Aragon is an autonomous community in north-eastern Spain, about the size of Denmark and the Netherlands combined but with just over 1.3 million inhabitants, half of whom live in the capital. It borders France along the Pyrenees to the north, Catalonia to the east, the Valencian Community to the south and the two Castiles, La Rioja and Navarre to the west. It is crossed by the Ebro and alternates very high mountains, semi-desert steppes such as the Monegros and fertile valleys.
A Mediterranean kingdom
The kingdom of Aragon was born in the eleventh century in the Pyrenees and, joined with the county of Barcelona from 1137, became a great Mediterranean power: the Crown of Aragon ruled the Balearics, Valencia, Sicily, Sardinia and later Naples, leaving deep traces in Italy too. In 1469 the marriage of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile united the two crowns and laid the foundations of modern Spain (see the history of Spain). Aragon long kept its fueros, its traditional liberties, abolished by the Bourbons in the early eighteenth century.
Zaragoza and Mudéjar art
The capital, Zaragoza, is Spain's fifth city: highlights are the great Basilica del Pilar, one of the country's most important Marian shrines, the Seo cathedral, the Islamic Aljafería palace and the Roman remains of Caesaraugusta. Zaragoza, Teruel and dozens of villages hold masterpieces of Mudéjar art, the style born of the meeting of Islamic tradition and Christian art, with towers decorated in brick and ceramics: the Mudéjar architecture of Aragon is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (see Mudéjar). Teruel is also the city of the Lovers, the legend of two young people who died of love.
The Pyrenees
The north, in the province of Huesca, is dominated by the Pyrenees, with the range's highest peaks: Aneto (3,404 metres) and Monte Perdido. Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park, a UNESCO site, is one of Spain's most spectacular landscapes, with canyons, waterfalls and limestone walls. Valleys such as Benasque and Tena offer hiking in summer and skiing in winter, at Formigal, Cerler and Candanchú. The monastery of San Juan de la Peña, tucked under a rock, is one of the most evocative places in the region, together with Jaca and its Romanesque cathedral and the fortress of Loarre.
Villages and landscapes
Aragon has some of Spain's loveliest villages: Albarracín, perched on a river bend with ochre houses; Alquézar, above the canyons of the Sierra de Guara, a canyoning paradise; Aínsa, with its medieval square; Sos del Rey Católico, where Ferdinand was born. In the south are the monasteries of Veruela and Piedra, with its waterfalls, and Calatayud, home of the Latin poet Martial.
Flavours
Aragonese cooking is food of the land: roast ternasco (lamb), Teruel PDO ham, borage, Barbastro pink tomatoes, the wines of the Somontano, Cariñena, Calatayud and Campo de Borja appellations, and sweets such as frutas de Aragón (see eating in Zaragoza).
Getting there
Zaragoza lies halfway between Madrid and Barcelona, linked to both by high-speed train in about an hour and a half, and has a small airport. Below you will find a map of our guides and the municipalities by province.
Destinations on the map
Guides to the community
Benasque
A village of stone and slate at the foot of the highest mountains in the Pyrenees: Benasque is Aragon's capital of climbing and skiing.
Huesca
A quiet small city at the gateway to the Pyrenees, with a Gothic cathedral, a terrible medieval legend and some of Spain's most spectacular…
Teruel
A small city of Mudéjar towers decorated with ceramics, home to a medieval love legend that comes alive in its streets every year.
Zaragoza
Halfway between Madrid and Barcelona on the Ebro, Zaragoza is a city of two thousand years of history, with the great Basilica del Pilar…