The most important monument of Jaca(Huesca) is, without a doubt, the Cathedral of San Pedro, an emblematic jewel of the Romanesque, which constituted in its time one of the main centers of diffusion of that artistic style in Spain. It houses in its High Altar, the urn-reliquary containing the relics of Santa Orosia, patron saint of the city. Within the facilities, we can also visit the Diocesan Museum, which is worth a visit to see its rich collection of medieval frescoes, transferred to the museum from different churches in the area, as well as many other treasures of medieval art, such as capitals or carvings of virgins, incorporating lately new spaces dedicated to the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque, which also has excellent samples.
Another monument of the city’s medieval past that should not be missed is the Monastery of Santa Cruz or the Benedictines, from the 16th century and built in the Renaissance style. The place chosen to locate it was in an ancient Romanesque temple of the twelfth century, consisting of a subway crypt and the church of San Ginés. The crypt, preserved under the current building, is closed to the public, but we can see the magnificent Romanesque sarcophagus of the tomb of Doña Sancha, daughter of Ramiro I of Aragon.
Among the civil architecture stands out, apart from the Clock Tower, from the fifteenth century, the wall and the Castle of San Pedro, better known as the Citadel, of which medieval fragments are still preserved, although certainly most of the current plant is the result of the thorough reconstruction of the sixteenth century, which still retains towers, bastions and sloping walls that are of course worth a visit to the place, as it also houses an interesting Museum of Military Miniatures, which among other things offers 32,000 lead figures that are exhibited in various thematic scenarios.
And of course, you have to go to the tapas bars in Jaca, because it is a gastronomic experience that you will repeat every time you pass through the city, for the quality of its products, for the wide range of small creations, for the diversity of bars to choose from, for the atmosphere, maybe for everything…? Of course I am not going to recommend any establishment in particular, I prefer that you discover them, and be sure that you will be right, I really tell you.
Jaca, for its size, is a city where you can improvise what to do or you can also try to organize yourself to make the most of the time, but if something is sure that you will certainly enjoy, even if you just stroll around window shopping and enjoying the atmosphere of the main street, or walk along the Paseo de la Cantera, almost two kilometers long and offers good views over the Aragon Valley while walking among a variety of trees, where even and hopefully we can see squirrels.
Today, Jaca is open to the future, betting on tourism development and to offer the image of being an active, modern, cosmopolitan city, with a varied and interesting cultural and gastronomic offer that attracts thousands of visitors every year.
And when we are or not exhausted of so much to see the city, we will have to go to rest, because the best of the best still awaits us in our new day of walking: San Juan de la Peña.
Read other previous articles by Fran Lucas Herrero on the Camino De Santiago
Your steps on the road will give you the answer
We walk between Somport and Canfranc-station
We walk from Canfranc-station to Villanua
We walk from Villanua to Jaca. Third stage of the Aragonese Way of St. James
