Founded by the Roman emperor Caesar Augustus,
Zaragoza was occupied for centuries by the Arabs, who left a rich historical and
artistic legacy. Today Zaragoza is a modern city that preserves a historic
center full of centuries-old buildings, charming little squares, narrow streets
and lots of life and animation. In today's video we are going to share
with you 13 reasons to visit and fall in love with Zaragoza, our city. Hola, hello, I am Tony Gálvez, from
Road Trip Spain and Portugal, where we help you plan the perfect trip with practical information
and insider tips. On the video we published recently with mistakes you should avoid making
in Spain, we mentioned skipping Zaragoza as one of such mistakes. If there is one city that goes
unnoticed by visitors to Spain it is Zaragoza, the Spanish underrated destination. A situation we want
to change with this video. Located in Northeast Spain, Zaragoza has a strategic location offering a
perfect stopover on any journey between Barcelona and Madrid. All the high-speed train companies that
connect Barcelona with Madrid have services that stop halfway. It is very easy to get here. Let's
go through the 13 reasons, in strict alphabetical order. We open our list with the city's must-see monument, the Palacio de la Aljafería, the Aljafería Palace. It was built by the Muslim king
Al-Muqtadir and is today, along with the mosque of Córdoba, the Alcázar in Seville and the Alhambra in Granada, one
of the most spectacular reminders of the passage of the Arabs through the Iberian Peninsula. The
Aljafería was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO as one of the most representative monuments
of Mudéjar art. Mudéjar is the art made by Muslim artists who remained in the Iberian Peninsula
after the end of the Reconquest. At first they maintain their religion but later they were
forced to convert to Christianity. And this art, which combines Islamic and Christian traditions,
will be discussed again in the video. Over the centuries, the palace has had different uses, which
you will discover during the visit, which covers the main premises and also includes a quick tour
of the modern Cortés de Aragón, the regional assembly. The Aljafería is a 20-minute walk from the historic
Center of Saragosa and if you visit the city you cannot miss the palace. Casco Viejo is the term used in Zaragoza to refer to the historic center of the city. Its boundaries more
or less coincide with those of the ancient Roman city, being located between the plaza de España
to the south and the river Ebro to the north. The district is made up of several neighborhoods
with narrow streets, the perfect setting for a walk through the history of Zaragoza. Many of the
places we are going to present in this video are located within the Casco Viejo, a neighborhood
that, in addition to narrow streets, is dotted with charming squares, such as Plaza de Santa Marta,
Plaza de San Pedro Nolasco, Plaza de Santa Cruz Plaza de San Felipe or Plaza del Justicia. Calle Alfonso is one of the city's most prominent
shopping streets and one of the main axis of the Old Town. The Casco Viejo is a part of the
city that it is best explored on foot. Although it is not the great civi space that the river is in other cities in Spain, River Ebro, one of the most important rivers in Spain, which crosses Zaragoza
from west to east, is a beloved symbol for the city's inhabitants, and you should visit
it during your stay in the city. The river is crossed by several bridges, but the ones you
should visit are the Puente de Piedra and the Puente de Santiago. The latter is a modern
nridge with no special architectural interest but that it offers a beautiful view of the
Basilica del Pilar and the river in front of it. The Puente de Piedra, the Stone Bridge, is the
oldest bridge in the city. It is a 15th century bridge that was built on the side of an older
bridge from Roman times. The end of the day is the best time to walk to the middle of the
Puente de Piedra because from there you can contemplate a wonderful sunset with the
river and the Basilica del Pilar. For those who have more time in Zaragoza, the
Expo area and the Parque del Agua are two very interesting places. As they are a bit far from
the center, they are not suitable for those who are only going to spend a day in Zaragoza. The Expo
and the Parque del Agua Luis Buñuel were built for the 2008 International Exposition held in Zaragoza.
