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Overnight trip to magical Cuenca

Cuenca vista hanging houses

Marcus

A Unesco world heritage sight and one of Spain’s most arresting cities. Alluring and spell-binding, it’s most famous for its casa colgadas, buildings that literally hang from the cliff, and its modern art scene first established in the 1960s. Relatively un-touristy given its sheer beauty, an overnight trip to magical Cuenca is highly recommended.

Slow train to Cuenca from Valencia

I take the slow train from Valencia Nord (c.4hr & €16.50), the majestic modernist train station. The journey is picturesque. Once out of the industrial outskirts, you’re enveloped in the rich and fertile orchards of the province: the garden of Valencia.  At a gentle pace, the train languidly rises until vast valleys open up.

Passing through mountainous terrain, we trundle through tunnel after tunnel, with magnificent rock faces and pines clinging to the slopes. Eventually we reach the Meseta, Spain’s central plateau, where sunflowers fields and almond groves are interspersed with rolling forested hills. At last Cuenca, on top of a natural pyramid, appears as if a mirage. Slow travel at its best.

The inimitable medieval old town

Making a quick getaway from the station in the relatively bland new town (a common occurrence in Spain), it’s a hike up to the old centre. Your exertions are rewarded with a complete medieval city: winding narrow cobbled streets, great town houses painted in bright pastels, tranquil plazas, and miradors that offer breathtaking views of the rugged countryside. 

The plaza mayor is the heart of old Cuenca. It’s the perfect place to sip an aperitif, watching the town come to life as locals emerge from siesta. From the terrace of Mesón, where uniformed waiters bustle, I admire the baroque town hall set above three arches, the colourful facades of the irregularly shaped tall houses, and the gothic cathedral that shines in the evening light. 

The gothic cathedral in the Plaza Mayor

The cathedral was built on the site of the former mosque when the city was recaptured by Alfonso VIII in 1177, whose statue stands proudly nearby (see my post on Spain’s five most influential wars, including the reconquista). The church is notable for being one of the first Spanish examples of gothic architecture when romanesque styles dominated. Upon its return to Christianity, Cuenca was designated as a royal town and thrived during the middle ages on the back of textile manufacturing.

I stay in the Hotel Leonor de Aquitania further up the hill beyond the plaza mayor, a renovated 18th century house, which offered a spacious and well-priced room. Dinner is at the Asador Maria Morena where they serve typical regional dishes (succulent lamb chops and the very popular queso frito with green pepper sauce), which is located on the top of the old town and offers panoramic views of the surrounding hills and valleys.

The hanging houses

The morning is the best time to appreciate the famous casa colgadas (hanging houses) when there are few tourists and the houses are lit by the rising sun. The first examples of these feats of architecture were built in the 15th century, with only three surviving today. The remaining houses jut out as if a natural extension of the cliff; the wooden balconies daringly thrust outward, as if seemingly suspended in the air. 

Anton van den Wyndaerde 1565 Cuenca
Anton van den Wyndaerde’s 1565 painting in Cuenca in which you can make out the hanging houses

The two best spots to view them are beyond the castle on the top of the hill and from the narrow (and hair-raising) footbridge, Puente San Pedro Bridge, that leads to the convent of the same name built in the 16th century for Dominicans.

To reach the hilltop view you pass the muscular archive building that dates from the 16th century, formerly the headquarters for the inquisition, and go through the arch of the castle ruins, originally a Moorish fortress.

The town is built above two intersecting gorges – the Huecar and the Jucar -surrounded by gorgeous countryside. The pine covered hills to either side are buttressed by solemn rounded cliffs, coloured ochre to grey, that remind me of the Easter Island monuments. Cuenca is a perfect base for hiking, with many different routes advertised in the town.

With spectacular scenery and evocative medieval architecture, it’s not hard to appreciate why artists were attracted here in the 1950s and 1960s, which gave rise to the proliferation of top quality galleries.

The art museums

The best way to spend an afternoon in Cuenca is to aimlessly wander, stumbling upon the superb art museums and encountering the many different view points. .

The most famous hanging house that houses the El Museo de Arte Abstracto

El Museo de Arte Abstracto is first up. Housed in the most iconic of the casa colgadas, it doesn’t disappoint. The brainchild of the artist Fernando Zobel, it’s hard to disagree with its description as the ‘most beautiful little museum in the world’, made by the founder of the Met. The thought provoking art is presented minimally and tastefully curated, including some of Zobel’s unique ink works. The building preserves original features, such as a spectacular coffered ceiling, original stone portal and pillars. There is an air of peace and reflection.

The Fundacion Antoinio Perez is more chaotic but rewarding. Sprawling, eclectic and often eccentric, the rambling gallery can at times be overwhelming, although the quality and variety is excellent. It’s better to concentrate on a handful of rooms rather than attempt to take it all in. Manolo Millare‘s disconcerting black and white works that burst from their canvases and Lucebert’s haunting illustrations were highlights.

Finally the Fundacion Antonio Saura in Casa Zavala, established in 2008, presents work from its namesake, Saura, one of Spain’s most famous post-war painters. All the museos were either free or very inexpensive, c. €2.

Lunch in the new town

Before I get the train back to Valencia, I stop off for a Menu del Dia at Meson Fernandez on Calle San Francisco, which buzzes with locals getting their lunchtime fill. An excellent option to fuel up before leaving magical Cuenca.