A day out in Zaragoza.

An early start, for us, and it's off to Zaragoza to meet our good friends Georges and Annie.

Click left for full photo.

After a short walk from their apartment we were in the Plaza de las Catedrales and we popped into the Basílica del Pilar for a quick look.

Inside it is even more phenominal than outside.

At the other end of the Plaza is the Catedral de La Seo de San Salvador which is not so striking from the outside apart from this wall, shown in the photo above, which is part of the north wall being an "outstanding example of Aragonese Mudejar art". The cathedral was built in different phases and dates from the 12th century.

Inside it is decorated in a "sober manner" except for the 16 chapels which are positioned around the outer walls of the central hall. Many have baroque facades and are truly magnificent. The High Altarpiece, above, is quite breathtaking.

Before leaving the Cathedral there are 3 large rooms upstairs housing tapestries from the Middle Ages. These are enormous works of art covering very large parts of the walls they hang on. Every picture tells a story and these stories are most complex.


One of the nice things about this city is that just across the river in the newer districts the architects have designed the layout of the apartment blocks, shops and roads so that they are very pleasant areas for the people to be in with very good use of space.


After a splendid lunch it was back across the river to see the Palacio de la Cortes de Aljafería. Parts of this building date from the 9th century and therefore have Moslem architecture. Zaragoza was reconquered in 1118 when this building became the palace for the Aragonese monarchs and further expansion and restructuring took place. There has been much restoration carried out in the latter half of the last century.

Unfortunately, it was closed today in preparation for St George's Day later in the week.

If we had been able to get in, this is what we would have seen.

So instead, we walked a short distance into the centre of the city, the Plaza España.


One of the projects currently being undertaken in the city is the introduction of a tram system with a line of 12.8 kms and 25 stops, the first part opening in early 2011. I'm not sure about one of their tram drivers though!

A great day out.