Huesca is in Aragon, Spain. The province of Huesca has some excellent scenery which is totally unspolit. Depopulation has meant that many stunning sights are absolutely abandoned.
Get in
By bus
By car
By plane
Nearest airport is Zaragoza airport. Ryanair flies here.
By train
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
Most of old Huesca city is being knocked down.
The little '''Romanesque church of SS Pedro y Pablo'''. The capitals in the cloisters are by the same master as those in the Cathedral of Jaca. This church used to be the Christian cathedral during the Muslim occupation.
The former mosque is now the cathedral, 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.
Do
The best time to go is obviously 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, Astun, Cerler, Candanchu and other ski stations.
'''Canyoning''' - the descent of mountain rivers through caves and canyons, in wetsuits. Dangerous in June due to flash floods.
'''Mountaineering'''
Buy
Eat
Local specialities include Pollo al chilindron (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. arretera de Francia, km 658.5. 34974378136. ttp://www.hotellacasa-faus-hutte.com. p.m. 2 p.m. 2- 96 Euros. Lacasa Faus-Hutte is located at 1000 meters high from the heart of the west side of Pirineos Mountain.
Only 12 minutes distance from the Ski stations of Astun & Candanchu.
Jaca city is only 12 km far from Lacasa Faus-Hutte.
There is easy acess to the valleys of Anso, Hecho, Ordesa ,El Roncal y Valle de Tena.</sleep>
Get out
'''Loarre''' One of the best Romanesque castles in Europe (recently 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''', '''Anso''' and '''Alquezar''' are beautiful, well preserved Romanesque villages in mountainous regions. There are other, less well-known places which are also charming.
'''San Juan de la Pena''' 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're not).