A day in Albarracín

After completing my hike, due to the obligation to book a minimum of two nights in every hotel I had contacted in Albarracín, I had all day Saturday in the village before heading down to Teruel by taxi on Sunday, then to Barcelona via Zaragoza by train on Monday before returning to Paris, again by train, after three nights in Barcelona to see friends and to stock up on sausages from the Bottifareria de Santa Maria, a truly amazing charcuterie in the Ribera district of the city. This extra day in the village was more than welcome as it allowed me to explore the place completely and to be won over by its charms.

I’d had a great night’s sleep, winding down from the efforts of the previous days and, by breakfast time, I was ready for a bit of sightseeing for the first time since Valencia ten days before.

Breakfast was frugal but sufficient and, immediately after, I set off to explore. The AllTrails app had a hike that followed a loop around the village, most of it along the Guadalviar river. I had seen people on the trail from my hotel room and it looked ideal for a morning walk. So off I went.

One thing had struck me right away the previous day and it was confirmed as I walked to the start of the trail: the total lack of tourist tack in the village. Any mediaeval village like this in France, Italy or Germany would have had shops selling fake armour, plastic swords, and all kinds of souvenirs made in China. In Albarracín, there was just one such shop, on a side street off the main square. Otherwise, there was a small shop selling postcards and that was it. There were plenty of restaurants and bars catering to both tourists and locals, but the lack of cheap souvenir shops made for a refreshing change.

Another thing about Albarracín was how easy it was to get lost there. I’d already had a hard time finding my hotel the previous afternoon and now, on my way to start the trail, I somehow ended up on the opposite side of the village from where I wanted to be. The layout of the winding, narrow streets and the fact that the village was built on a steep hillside meant that I kept wandering off in the wrong direction, even with the help of a map! I like to think I generally have a pretty good sense of direction, but this village confused me no end and I only reached the start of the trail after several wrong turns via a hidden flight of stairs between two buildings.

When I finally found the trail, it turned out to be the ideal morning hike – a shady path along the babbling river, with the occasional walkway high above the water, an old mill at one point, birds singing in the trees and wild flowers in bloom in the more open areas, with the village visible from time to time on the cliffs high above.

There were a few people about, some walking their dogs on this cool morning and others, like me, clearly tourists visiting the village.

After a couple of kilometres, the trail crossed to the. other side of the Gaudalviar and climbed to a less wooded area that provided terrific views of the village and the walls running along the hillside above it.

From that point, the trail led gently downhill to the river again and joined the main road just next to the tourist office, which was handy as I needed information on how to get to Teruel the next day. I had initially thought of walking down to Cella and getting the train from there, but it would take six and a half hours according to Komoot, meaning I would need to leave very early to be sure of getting the 1 pm train. The charming lady at the tourist office confirmed that buses to Teruel only ran during the week and that to get there on a Sunday I would need to take a cab. She gave me the number of a local taxi service, saying that they could perhaps do a group journey which would work out cheaper.

And so I ended up back on the main square of the village, attempting in my very basic Spanish to arrange a taxi ride to Teruel and a pick-up point for the next morning. And I’m pretty proud to say it worked. The last ten days of hiking through an area of Spain where very few people spoke English had done wonders and, despite some confusion and stammering, a pick-up was arranged for outside the tourist office at 11 the following morning.

With that sorted, I wandered back up to the cathedral to book a guided tour (the only way to see the interior) for midday. The friendly guy at the ticket office said something about a QR code but I didn’t understand what he meant until the tour began: it was possible to zap the QR code to have the guided tour in English on my phone. As I was the only non-Spaniard on that particular tour, this turned out to be very handy. Moreover, the audio-guided visit didn’t exactly follow the main tour so I regularly found myself along in side chapels while the mass of visitors were elsewhere with the guide.

The cathedral was built over a period of around 60 years, a fairly short time for a building that represented a huge architectural challenge. Perched on a rather narrow spur of rock high above the valley and accessible from the street via a steep staircase, it had to be strengthened from all sides, explaining its fortress-like exterior aspect.

The interior was particularly impressive, with a bright, airy nave, a number of stunning side chapels and some wonderful carvings, notably in the Saint Peter Chapel with its remarkable and amazingly detailed altarpiece.

Saint Peter Chapel altarpiece

After visiting the cathedral, I wandered back to the centre of the village where I made up for the hotel’s frugal breakfast with a tasty menu del dia of salad, lentil soup and dessert in one of the local restaurants before heading back up to the hotel for an afternoon nap.

I went out again towards evening to walk up to the walls that follow the ridge of the hill above the village. Like that morning’s walk along the river, this was another very pleasant walk that provided excellent views as eagles wheeled in the sky above. The sky was a clear blue, it was pleasant warm and this walk was the perfect conclusion to a very satsifying and relaxing day.

So that was Albarracín and I was delighted that I had been obliged to spend an extra night there. It’s definitely a place to return to, especially in the spring or autumn, as I can imagine it fills with tourists in summer. There are countless hikes in the surrounding area, particularly to see a number of prehistoric rock carvings that it will be well worth returning to see.