58 Best Sights in The Pyrenees, Spain

The village of Riglos, 43½ km (27 miles) northwest of Huesca, is at the foot of the Iberian Peninsula's most spectacular rock-climbing site. Roped teams dangle hundreds of feet overhead, some bivouacking overnight on the rock face; down below, climbing culture is celebrated and toasted at Bar el Puro.

At the upper edge of town, this fortified church has wonderful acoustics.

The area's most important monument, the 9th-century retreat of Monasterio de San Pedro de Siresa presides over the village of Siresa, 2 km (1 mile) north of Hecho. Only the 11th-century church remains, but it is a marvelous example of Romanesque architecture. Cheso, a medieval Aragonese dialect descended from the Latin spoken by the Siresa monks, is thought to be the closest to Latin of all Romance languages and dialects. It has been kept alive in the Hecho Valley, especially in the works of local poet Veremundo Méndez Coarasa.

In the 12th-century Romanesque church of Sant Joan, the altarpiece—a 13th-century polychrome wood sculpture of the Descent from the Cross—is one of the most expressive and human of that epoch. Wilfred the Hairy gifted this church to his daughter, Emma, and did the same for his son Radulfo with the Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll.  See Ripoll sights.

Decorated with a pageant of biblical figures, the 12th-century doorway to the church is one of Catalonia's great works of Romanesque art. It was crafted as a triumphal arch by stonemasons and sculptors of the Roussillon school, which was centered on French Catalonia and the Pyrenees. You can pick up a guide to the figures surrounding the portal in the nearby Centro de Interpretación del Monasterio, in Plaça de l'Abat Oliva. The center has an exhibition space (Catalan only) that explains the historical, cultural, and religious relevance of this so-called cradle of Catalonia. It also provides information about guided tours.

Decorated with a pageant of biblical figures, the 12th-century doorway to the church is one of Catalonia's great works of Romanesque art, crafted as a triumphal arch by stone masons and sculptors of the Roussillon school, which was centered around French Catalonia and the Pyrenees. You can pick up a guide to the figures surrounding the portal in the nearby Centro de Interpretación del Monasterio, in Plaça de l'Abat Oliva. The center has an interactive exhibition that explains the historical, cultural, and religious relevence of this cradle of Catalonia. It also provides information about guided tours.

This museum occupies parts of the former royal palace of the kings of Aragón and holds paintings by Aragonese primitives, including La Virgen del Rosario by Miguel Jiménez, and several works by the 16th-century Maestro de Sigena. The eight chambers, set around an octagonal patio, include the Sala de la Campana (Hall of the Bell), where beheadings of errant nobles took place.

This museum contains a treasure trove of works by Zaragoza's emblematic painter, Goya, including his portraits of Fernando VII and his best graphic works: Desastres de la Guerra, Caprichos, and La Tauromaquia.

Remains of the Roman forum and elaborate sewage system can be seen here. Two more Roman sites, the thermal baths at Calle de San Juan y San Pedro and the river port at Plaza San Bruno, are also open to the public. You can organize in advance to see the presentation videos in English through the Museo del Teatro Romano ( 976/726075). English-language audio guides are also available.

In addition to the restored Roman amphitheater, built in the 1st century AD, you can see objects recovered in the excavation including theatrical masks, platters, and even hairpins.

A small but mighty collection of Goya's works, particularly engravings, are on view here. QR codes are convenient stand-ins for English-language placards.

Across from the Mare de Déu dels Àngels church, this ancient pharmacy, housed within the Museo Municipal, was founded in 1415 and is certifiably the oldest working pharmacy in Europe.

The road west (NA140) to Ochagavía (Otsagabia in Basque) through the Portillo de Lazar (Lazar Pass) has views of the Anie and Orhi peaks, which tower over the French border. The village itself, with original cobblestone streets and riverside promenade, is a pleasant spot to stretch the legs.

This is one of Spain's three best-preserved Moorish palaces. If Córdoba's Mezquita shows the energy of the 10th-century Caliphate and Granada's Alhambra is the crowning 14th-century glory of al-Andalus (the 789-year Moorish empire on the Iberian Peninsula), then the late-11th-century Aljafería is the middle child. Originally a fortress and royal residence, and later a seat of the Spanish Inquisition, the Aljafería is now the home of the Cortes (Parliament) de Aragón. The 9th-century Torre del Trovador (Tower of the Troubadour) appears in Giuseppe Verdi's opera Il Trovatore.  Visits by online reservation only.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, this park within the Sierra de Guara contains more than 60 limestone caves with prehistoric paintings. Some date to around 22,000 BC, though most are from between 12,000 and 4,000 BC. Information, guided tours, and kid-friendly activities are available through the interpretation center in Colungo; check the monthly schedule on the home page. Hours vary, so call ahead.

