Albarracin Is MFSVITW

Albarracin is MFSVITW, which stands for "My Favorite Small Village In The World."  We're going to the Cotswolds as part of our June week in England, so it will be interesting to see if any village there can unseat Albarracin.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber probably held the title from 2021 till now, but I googled whether RodT is a village or a town, and it's listed as a town.  So maybe I've never had a MFSVITW until going to Albarracin.  Anyhow, coming from the Iron Tourist, the MFSVITW is a great honor.

The point is, Albarracin is 174 miles from Madrid or 112 miles from Valencia, so if you have a couple of extra days, have a hankering for a nice drive to an absolutely stunning village surrounded by amazing city walls.

It's hard to explain just how amazing Albarracin is.  First we went to Casa de la Julianeta, the most photographed house in Albarracin.  It's also the oldest house in the village.  Ironically, the view is similar to the split road in Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

Us at Casa de la Julianeta.

The gate is Portal de Molina.

Natural arches are great, but

so are old manmade arches.

Our hotel is just a few steps

past Carol down the hill.

Up the hill leads to the

hiking trail up to the top

of the walls.

Just past the hotel from the pictures above is the famed Rincon del Abanico -- houses stacked on each other.  To me, the houses stacked are more interesting than the hanging houses of Cuenca, but you've already read enough of my whining about the underwhelming Casa Calgados of Cuenca (or have you?).

Rincon del Abanico

No matter which direction you

look, the views are spectacular.

Plaza Mayor.  Not impressive overall

but the arches on the left are.  They are

also where I apologized.  The Plaza was

created in the 14th century. 

As cool as the town is, the walls stretching

up on the hills are even more so.

Then we walked up to the 9th century Castillo Musulman De Albarracin (the castle which was later expanded by Muslim rulers in the 11th century), along some of the walls, and to the Cathedral.  The downside of the village is that buildings are only open for a short time each day, or, as in the case of the Cathedral, you need to take one of two tours.  You can't just check it out yourself.

Castle walls from below in the city.

Carol with the tower, er,

towering behind her.

The Cathedral with the walls running

up the hill behind it -- pretty dramatic.

Another part of the castle.

I took this picture from one of the

highest points in the village.  It shows

how the much higher the castle is.

Not actually part of the castle, the 

flowers are just growing next to it.

Close-up of the colorful

cathedral tower tiles.

A typical street in Albarracin.