The Pyrenees: Places to Explore

Aínsa's arcaded Plaza Mayor and old town are classic examples of medieval village design, with heavy stone archways and tiny windows.... Read more

A tidy mountain village with stone houses and lovely little corners, doorways, and porticoes, Aragüés del Puerto is the hub and base camp for some of Upper Aragón's wildest reaches... Read more

Tucked neatly over the headwaters of the Bidasoa River, under the peak of the 3,545-foot Gorramendi Mountain looming over the border with France, the rounded green hills of the Valle de Baztán make... Read more

The village of Beget, considered Catalonia's més bufó (cutest), was completely cut off from motorized vehicles until the mid-1960s, when a pista forestal (a jeep track) was laid down; in... Read more

Bellver de Cerdanya has preserved its slate-roof and fieldstone Pyrenean architecture more successfully than many of the Cerdanya's larger towns. Perched on a promontory over the Río Segre, which... Read more

Benasque, Aragón's easternmost town, has always been an important link between Catalonia and Aragón. This elegant mountain hub with a population of just over 2,200 harbors a number of notable... Read more

Bielsa, at the confluence of the Cinca and Barrosa rivers, is a busy summer resort with some lovely mountain architecture and an ancient, porticoed town hall. Northwest of Bielsa the Monte Perdido glacier... Read more

Burguete (Auritz in Euskera) lies between two mountain streams forming the headwaters of the Urobi River. The town was immortalized in Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, with its evocative description... Read more

Camprodón, the capital of its comarca (county), lies at the junction of the Ter and Ritort rivers—both excellent trout streams. The rivers flow by, through, and under much of the town, giving... Read more

Espot is in the heart of the valley, along a clear stream, next to the eastern entrance of Aigüestortes-Sant Maurici National Park.... Read more

The Valle de Ansó is Aragón's western limit. Rich in fauna (mountain goats, wild boar, and even a bear or two), the Ansó Valley follows the Veral River up to Zuriza. Towering over... Read more

Capital of Aragón until the royal court moved to Zaragoza in 1118, Huesca was founded by the Romans more than a thousand years earlier; the city became an independent state with a senate and an... Read more

Jaca, the most important municipal center in Alto Aragón is anything but sleepy. Bursting with ambition and endowed with the natural resources, Jacetanos are determined to make their city the site... Read more

La Seu d'Urgell is an ancient town facing the snowy rock wall of the Sierra del Cadí. As the seat (seu) of the regional archbishopric since the 6th century, it has a rich legacy of art and architecture... Read more

A Spanish enclave in French territory, Llívia was marooned by the 1659 Peace of the Pyrenees treaty, which ceded 33 villages to France. Incorporated as a vila (town) by royal decree of Carlos V—who... Read more

The Valle de Tena, a north-south hexagon of 400 square km (154 square mi), is formed by the Gállego River and its tributaries, principally the Aguaslimpias and the Caldares. A glacial valley surrounded... Read more

Puigcerdà is the largest town in the valley; in Catalan, puig means "hill," and cerdà derives from "Cerdanya." From the promontory upon which it stands, the views down across the meadows... Read more

One of Catalonia's first Christian strongholds of the Reconquest and a center of religious erudition during the Middle Ages, Ripoll is known as the bressol (cradle) of Catalonia's liberation from Moorish... Read more

The Roncal Valley, the eastern edge of the Basque Pyrenees, is famous for its eponymous sheep's-milk cheese and as the birthplace of Julián Gayarre (1844-90), the leading tenor of his time. The... Read more

Roncesvalles (often listed as Orreaga, in Euskera) is the site of the Colegiata, cloister, hospital, and 12th-century chapel of Santiago, the first Navarran church on the Santiago pilgrimage route.... Read more

Salardú is a pivotal point in the Vall d'Aran, convenient to Tredós, the Montarto peak, the lakes and Circ de Colomers, Aigüestortes National Park, and the villages of Unha and Montgarri... Read more

For a look at some of the most remote and unchanged villages in the Pyrenees, take the well-marked A2609 road heading east from Salinas, 25 km (15 mi) north of Aínsa. The Cinqueta River drains the... Read more

The site of an important church, Sant Joan de les Abadesses is named for the 9th-century abbess Emma and her successors. Emma was the daughter of Guifré el Pilós (Wilfred the Hairy), hero... Read more

Although Setcases ("seven houses") is somewhat larger than its name would imply, this tiny village nestled at the head of the valley has a distinct mountain spirit.... Read more

The capital of the Pallars Sobirà (Upper Pallars Valley) is a center for skiing, fishing, and white-water kayaking. Don't be fooled by the town you see from the main road: one block back, Sort is... Read more

Taüll is a town of narrow streets and tight mountain design—wooden balconies and steep slate roofs. The famous Taüll churches of Sant Climent and Santa Maria are among the best examples... Read more

The Vall d'Aran is at the western edge of the Catalan Pyrenees and the northwestern corner of Catalonia. North of the main Pyrenean axis, it's the Catalan Pyrenees' only Atlantic valley, opening north... Read more

Vielha (Viella in Spanish), capital of the Vall d'Aran, is a lively crossroads vitally involved in the Aranese movement to defend and reconstruct the valley's architectural, institutional, and linguistic... Read more

This traditionally provincial city is experiencing its greatest boom since the Romans established a thriving river port here in 25 BC. Rated one of Spain's most desirable places to live because of its... Read more