The Expo site is a space where the international exposition was held. Numerous pavilions and
buildings were constructed there. Today some buildings are used by public institutions
and companies, others remain closed. The Parque del Agua is not a water park but rather a traditional park,
quite beautiful and extense. It offers a wide range of leisure activities, including a tranquil lake
that can be visited by kayak or rowing boat. During the summer, there is an artificial beach area. In
good weather, you can spend a pleasant half day combining a visit to the Expo with a visit to the
Parque del Agua. Both are always open and admission is free. Several local bus lines will take you
there from the center of Zaragoza. The most important festivities of the year in Zaragoza
are the Fiestas del Pilar, and they always take place around the 12th of October. The Fiestas del
Pilar are a reason to fall in love with Zaragoza because it is a very interesting popular festival
in which the city looks its best. The program of festivities is very complete, but the two most
important events are the Ofrenda de Flores, the offering of flowers, and the Ofrenda de Frutos, the offering of fruits. The Ofrenda de Flores takes place on the 12th and is the most
important event of the week. Between 300 000 and 400 000 people, all of them dressed in traditional
costumes, parade through the city to bring flowers to the statue of the Virgen del Pilar located in
the middle of the Plaza del Pilar. The offering lasts all day and you can go and see it whenever
you like. On the next day, on the 13th, the Ofrenda de Frutos takes place, where instead of
flowers an offering of food is brought. This is the day on which many groups from other parts of
Spain, and even from abroad, parade. The Ofrenda de Frutos takes place in the morning and
it's much shorter than the flower offering. On the 13th, the Plaza del Pilar is
usually crowded because people want to see how the virgin's mantle of flowers
has turned out after the flower offering the day before. The fiestas always end with
fireworks on the banks of the river Ebro. If you are one of those who like to visit
the markets of the cities you go to, you should not miss the Central Market of Zaragoza,
which is still an authentic market where the locals of the city shop. The Central Market
building, also known as Mercado de Lanuza, was inaugurated in 1903 and is one of the most
beautiful buildings of modernist architecture that you will be able to see in Zaragoza. The
market was reopened in 2020 after a major refurbishment which has left it very beautiful. Enter through one end of the market and walk around it from end to end taking a look at
the products sold in its 90s stores. Mudéjar, as we mentioned earlier is the art
produced by a Muslim artists who remained in the Iberian Peninsula after the end of the
Reconquest. We have already seen examples of this art in the Aljafería Palace and now we are going
to talk about three other places in Zaragoza that are beautiful examples of modern from Aragón.
The first is the Church of San Pablo, Saint Paul, and its bell tower, declared a world heritage site
because of the purity of the Mudéjar style found there. The tower has an octagonal base and was
built around an old minaret. The second mudéjar beauty of Zaragoza is the tower of the Iglesia
de la Magdalena, also a former minaret of an Arab mosque, and which here has glazed ceramic pieces
that embellish the tower even more. Finally, don't miss one of the masterpieces of Mudéjar art in Spain,
the exterior wall of the Parroquieta de la Seo, the Cathedral of the Savior. It is a work dating from
1374 with an impressive artistic and symbolic richness. The Mudéjar of La Seo has also
been recognized by UNESCO, which has included it on the world heritage list. We have already seen
that the Aljafería Palace is located outside the historic center. The three remaining works can be
visited on a stroll through the center of Zaragoza. The Parque Grande José Antonio Labordeta,
named after one of the greatest local musicians of all time, is the most traditional park in
Zaragoza. It is not in the city center but it is very easy to get to, either by walking alone
Paseo de la Independencia, Gran Vía and Paseo de Fernando el Católico, or by taking the train from Plaza de
España, which takes you to the park. If you have enough time in Zaragoza it is a very pleasant
walk. It is a very popular place for locals who visit it for a quiet stroll or to exercise. You
can rent bicycles to ride around the park, a good plan if you go with children. The park has a
small -quite small- and charming Botanical Garden. If you visit the park, go up to the Cabezo where
there's a monument to El Batallador, King Alfonso the first of Aragón, who reconquered the city from the Arabs. On a hot day, the parks numerous fountains are a welcome freshment. The Paseo de la Independencia is probably the most important avenue in Zaragoza, connecting
the Plaza de Aragón with the Plaza de España. To be honest, it is not the most beautiful place in
the city, but it is the place where you can take the real pulse of Zaragoza. Being a neighbor of
the Old Town it is very easy to take a stroll along the Paseo de la Independencia visiting several
places of interest along the way. The Porches de la Independencia are a classic place where we people from Zaragoza take a leisurely stroll. The address most beloved by the people of
Zaragoza is also one of the most beautiful squares in Europe. The Plaza del Pilar is also
known as Plaza de las Catedrales, the square of the cathedrals, due to the unusual fact that it
has two different cathedrals in the same square. As you will see in the image there are many
points of interest in and around the square, let's take a look at them. At the western end
of the square, next to the Church of San Juan de los Panetes and its leaning tower stands the Torreón de la Zuda. La Zuda was an ancient Muslim palace. And the tower you can visit today was the keep of the
palace. At the base of the tower there's a small tourist office, but you have to go upstairs
via staircase because on the top floor there is a space known as the Mirador de las Cuatro
Culturas, the viewpoint of the four cultures, with beautiful views of Zaragoza. The visit
to the viewpoint is free of charge. The most important building in the square is
the Basilica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar, or simply El Pilar, one of the most important Marian
temples in the world. The original church dates back to the 9th century. Successive extensions
were built on top of the old church until it became the gigantic Baroque temple that can be
seen today. The church was declared completed in 1872, although the exterior towers date from the
20th century. Inside El Pilar, in the beautiful Santa Capilla, one of the masterpieces of Spanish
Baroque architecture, is the image of the Virgen del Pilar resting on the holy column. At the back
of the Santa Capilla is the humilladero, the place where the faithful can kiss the column on which
the Virgin rests. A hole in the wall allows one to approach the base of the column. At the top of one
of the domes is the fresco Regina Martirum, painted by the Aragonese genius Francisco de Goya. It is
a pity that the lighting is not adequate to fully appreciated it. In the main altar of El
Pilar is one of the jewels of the temple, the spectacular Renaissance altarpiece, built with
alabaster, an abundant material in Aragon. You can climb one of the towers of the temple
with spectacular views of the city. Continuing on from the Basilica is Zaragoza
City Hall, a central point for civic meetings, celebrations and protests. Further on is
that Palacio de la Lonja, a Renaissance palace now used for cultural exhibitions. And
in front of the Lonja there is a tribute to the figure of the local artist Francisco
de Goya. At the end of the Plaza del Pilar is the Catedral del Salvador, better known as La Seo,
the second cathedral of the square, a masterpiece of Mudéjar art from Aragon declared a world
heritage site by UNESCO. It was also the first Christian cathedral in Zaragoza. The cathedral
was built on the same site that was originally occupied by the city's Roman Forum Temple and
later by the great mosque. Today the cathedral contains a great mixture of architectural
styles, from Romanesque to Neoclassical, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque. The interior
of the temple is surprisingly beautiful but as filming and photography are not allowed we
will only show some photos taken many years ago, when this annoying ban did not yet exist.
