menu Tomates and they were straightforward, well-prepared dishes when we had a late lunch there one day. We found the restaurant online because we were looking for vegetarian options in the city. It sits in a light, slightly distressed, slightly wackily decorated shopfront premises about 150 metres up a side street from Melatte.
Mobility Access
All at street level so no issues with the premises. The nearest bus stops are about 250-300 metres away but the streets are relatively flat and well-paved. There are a couple of public parking areas within the same sort of distances. On street parking requires payment and it is not easy to find spare spaces.
TERUEL
Length of Stay: 4 Nights
On the Road: Cuenca to Teruel
By the main road this was a short drive of only 150 kilometres (93 miles). Taking the long and winding road through the mountainous Parque Natural de la Serranía de Cuenca, past the medieval walled town of Albarracín then across the wide plain to Teruel it turned into a leisurely meander encompassing castles, wild rock formations and a wealth of impressive scenery. The route straddles the Castilla-La Mancha province of Cuenca and, in its later stages, the Aragon province of Teruel and it was digging through the relevant sections of the official Spanish tourist information website, Turespana (https://www.spain.info/en/) that threw up some fascinating places to stop and to gawp.
Ciudad Encantada (Enchanted City)
This improbable ‘sight’ is only 30 kilometres (19 miles) out of Cuenca, so could be done on a day trip. It an area of wooded upland in a landscape with some of the most bizarre rock formations jutting out of the surrounding ground. Almost impossible to describe, it is better to look at the website to see images that let you see what to expect – https://www.ciudadencantada.es/en/home. It is a park for which an entrance fee is charged. At the entrance to the park there is a large car park and a café-cum-souvenir shop which was not open when we arrived at mid-morning. The site does draw coaches doing tours of the region, so I suspect it could get busy. When we were there on a mid-May weekday it was pretty quiet and walking round you could feel yourself alone in a strange world, one it is not surprising to find has featured as a film location for a number of movies, including a Bond film.
Mobility Access
There is a designated walking route around the park you should follow and it is 3 kilometres (1.9 miles) long. Whilst the path is largely packed earth it is far from flat and in some places uses flights of wooden steps to move between levels. Parts can also get very damp, even if the day’s weather is dry, making it a touch slippery in one or two places. There are a few benches that can be used for rests round the trail.
Those with mobility constraints would not be able to manage the walk round the whole route but those with some walking capacity may be able to walk the relatively smooth flat path to the first and most striking of the formations (around 200 metres). It is then about 120 metres to the next formation which is where the path peels off to begin its circular route. You just need enough capacity left to walk back up the path to the exit. It is up to you whether you feel the entrance fee (€6 at the time of writing) is worth it. We did.
Beyond the Ciudad Encantada the varied scenery of the drive only permitted stops for gazing and photographing, notably at Uña with its 13th century historic quarter, lagoon and small gorge. Later we were crossing the broad open plain when we saw, in the distance, the tailfins of several BA planes and then some from Lufthansa and then others – over fifty planes. This strange modern sight was of Teruel Airport. This was not some destination airport we had been unaware of but a private maintenance and repair facility whence airlines must send their planes to be kept in the clear, dry climatic conditions. A bizarre modern contrast to all that had gone before.
The City of Teruel
This provincial capital, a city of around 36,000 people, has none of the cachet of our previous two stopping points but it was, in fact, a hidden gem as far as we were concerned. Its renown lies in the wealth of Mudejar architecture in the walled old city, recognised on UNESCO’s World Heritage List – https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/378/. It lacks the striking position in the landscape enjoyed by the previous two cities we had visited but it shares both that walled old city and a location atop a hillside overlooking a river (Rio Turia) and, like them, it is high at 915 metres (3,000 feet) above sea level. It also has much more of a local feel than Toledo or Cuenca. Yes, there are tourists but they are relatively few and, on the streets, it is locals who predominate. The city, old and new, reflects that difference. Here the newer city feels more integrated, flows into and away from, the old city. The more recent buildings encroach from west and south having long subsumed the old city walls, which now only run around part of the old city.
