1 Best Sight in Catalonia, Valencia, and the Costa Blanca, Spain

Founded in 1158 on the banks of the Gaià River, Santes Creus is one of Catalonia's largest and best-preserved Cistercian monasteries. Its otherwise austere church features glorious Cistercian and Gothic stained-glass windows and the royal tombs of King Peter III and James II and his wife Blanche of Anjou of the Kingdom of Aragón. Other highlights include the ornate 14th-century Gothic cloisters.