While the visit to El Pilar is free you have to pay to enter La Seo. You pay but you cannot take
pictures. On the right, opposite the cathedral, is the Museum of the Roman Forum of Caesar Augusta,
a building that is striking for its modernity. A prism with walls covered with onyx slabs
provides access to the museum, which is located in the basement of the square and contains the
remains of the Forum of the Roman city. A bronze statue of the Roman Emperor Caesar
Augustus, a copy of the famous Augustus of Prima Porta, a work that they can be seen in
the Vatican Museums in Rome, recalls the Roman origin of Zaragoza, the ancient Caesaraugusta,
founded by the emperor in 14 BC. Just behind the statue are the most important remains of
the Roman walls of Zaragoza, which were three kilometers long and surrounded the ancient city. After the 15th century, the growth of Zaragoza overtook the wall and ceased to serve as a defensive
wall. Four museums preserve all the important archaeological remains from Roman times: the Roman
Theater Museum, The Forum Museum, the Riverport Museum and the Baths Museum. You can buy separate
tickets to visit each of the museums or one ticket to visit them all. All the museums are located
very close to each other, in the old town of Zaragoza and give you a better understanding
of the origins of the city. Along with the fiestas del Pilar the other
important date in Zaragoza's annual calendar is the Semana Santa, Easter Week, declared to be
of international tourist interest. Holy Week has centuries of history and over the course
of the week you can watch 53 processions with different brotherhoods and a total of 16 000
penitents. And before anyone asks, the uniforms with the pointed hoods are centuries old and
bear no connection whatsoever to the ones used by supremacist groups in America. Even if you are
not a believer, it is a fascinating spectacle. Some of the most spectacular processions can be seen
during the day on Palm Sunday, on the evening of Maundy Thursday, and on Good Friday afternoon, when
the grandiose Holy Burial takes place. What, above all, marks the Semana Santa in Zaragoza is its soundtrack,
which features the resounding sound of drums. For anyone born in Aragon, like myself,
the penetrating sound of the drums is a very important part of our culture. An
added bonus of Zaragoza's Semana Santa is that it is not as busy as those in cities
like Seville or Málaga. You can take your seat to watch a procession on the spot,
no need to arrive hours in advance. If you ask a Spaniard which are the best known places in Zaragoza, he or she will most likely answer, on the one hand, the Basilica del Pilar and, on the other hand, the
place that closes our list of reasons to fall in love with Zaragoza, a legendary labyrinth
of narrow streets known as El Tubo, The Tube. El Tubo is a group of streets in Zaragoza's
Old Town near the Plaza de España. The area is famous for its numerous bars and bustling day
and night life. El Tubo has some more tourist focused bars along with great bars where we locals
go where you can enjoy delicious tapas and wines. And with food we end this video. We were thinking
that, if this video gets a large number of likes and requests, we might record a video sharing
with you our favorite tapas bars in our city. Would you like that? Remember that we already
have a video on our channel where we share some guidelines about accommodation in Zaragoza.
Always remembering that accommodation prices in Zaragoza are much more affordable than those
in Madrid or Barcelona. So, another reason to visit Zaragoza. As always, if you have any
questions about the city use the commentary box to ask. If you have the chance, don't miss
the opportunity to visit Zaragoza. And if you want your trip to Spain to be perfect, be
sure to watch our video of mistakes you should avoid making if you travel to Spain.
We look forward to seeing you in that video.