Places Visited and Activities
Walking the Old City
There is still an ancient heart here and the vibrant Mudejar architecture gives that old city a real distinction. The essence of that architecture, visually, is in the four Mudejar towers that are linked to their accompanying churches – https://www.spain.info/en/destination/teruel/. As elsewhere, the old centre is not large and it is another place that rewards walking, not just through the striking sights but also the backstreets where older buildings are being re-purposed or replaced for more prosaic purposes than the elegant religious ones. There is a very good tourist office just off the pedestrian street, Calle Ramon y Cajal near the main square, Plaza del Torico. It is down an alley in a small square enclosed by buildings, Plaza Amantes where one of the Mudejar towers, Torre de San Pedro, lords it over the late twentieth century offices around. If you can find your way there, they have a clear map of the old city (and the new) that is a useful companion on your wandering.
Whilst not completely aimless, my wandering took me outside the city walls to the north-east into the midst of a market, a truly local market with stalls of clothing, fruit, vegetables, meat, every conceivable variety of olives and, at the end, a mini-garden centre where the locals were queuing to get their hands on potted flowers and herbs. At the bottom of the slope on which the market is laid out, a fifteenth century combined aqueduct and viaduct, Los Arcos, looms over the market and the roads that run through its arches at two different levels. You can walk across the viaduct and turn to view the structure and the old city walls from the far side. If you then amble back into the old city, you can pick up the other Mudejar towers en route back to the Plaza del Torico, where there are several cafés/restaurants with outdoor tables for that rest and drink.
Mobility Access
Teruel’s old city, whilst not flat, has ground that drops gently from the south side around Plaza San Juan (and its car park) then rises slowly up to Plaza del Torico and on up to the gates out to the north-east. This means it can be much easier walking for those with limitations than Toledo or Cuenca. Many of the streets are paved with no medieval cobble-like stones. There are plenty of stopping places (seats and low stone walls) and because the city is so much less of a tourist centre than Toledo and Cuenca, the streets feel less crammed, the cafés less busy – at least in mid-May. All this assumes a car has been used to reach the nearest dropping off points to the Plaza del Torico.
Cathedral (Catedral de Santa María de Mediavilla)
With its resplendent Mudejar exterior and a grand interior, this cathedral is well worth stepping into (there is an entry fee of €6 at the time of writing). For me the enjoyable aspect was the variety in the ceilings within the building; some plain, austere and somehow calm, others a riot of decorative arts such as in the wooden Mudejar ceiling and the almost overwhelming Baroque cupola. High up in the nave is a balcony running down both sides which is accessible up a long flight of steps. I was not able to reach the balcony and you may have to take a tour to do so. Whilst I was there a foghorn-voiced tour guide was leading a group up there, her amplified voice harshly cutting through the usual peace and quiet you can find in these places of worship. Below the ceilings and balconies, the religious art of the rood screen and the many chapels is a bit overwhelming for me after a while, so I left to sit outside in the tranquil square, Plaza Venerable Francés de Aranda. A few steps away from the public entrance to the cathedral is a small museum of sacred art (included in the cathedral entry ticket) which I did not visit. Note that the public entrance to the cathedral is not, as you would expect, in the Plaza de la Catedral but on the other side of the building up an arched passageway over which the Mudejar cathedral tower is built. As with many Spanish buildings open to tourists the cathedral is closed across the lunch and siesta period. The diocese’s own website sets out the current opening hours only in Spanish, but I hope the words Horas Turístico should be clear – https://www.diocesisdeteruel.org/catedral-de-teruel/.
Mobility Access
Unless you want to find a way to reach the balcony above the nave, all is straightforward inside. The pews and chairs provide plentiful resting spots as needed. The plazas and streets around the cathedral are, to all intents and purposes, pedestrianised but if you have reached Plaza del Torico then the entrance is only around 200 metres along flat, paved streets from there. There are a few benches in the Plaza Venerable Francés de Aranda, an attractive, peaceful place to rest if needed.
A Walk to Parque de los Fueros
There are two pedestrian bridges with worthwhile views across parts of the city. Los Arcos viaduct, mentioned above, is one. The other, a more modern (and higher and longer) beast, Viaducto de Fernando Hué, is at the opposite (south) end of the old city. Built in the 1920s it has a series of entertaining decorative flourishes. It has now been supplanted as the carrier of road traffic by a more recent companion to the east, so it has been repurposed as a broad pedestrian walkway. Its 200 metre length links the old city to an adjacent bluff where there is an area of the city with a very different feel to the narrow streets and ancient stones of the old city. Here you are in a tree-speckled tiny suburb of large, detached houses and small apartment blocks surrounding two parks. One, Parque Fernando Hué, is barely more than a long, narrow square at the west end of which is a viewpoint, Rincón del Beso, that looks north to the old city and west across the wooded river valley within which sprawls the railway. The other is a surprise. As you stroll into Parque de los Fueros it looks like an elegant tree lined park, but as you wander across the park you discover a deep declivity at the bottom of which sits an extensive playpark and tennis courts. Below young schoolchildren are enjoying the former with characteristic, unaffected enjoyment. It was a lovely spot. Yet another pedestrian bridge built across the declivity leads to a little café.