Benasque is the traditional base camp for excursions to Aneto, which, at 11,168 feet, is the highest peak in the Pyrenees. You can rent crampons and a piolet (ice ax) for the two- to three-hour crossing of the Aneto glacier at any sports store in town or at the Refugio de la Renclusa, a way station for mountaineers an hour's walk above the parking area, which is 15 km (9 miles) north of Benasque, off the A139. The trek to the summit and back is not difficult, just long—some 20 km (12 miles) round-trip, with a 4,500-foot vertical ascent. Allow a full 12 hours.

With its porticoes and covered walks, this square named for a hero of the Carlist Wars is protected from the gusty mountain wind. It is ringed by pastel-painted Renaissance houses, some with decorative sgraffito designs and all with balconies.

The Chapel Bridge is a perfect, mossy arch that straddles the Riu Escrita; it looks as though it might have grown directly out of the Pyrenean slate.

The three-hour walk down the mountain from Vall de Núria to the sleepy village of Queralbs follows the course of the cogwheel train on a rather precipitous but fairly easy route (provided there's no snow). The path overlooks gorges and waterfalls overshadowed by sheer peaks before exiting into the quaint village of Queralbs, where houses made of stone and wood cling to the side of the mountain. There is a well-preserved Romanesque church, notable for its six-arch portico, marble columns, single nave, and pointed vault.

Built on the orders of King Sancho VII el Fuerte (the Strong), the Collegiate Church houses the king's tomb, which measures more than 7 feet long.

From Camprodon, take the C38 north toward Molló and the French border. After 3 km (2 miles), turn east toward Rocabruna, a village of well-preserved stone houses at the source of the clear Beget River. Rocabruna is famous for two attractions: its 11th-century castle (now in ruins), built on a hilltop with superb views of the Beget Valley, La Garrotxa, and the Pyrenees, and the idyllic Can Po restaurant, a worthwhile stop on the way to Beget.

This Benedictine abbey has an 11th-century cloister. Ramiro II and his father, Alfonso I, the only Aragonese kings not entombed at San Juan de la Peña, rest in a side chapel.

The 12th-century Romanesque church of Sant Cristòfol (St. Christopher) has a diminutive bell tower and a rare six-foot Majestat—a polychrome wood carving of the risen Christ in head-to-foot robes that dates to the 12th century. If the church is closed (there are no regular hours, though visitors report having luck on weekday mornings and weekend afternoons), ask in the bar-restaurant behind the church, or in El Forn de Beget, and someone may direct you to the keeper of the key. 

The 12th-century Santa Maria church in the center of town was largely destroyed in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War, but the bell tower remains and is open to visitors. At the top, take in a 360-degree panorama of La Cerdanya's towns, bucolic farmlands, and snowy peaks.

Partly in ruins, this 11th-century chapel used to be an important way station on the route into the Vall d'Aran from France. The beveled hexagonal bell tower and the rounded stones, which look as if they came from a brook bottom, give the structure a curious stippled texture. The Romería de Nuestra Señora de Montgarri (Feast of Our Lady of Montgarri), on July 2, is a country fair with food, games, music, and dance. The sanctuary can be reached by following the C142 road until Beret and then walking 6 km (4 miles) along a dirt track that can also be accessed by off-road vehicles. It is difficult to get there during the winter snow season.

The legend of this Marian religious retreat is based on the story of Sant Gil of Nîmes, who did penance in the Núria Valley during the 7th century. The saint left behind a wooden statue of the Virgin Mary, a bell he used to summon shepherds to prayer, and a cooking pot; 300 years later, a pilgrim found these treasures in this sanctuary. The bell and the pot came to have special importance to infertile women, who, according to local lore, would be blessed with as many children as they wished after placing their heads in the pot and ringing the bell.

A 15-km (9-mile) detour north through the town of Orbaizeta up to the headwaters of the Irati River, at the Irabia Reservoir, gets you a good look at the Selva de Irati, one of Europe's major beech forests and the source of much of the lumber for the Spanish Armada. Today it's a popular nature reserve that's veined with trails from which you might glimpse wildlife like deer, woodpeckers, wild boar, and even wolverines. Notably it also contains megalithic cromlechs and dolmens around the villages of Azpegi and Orbaizeta.

This fine example of Gothic architecture, constructed in 1445, was built as a private royal residence on the site of a burned-down palace. It became a prison in 1602 and was one of the only buildings to survive the destruction of Jaca during the War of Independence with France. You can't go inside.