Huesca

The city of Huesca as seen from the cathedral

Huesca is the capital city of 52,000 people (2018). It is the gateway to the Pyrenees an area rich in Romanesque architecture, ski resorts and stunning landscapes. The city is one of the least populated provincial capitals of Spain, hardly surpassing the 50,000 mark. Although part of its old town was knocked down, it maintains many interesting buildings of architectural and historical importance. standing out is its Romanesque cathedral, typical of the province.

Understand

Huesca is in the province by the same name, and which one of three provinces in the autonomous region of Aragon Spain. Like many Spanish towns, it has suffered uncontrolled, high-rise urbanisation since the late 20th century.

Climate

Huesca has a humid subtropical climate, with semi-arid influences. Winters are cool (with normal maximums from 8 to 16 °C and minimums from -2 to 6 °C) and summers are hot, with daily maximums reaching up to 35 °C (95 °F), while the rainiest seasons are autumn and spring.

Get in

By bus

You can reach the city and other towns by Alosa bus. There are regular bus services from Barcelona to Huesca and Zaragoza to Huesca. Arriving at Zaragoza Airport you can reach Huesca city and other provincial towns from the main bus station.

By plane

• 1 Huesca–Pirineos Airport. This airport no longer has scheduled flights.  

The nearest airport is Zaragoza airport. Ryanair flies there.

By train

• 2 Huesca station. Trains run from Barcelona and Madrid, including the AVE high speed train.  

Get around

There are many places which you can only reach by mountain bike or 4x4, but that's the beauty of them.

By train

The train from Huesca to Canfranc is worth catching just to see the scenery, and the surreal, semi-abandoned Louis XV style station at the end of the line.

See

Sunset view of the Ermita de la Virgen de la Peña (Hermitage of the Virgin of the Rock), with the village of Aniés in the front; this hermitage, featuring elements from as far back as the 13th century, is accessible only on foot

Cathedral of Huesca.

• Cathedral of Huesca, built over the former mosque, is an interesting mish-mash of styles with late Gothic doorways and a Renaissance carved alabaster altarpiece by Damian Forment.
• The Casino in the centre of town is Modernista (Art Nouveau) with interesting interiors which can be visited, and a bar.
• The City Hall, with contains the famous "Cuadro de la Campana" painting, regarding the homonymous historic event.
• Miguel Servet Park, the largest park of the city, with several interesting buildings and statues like the Origami birds statue and a replica of the Snow White and the seven dwarves' house.
• The monastery of San Pedro el Viejo, famous by its romanesque cloister.
• El Coso, the major street that surrounds the old town.
• The Olimpia hall, Huesca's main theatre.
• Huesca's bullring
• Other churches: San Vicente, San Lorenzo, San Miguel
• Huesca museum
• The San Jorge hill and hermitage (pilgrimage when the San Jorge's day, patron saint of Aragon)
• Other hermitages placed in Huesca's surrounding villages: Salas, Loreto etc.
• The city walls, now being restored.

Do

The best time to go is in the summer, but January and February often have plenty of sun. August is fiesta season.

• Huesca city has its Fiesta Mayor from 9 to 15 August, with concerts and public drunkenness, and you may wish to avoid this, or indeed make a point of going there. There are various international music festivals in the province in July and August.
• Winter sports - in Canfranc, Benasque, Astún, Cerler, Candanchú and other ski stations.
• Canyoning - the descent of mountain rivers through caves and canyons, in wetsuits. Dangerous in June due to flash floods.
  • Enterprise Association of Sierra de Guara www.guara.org 
• Mountaineering
• Hiking
• Watch football at SD Huesca. They were relegated in 2021 so they now play soccer in Segunda División, the game's second tier. Their stadium, El Alcoraz, capacity 7600, is 1 km southwest of city centre.

Eat

Local specialities include Pollo al chilindrón (chicken with red peppers) and Ternasco (local lamb).

• The Hervi Restaurant - recommended for inexpensive home-style cooking. Only go if you're hungry (big servings) and understand spoken Spanish - the menu is not written down.

Drink

The Somontano wines are good, but not as good as they're priced.

Sleep

• Hotel Lacasa Faus Hutte, Carretera de Francia, km 658.5, ☏ +34974378136. Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 12:00. Lacasa Faus-Hutte is 1000 m altitude on the west side of Pirineos Mountain. It is 12 minutes from the ski stations of Astún & Candanchú. Jaca city is 12 km away from Lacasa Faus-Hutte. There is easy access to the valleys of Ansó, Hecho, Ordesa, El Roncal y Valle de Tena. €42-96. 
• Hotel Spa Monasterio de Boltaña (Hotel Pirineo), C/ Afueras - 22340 (Boltaña (Huesca)), ☏ +34974508000. Close to the hotel doors, the almost only wild river that is left in the Pyrenees, the river Ara flows by. One of the most beautiful rivers of these mountains. 

Go next

• Loarre One of the best Romanesque castles in Europe (the site for Ridley Scott's film, Kingdom of Heaven) just has a one-man bar hidden behind a few rocks, and a part-time guide. Close to Huesca city.
• Although you might be attracted to the high Pyrenees, you should definitely visit the pre-Pyrenees - a parallel range just to the North of Huesca city.
• The Sierra de Guara for mountaineering and birdwatching (vultures and birds of prey).
• Ordesa National Park is particularly spectacular in autumn. In summer some of the waterfalls dry up. No cars.
• Barbastro Small town with an interesting old part, centre of the Somontano wine district. You can visit vineyards from here.
• Ainsa, Ansó and Alquézar are beautiful, well preserved Romanesque villages in mountainous regions. There are other, less well-known places which are also charming.
• San Juan de la Peña has to be seen - part Romanesque, part Gothic shrine set into an enormous rock in lovely mountain scenery. Easily accessible from Huesca.
• Jaca has an important Romanesque cathedral and fortifications reputed to be designed by Leonardo de Vinci (they weren't).
• Villanueva de Sigena The Monastery of Santa María de Sigena is located next to the town. Birthplace of Michael Servetus, the discoverer of pulmonary circulation with a museum dedicated to his work.

Routes through Huesca

Zaragoza ←

SW  N

→ Jaca → Pau