← Maratón del Santo Grial·1 night

Teruel: Brick Towers and the Lovers

One night in the small Aragonese capital an hour up the road from the marathon start, with some of the finest Mudéjar brickwork in Spain, a painted cathedral ceiling and the tomb of its famous lovers.

Duration1 night
TransitCar, about 1 hour north of Navajas on the A-23 past Barracas
DepartsNavajas

After the Maratón del Santo Grial: Teruel

The Route: Navajas → Barracas → Teruel → Valencia Airport Logistics: Hire car up the A-23, then back down the same road to Valencia for the flight home. Marathon Month: May Duration: 1 night

Navajas ──(about 1 hr by car, A-23 via Barracas)──> Teruel
                                                        │
       Valencia Airport (VLC) ◄──(about 1 hr 45 mins by car)──┘

The Maratón del Santo Grial starts on the plateau at Barracas and runs down the greenway to Navajas. The A-23 climbs back up past the start line and, an hour from the finish, reaches Teruel, the capital of Spain's least populated province and the place the greenway's iron ore came from.

May in Teruel is fresh. The city stands at about 900 m and evenings can be cool even when days reach the low twenties. Take a jacket for dinner.

A hire car is the practical way to go, since Valencia Airport is the place to fly home from and the drive back down the A-23 is straightforward. Regional trains link Teruel and Valencia, but they are slow.

Night One: Teruel

Teruel's old town stands on a hill above the rivers Turia and Guadalaviar. Its reputation rests on its Mudéjar architecture, the brick-and-tile style of builders working under Christian rule in a tradition developed under Islam, which UNESCO lists as World Heritage. The towers of San Martín and El Salvador are both glazed-tile brick towers built over the street, so you walk under them. The cathedral of Santa María de Mediavilla has a painted wooden ceiling of the thirteenth century covered in scenes of medieval life; it is seen from a walkway above the nave.

Next to the church of San Pedro, the Mausoleo de los Amantes tells the legend of the Lovers of Teruel, Isabel and Diego, who died of grief in the thirteenth century, and holds their alabaster tombs. It is indoors, level and short.

For tired legs, the question is getting up the hill. The Escalinata, a neo-Mudéjar staircase, leads from the railway station up to the old town, and it is steep. A public lift connects the lower ring road with the old centre and avoids most of the climb; use it, or take a taxi to the Plaza del Torico and walk from there. Once on top, the old town is compact and the streets between the towers and the cathedral are mostly gentle.

Where to stay. The Parador de Teruel is a short drive outside the centre in its own grounds, quiet and easy to reach by car. Hotel Torico Plaza is in the old town beside the Plaza del Torico, the square named after the small bull statue on its column.

Where to eat. Teruel ham has its own designation of origin, and it appears on every menu. Eat around the Plaza del Torico and the streets off it, where bars serve ham, local cheeses and migas.

Getting to Valencia Airport

Valencia Airport (VLC) is about 1 hour 45 minutes from Teruel by the A-23, passing Barracas and Navajas on the way down. Drop the hire car at the terminal.