Every year we like to do a little family excursion sometime between Christmas Day and New Year's Eve. Last year we went in search of don quixote and this time we chose a destination I had been wanted to go to for a really long time: Cuenca.
UNESCO considers Cuenca of outstanding universal value as it is an exceptional example of the medieval fortress town that has preserved its original townscape remarkably intact along with many excellent examples of religious and secular architecture from the 12th to the 18th centuries. It is also exceptional because the walled town blends into and enhances the fine rural and natural landscape within which it is situated.
Cuenca's unique Hanging Houses were constructed on the edge of a canyon's cliff back in 14th Century medieval times. The Hanging Houses can be considered the most famous buildings in this World Heritage City. Nowadays they house a restaurant and the reputed Museum of Abstract Arts and they serve as the background of millions of photos made from the bridge of San Pablo (above).
Cuenca is also home to a Gothic cathedral that has an unusual and unique façade which makes you think that it could have been left unfinished.
If you reach the top of the city you can get some spectacular views including the hotel we stayed in (below). The hotel is in a former monastery with an enviable location atop the river Huecar Gorge, site of sheer walls and dense vegetation in the outskirts of the city, opposite the magical Hanging Houses. But more on that later.
The hotel belongs to the chain Paradores. This unique hotel chain is committed to reclaiming the Spanish heritage. The hotels are often in castles, palaces, fortresses, convents, monasteries and other historic buildings. I devoted a full post to some of the most beautiful Paradores in Spain which you can read here.
The following pic was taken in the Museum of Modern Art, inside one of the hanging houses.
Located 30 Km away from the city, you can find Ciudad Encantada (Enchanted City). A natural site that contains curious rocky formations, sculpted over the centuries by ice, wind and water. All this has modeled stone figures that look like humans, objects and animals that spark visitors' imagination.
The rocky formations have signs with the names of the figures they resemble such as the Boats, the Dog, the Sea of Stone, Roman Bridge, the Seal, the Bears, the Mushrooms, the Convent, the Turtle, etc.
Can you spot them?
As always, thanks for reading. Wishing you a lovely week,
Cristina xo
