Fodor's Expert Review Parador de Hondarribia

You can live like a medieval lord in this 10th-century bastion, home in the 16th century to Spain's founding emperor, Carlos V—hence its alternative name: Parador El Emperador. Replete with suits of armor and other chivalric bric-a-brac, the place feels like a movie set (and has occasionally been used as one). Many rooms have views of the Bidasoa estuary; upgraded digs add canopy beds and baronial appointments and are worth the moderate extra expense.