Three Nights in Teruel?

If you only intend on staying in town, then three nights is too many. We stayed at the Parador that is just outside of town when we visited. Not being museum people, to us the interesting sites were the Escalinata de Óvalo (staircase), the Mudejar towers, Plaza de Torico, and the Lovers Mausoleum. There was free parking at Estacion Adif, CTRA Villapesa 1, 44001.

We also visited Albarracín and took the 2km or so walk (Paseo Fluvial. Río Guadalaviar. Albarracín) around the town. We parked (pay) at Aparcamiento del Parque, C. Puentes, 2A, 44126

Near Teruel is the Camino Natural del Rio Guadalaviar at Carr. Toril, 62, 44195 San Blas. It’s a 4 miles round trip hike along the river. Some parts of the walk are on walkways above the river. At the far end is a steep staircase going up to the dam and reservoir. That’s the turn around point. The walk does have ups and downs, but is not overly strenuous. There is a free parking lot by the trailhead.

Not sure where Teruel fits into the overall itinerary, but if you wanted to stay in a castle, consider the Parador de Alarcón. We enjoyed our stay there, but there’s little to the town itself. There is a walking path around the town, Sendero Hoz de Alarcon, that affords some great views of the town and river and takes you by all the town’s sites. There is a free parking lot in front of the Parador. A faux parking attendant may direct you to a spot and request a Euro. He is not affiliated with the hotel. It was only a euro, we knew he wasn’t legit, but we gave it to him anyway since he was actually “working” to earn money. We saw him later in the evening at the bar and said hello to him. Southwest of Cuenca is Belmonte castle. It’s been well restored and worth visiting if you enjoy castles.

In Cuenca we stayed at the Parador that was a former convent. It overlooks the pedestrian bridge over the gorge and the hanging houses. It has free and pay parking.

That's lots of good information that we will consider in our further planning.

Thank you jaimeelsabio!

Hi glad I could help you out already with a little trip inspiration :-)

I'd say 2 nights is good enough to see Teruel, it's not too big of a town and it's historic area is even smaller. You could add an extra night if you wanted to use it as a base to daytrip from. The village of Albarracín makes for a good day trip, it's very beautiful but one needs a car to reach it.

I probably wouldn't go so far north to Tarragona, instead I'd suggest maybe a night or two in Peñíscola. With its cobbled streets and whitewashed houses, the old town of Peñíscola sits on a big rock that juts out into the sea. The town is dominated by a large Knights Templar castle that looks like something out of the Levant, very atmospheric. There is a very good seafood restaurant under the bastions of the olde Templar Castle called El Peñón.

Other places along your general route I'd suggest are:

Sagunto (Saguntum) - settlement sacked by Hannibal Barca that led to the Second Punic War. Now an eclectic mix of Roman, Moorish, and Christian fortifications. Just north of Valencia.

Roman town of Segobriga - an almost intact Roman town that was completely abandoned during the very early middle ages, only recently begun excavations, relatively undiscovered by most foreign and even local tourists. Halfway between Madrid and Cuenca.

La Ciudad Encantada - just north of Cuenca, makes for a great little day trip. La Ciudad Encantada is a protected geological site with many large and unusual rock formations created through the erosion of the Júcar river, which makes it look like an "Enchanted City", which is it's namesake in Spanish. Many films were shot here, including Conan the Barbarian with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Perfect for light hiking.

Reccopolis Archeological Park - haven't been here myself but it's high on my list. It's the ruins of a Visigothic city of Reccopolis, the only city to be founded in Western Europe for several hundred years after the fall of the Roman Empire. Also halfway between Madrid and Cuenca.

As you can see there is a lot of deep history in this area, we even have a name for it in Spain we call "España Profunda" means deep Spain in both the figurative and literal sense. I think this area is hardly known to foreigners, all to your advantage I think :)

Yes Carlos! I appreciate the inspiration.
Thank you for taking time to give us some detailed suggestions - they are very helpful for refining the plan. It's good to know that Tarragona doesn't fit well with this itinerary.

Best wishes!
M

I loved all of Teruel, Albarracin and Cuenca. I've never had a car at my disposal, so I didn't attempt to get to the more obscure spots the others have recommended. Cuenca is easily accessible on the express rail line between Madrid and Valencia, but even there, you need a bus (or taxi) to get into town from the station used by the fast trains. So I think taking advantage of having a car to see those towns, as well as other highlights in the area, would be a brilliant idea. If you don't plan to pick up the car until after you've been to Cuenca, that's fine.

Two nights works for Teruel.

Thanks acraven! We arrive in Madrid and plan to go directly to Cuenca on the day we arrive. It's good to know the logistics of getting from the train station to the village center. We plan to pick up a car after we leave Valencia (or Alicante) and we will have it at the end of the itinerary for the villages around Teruel.