Spanish food and café towns off the beaten path.
Less-touristed food and café towns in Spain, for travelers seeking fewer crowds but all the beauty.
Vielha
Capital of the Val d'Aran in the Pyrenees, Vielha sits at the confluence of the Garona river and its tributary the Riu Negre, with a café and restaurant scen…
Lerma
A pocket-sized Castilian village above the Arlanza river valley, Lerma is the headquarters of the Arlanza DOP wine denomination and holds a historic centre —…
Cazorla
Small Andalusian town in Jaén's Sierra de Cazorla, with a café and restaurant scene that punches well above its size, multiple scenic viewpoints into mountai…
Real Sitio de San Ildefonso
Home to the Royal Palace of La Granja and the Royal Glass Factory, this small town in the foothills of the Sierra de Guadarrama is a short drive from Segovia…
Llastres
Modest fishing village on the Asturian coast of northern Spain, Llastres sits directly on the water with scenic viewpoints in the surrounding area and a café…
Pasaia
A working port town on the Bay of Pasaia in Spain's Basque Country, spread across four distinct districts around a natural harbour where the Oyarzun river me…
Llanes
Little coastal town on Asturias's eastern Costa Verde, Llanes sits between the Cantabrian Sea and the limestone ridge of the Sierra del Cuera, with the Picos…
Castropol
This small Asturian village sits on the Eo estuary where Asturias meets Galicia, with waterfront views across to Ribadeo and a concentration of scenic viewpo…
Priego de Córdoba
Known as the "city of water" for the many springs that rise around it, Priego de Córdoba is also celebrated as the jewel of Cordovan Baroque for its concentr…
Capileira
High in the Sierra Nevada, Capileira is the uppermost village in the Poqueira Gorge and the highest point public traffic can reach on the road toward Mulhacé…
Aguilar de Campoo
A small town in northern Palencia where the River Pisuerga runs through the historic centre, Aguilar de Campoo has an unusually dense concentration of histor…
Almodóvar del Río
A well-preserved medieval castle crowns a rocky outcrop above this Andalusian town of whitewashed houses along the Guadalquivir River, offering dramatic elev…
Arenas de San Pedro
This small town in Ávila's Sierra de Gredos foothills with a café and restaurant scene that punches above its size, Arenas de San Pedro sits beside water and…
Peníscola
This small Mediterranean coastal town in Castellón, Peníscola sits on a rocky promontory jutting into the sea, giving it strong photographic appeal and sceni…
Aracena
The largest town in the Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche natural park, this tiny Andalusian town in Huelva province draws on the surrounding sierra for it…
Baeza
Baeza holds some of the best-preserved Italian Renaissance architecture in Spain, recognised alongside neighbouring Úbeda as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in…
Cehegín
Cehegín's old town, declared a historic-artistic ensemble by Spain's Ministry of Culture in 1982, makes for a walkable afternoon in the Murcia region, with a…
Matalascañas
A coastal resort village on Spain's longest beach, Matalascañas sits at the edge of Doñana National Park in Huelva province, with fine golden sand, mobile du…
Valderrobres
Photogenic modest town in Aragon's Teruel province, Valderrobres sits directly on the Matarranya River with a Gothic church, a Gothic castle, and a Renaissan…
Ayamonte
Sitting at the mouth of the Guadiana River on the Portuguese border, Ayamonte is a walkable Andalusian town with a café-filled centre, waterfront views, and…
Villaviciosa
This compact Asturian coastal town where an ornate sandstone town hall with a clock tower anchors a palm-lined square, backed by green hills and a waterfront…
Viveiro
This coastal town on Galicia's Cantabrian shore, Viveiro sits at the mouth of the Río Landro where it meets the Ría de Viveiro, with a walkable centre dense…
Albarracín
Declared a Monumento Nacional in 1961 and proposed for UNESCO World Heritage status, Albarracín is a small Aragonese village in the province of Teruel whose…
Cangas de Onis
A lively Asturian market town where a grand stone clock-tower town hall anchors a busy central square, with upland country and UNESCO World Heritage sites cl…
Cullera
A coastal town in Valencia where the Júcar river meets the Mediterranean, Cullera sits between the sea and a modest inland peak that shapes its natural setting.
