Teruel Travel Guide

Teruel is capital of the province with the same name in Aragón. It is well up on the edge of the Maestrazgo mountainous area, which is shared by Aragón and Valencia. The city rises steeply from the station but take the long motor route left as a pedestrian, rtaher than going up the staircase, unless you are happy with a lot of steps.

Although there are plenty of good modernist and renaissance buildings, Teruel's glory lies in its Mudejar architecture which is as good as any in Spain, not excepting Toledo. Details of the best of these and of the superb Provincial Museum and the Renaissance aqueduct based on the Roman pattern will be listed under sights.

A good circuit with a mixture of scenic, architectural and cultural attractions is , starting a Valencia : train to Teruel [three a day - or bus], bus to Cantavieja [1500], bus to Morella [0545 - oh dear!]. bus to Castellón [0740*], train to Valencia [frequent]. * Some guidebooks give an incorrect impression that there are two buses a day from Morella to Castellón.

Mudejar architecture, for those who don't know, is a specifically Spanish style developed by Moorish architects working for Christians after the re-conquest. Thus the Mudejar churches of Teruel were built as such, not as mosques. It seems a great pity that photos generally don't really bring out the delicate use of colour in the façades of the towers. They realy need to be seen.