Mobility Access
Assuming you can manage the distances (Parque de Los Fueros is about 600 metres from the Plaza San Juan and its car park) or that you can park in the quieter streets nearby, here are flat paved streets and the park has smooth, level paths, unless you want to descend to the playground in its declivity.
Tren Touristico
https://www.trenturisticoteruel.com
There is a near-inevitability that the old cities of the Meseta have a tourist ‘train’ that potters around the old city and Teruel joins the list. The website is in Spanish but very simple so should allow you to book tickets online. As so often it is a good way to give those who have mobility limitations a way to see some of the city sights.
Mobility Access
You do have to get yourself to the central square, Plaza del Torico. Taxis can take you there otherwise, leaving your car in the car park beneath Plaza San Juan gives you a walk of around 250 metres along smooth, paved streets.
Another Unusual Landscape
This has no title because I can find no name for this area. A baby sibling of the red clay rock formations that lie in the surrounding landscape, it sits off to the side of the mundanely named Avenida Conexción Barrios (loosely translated as the road that links the neighbourhoods), a modern road that loops around the north-east of the city. We stumbled on it by chance when we took a wrong turning trying to get into, or out of, the city and found ourselves looking on an area of gravel roads and paths that felt like it was being turned into a walking and biking area for recreational use. There were the beginnings of parking areas demarcated by new log wood fences that you can access from the Avenida. These are set in an almost other-worldly landscape of low, deeply-furrowed red cliffs. Fascinated, we followed our nose along the gravel roads and stopped for a short stroll under the cliffs with no-one else around. If you are passing by, a break here is an unheralded diversion.
Mobility Access
A car is assumed in giving this designation. You can get out and walk along the base of the low cliffs for as long or as short a distance as you want over graded gravel roads.
Laundromat
Lavanderia La Colada Teruel
Blissfully clean and kept so by an attendant who, whilst we were there, cleaned all the surfaces and vacuumed out the doors of the dryers. We shared the space with locals with whom we indulged in a mutual bit of eye-rolling at the person outside gratifying their nicotine fix who left their finished clothes in a dryer that others were waiting to use. Who needs a common language? As in other places a mix of coins and credit cards did the necessary by way of payment. A short walk taken outside took in a very local area of modern four-storey flats; ostensibly bland and uninteresting unless you are engaged by seeing how cities are more than just their centres and their sights.
Getting Around
We had the car and, for our forays into the old city, used the Plaza San Juan car park which seems to be the largest and most accessible for that purpose. Paying by card for parking in this type of car parks was the norm in the cities and the machines here offered an English option. We did not use any public transport or taxis, so no help can be offered there. Parking on the street in the centre is close to impossible.
Parador
https://paradores.es/en/parador-de-teruel
Set 3 kilometres (1.9 miles) out of the city this is a relatively modern building whose architectural stimulus is the Mudejar style that characterises the city. It seems to be a popular stopping point on the road south both for coach tour groups and for self-drivers heading to, and from, Valencia and the Costa Blanca. Only a few stay more than one night. It is located in its own grounds just off the main road into Teruel whose noise was, for us, effectively muffled by the intervening trees, even though our bedroom faced out towards that road. Décor is plain inside with tiled floors and white walls. Our huge suite followed suit in terms of décor and provided a large space for us to relax at any time. It had a small balcony with a distant view of the city’s Mudejar towers, a pleasant place to sit in the afternoon sun. The spacious dining room can get busy from evening meal start time as this is when the tour groups dine so, if you can, eat a little later to avoid that pressure period for the serving staff. The advertised outdoor facilities (pool, tennis court and gardens) were still in hibernation in mid-May but there is a very pleasant tree-shrouded area of fine gravel paths and low shrub hedges at the front of the Parador with a number of benches for resting.
Mobility Access
Given the building is relatively new, there are no difficulties on this score. A lift serves the upper floors. The floors are flat and smooth throughout and, although there are six steps up to the main entrance there is also a slope. The car parking is immediately in front of the building.