Bembibre
Bembibre, in the El Bierzo region of León, is a small town on the Boeza and Noceda rivers with vineyards in the surrounding area and a café and restaurant sc…
Astorga
Founded as the Roman military camp Asturica Augusta in the late 1st century BC, Astorga is a tiny city in León with a heritage-dense centre that includes a c…
Ayllón
A compact Castilian town of warm stone and terracotta rooftops, Ayllón spreads across rolling Segovian plateau country, with a central square, a notable chur…
Moratalla
A small town in the Murcia region of southeastern Spain, Moratalla sits alongside water and close to mountain terrain, with a café and restaurant scene that…
El Barco de Ávila
Pocket-sized town on the Tormes River in Ávila province, Castile and León, with a café and restaurant scene that punches above its size.
Santillana
A modest historic town in Cantabria known by the old saying that it is "the town of three lies" — neither a saint, nor flat, nor by the sea, despite what its…
Zafra
Walkable town in Extremadura's Badajoz province with a centre full of cafés and restaurants, Zafra is the birthplace of Fray Ruy Lopez, author of one of the…
Baza
A walkable Andalusian town in Granada province with a centre full of cafés and restaurants, Baza sits alongside the rivers Guardal and Gállego and is the lar…
Senija
This compact Valencian village set among olive groves and terraced farmland, with a flat-topped rocky peak dominating the skyline, a church tower at its hear…
Velilla del Río Carrión
Sitting on both banks of the Carrión river in the mountains of northern Palencia, Velilla del Río Carrión is a tiny village with a surprisingly lively café a…
Béjar
Béjar is a small town in Salamanca province whose historical identity was shaped by a once-thriving textile manufacturing industry.
Tembleque
This pocket-sized village in Toledo province, Castile-La Mancha, sits in wine-growing country with vineyards nearby and water close at hand, and carries a co…
Espinosa de los Monteros
A small village in the Cantabrian Mountains of northern Burgos province, Espinosa de los Monteros has a waterside setting and a café and restaurant scene tha…
Oropesa
Little coastal town on the Mediterranean shore of Castellón, Oropesa del Mar has a café and restaurant scene that punches well above its size, making it a pr…
Albaida
This hilltop church tower and whitewashed old quarter rise above palm-lined streets in this compact Valencian town, set among vineyard country with a walkabl…
Tamarit
A sandy beach curves directly below a stone castle complex rising from rocky cliffs in this little Catalan coastal village near Tarragona, where historic arc…
Puebla de Sanabria
This fortified medieval village in the north-western corner of Zamora, Puebla de Sanabria sits on a natural promontory shaped by the rivers Tera and Castro,…
Benavente
Town in northern Zamora, Castile and León, with a walkable centre full of cafés and restaurants and rivers running close to its edges.
Medina de Pomar
Small town in northern Burgos set along the Nela and Trueba rivers, Medina de Pomar has a café and restaurant scene that holds a surprising number of options…
Punta Umbría
This little Andalusian fishing town on the banks of the Río Odiel, where it meets the Atlantic, Punta Umbría has a Blue Flag beach stretching along its shore…
Ponteareas
Ponteareas is a Galician town on the river Tea known for its Corpus Christi celebrations, in which residents hand-craft elaborate floral carpets across the s…
Conil de la Frontera
A whitewashed Atlantic-coast town in Cádiz province, Conil de la Frontera sits on the Costa de la Luz with a walkable centre dense with food and drink option…
Caspe
A compact Aragonese town of red-tile rooftops spread across dry hills above a broad reservoir, Caspe rewards visitors with several historic churches, a river…
Moncada
A Valencian town with a walkable centre, where an ornate early-20th-century arts and music hall anchors streets lined with cafés, all within easy reach of up…
Paiporta
A compact Valencian town on Valencia's southern metropolitan fringe, where a palm-lined central square fronts a handsome stone church tower, offering easy ac…
la Ràpita
A coastal town in Catalonia's Montsià region, la Ràpita sits at the edge of the Ebro Delta beside the Port dels Alfacs lagoon, with a walkable centre full of…
Coma-ruga
A pocket-sized seaside resort on the Costa Daurada in Tarragona province, Coma-ruga sits directly on a long sandy beach and carries a café and restaurant sce…