Spain – Aragon – Teruel (En)

Teruel is a high-altitude town in the mountainous Aragon region of eastern Spain. It is the city with the highest number of Mudejar buildings per square meter in Spain. In 1986, UNESCO awarded Teruel, thanks to the Teruel Mudejar style, the title of World Heritage Site.

Where to stay

We stayed in the city’s motorhome area (40.332989, -1.086001 lat, long) which is free. It has a good area for loading and unloading grey and black water and garbage cans. It is next to a huge Al Campo for shopping, a sports store and a gas station. The area is quite large, with 30 places for ACs, but it is full. We recommend arriving early in the morning, the line to load and unload water is enormous, and half an hour after arriving there was no room left in the area. The good thing is that you can park outside, in the supermarket parking lot and around the area. It is about a 30-minute walk from the centre, there is also a bus at the door that takes you to the centre.

What to see

The city is quite small (around 35,000 inhabitants) so you can visit the entire historic centre in one morning. We walked with Asha, to get to the centre you can cross two bridges, one for cars and one for pedestrians, the pedestrian one is prettier with incredible city views.

The first thing you will find is La Escalinata, built in 1921, the famous staircase was built to connect the railway station with the city centre. In it, you can see the Mudejar style and in the middle of it, there is a fountain with a sculpture of the Lovers of Teruel.

Then heading towards the center is the famous Salvador Tower in Mudejar style which belongs to the first quarter of the 14th century. The Salvador Tower is characteristic because it serves as a tower and gate to the city. The price to go up the tower is 2.5 euros, we didn’t go up because we had Asha with us. Right next to the tower, you will find the Church of the Savior, whose construction dates back to the 17th century.

Afterwards, we went to see the Torico Square in the centre of the city lined with arches, with the famous statue of the Torico in the centre of the square which is a tiny statue of a bull. Along the square, you can find a lot of bars, cafes, typical shops and pastry shops where you can enjoy the gastronomic delights of Teruel.

Then we saw the Teruel Cathedral or Church of Santa María de Mediavilla. Located in the centre of the historic centre, it is the most significant Mudejar monument in the city. Without a doubt, the most interesting thing about the church is its Mudejar ceiling carved in wood (declared World Heritage of Humanity in 1986 by UNESCO). The general admission price is 5 euros and allows you to enter both the Cathedral and the Museum of Sacred Art. We didn’t enter either one because Asha was with us.

Then we wandered through the historic centre where we saw the Town Hall, the Provincial Museum, and a very cute square where the Residence of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was located.

Where to eat

And we returned to Torico Square for lunch at Jamoneria 10 Restaurant. We ordered the menu of the day which included the drink, first course, main course and dessert. It was a little expensive because we sat on the terrace, 21 euros for each menu. For the first course, we both ordered tagliatelle carbonara with different cheeses and Teruel ham. Secondly, I had Teruel pork tenderloin with Roquefort sauce and potatoes and Ben had Teruel pork ribs roasted in the house marinade with barbecue sauce and potatoes. Both were delicious, although I thought my sirloin was better! For dessert, we both ordered cold homemade cheesecake, which we took home because we couldn’t eat more! We recommend eating and trying the typical dishes of Teruel, although the menu is a little more expensive than normal, it is worth it!

And so we finished our visit to Teruel, and we went to Catalonia, to a town in Lleida called Sidamon, which you can see in the next blog!