Spanish mountain villages off the beaten path.
Less-touristed mountain villages 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…
Grazalema
A particularly photogenic Andalusian village in the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park, known as one of the classic *pueblos blancos* — the whitewashed hill to…
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…
Zahara de la Sierra
A white-walled Andalusian village in the Sierra de Grazalema natural park, Zahara de la Sierra sits above the Embalse de Zahara reservoir with panoramic view…
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…
Segura de la Sierra
A photogenic hilltop village in eastern Andalusia, Segura de la Sierra sits within the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas Natural Park and was admitted…
Ardales
This small Andalusian village in the mountains of Málaga province, Ardales sits beside the Guadalhorce reservoirs and offers striking views across the surrou…
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…
Vilafamés
This small village in Castellón's Plana Alta comarca, Vilafamés has been listed among Spain's most beautiful villages since 2015, a designation that reflects…
Ciudad Real
Ciudad Real is the capital of La Mancha — the Castilian plain made famous by Cervantes, whose fictional knight Don Quixote wanders its landscapes tilting at…
Sagunto
The ruins of ancient Saguntum, the Iberian and Roman city whose siege in 219 BC triggered the Second Punic War, are the defining reason to visit this Mediter…
La Alberca
La Alberca, a village in Salamanca's Sierra de Francia, was the first place in Spain to be declared a historic-artistic ensemble, in 1940, and has since been…
Beniardà
Compact cluster of white and terracotta-roofed houses sits in a forested mountain valley in Alicante's interior, backed by dramatic bare limestone ridges and…
Graus
A small Aragonese town at the confluence of the Esera and Isabena rivers in the Pyrenees, Graus is home to the Basilica de Santa Maria de la Peña and a nearb…
Almonaster la Real
A small Andalusian village in the mountains of Huelva province, Almonaster la Real is known for its 10th-century mosque and has held a place in the Los Puebl…
Buñol
Every August, tens of thousands of people descend on this modest Valencian town to hurl over 100,000 kilograms of tomatoes at each other in La Tomatina — a f…
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…
Errezil
This small Basque mountain town in Gipuzkoa holds a distinction unusual even within the Basque Country: as of a 2016 survey, it had the highest proportion of…
Algodonales
Compact Andalusian town on the northern edge of the Sierra de Grazalema natural park, Algodonales sits on the slopes of the Sierra de Líjar between two river…
Balmaseda
Founded in 1199 by Lope Sánchez de Mena, Balmaseda holds the distinction of being the first town to receive a municipal charter in what is now Biscay, making…
Covadonga
The site of the 722 Battle of Covadonga — the first Christian victory over Arab forces in the Iberian Peninsula and the traditional starting point of the Rec…
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.
Abanilla
A compact Murcian town of white-rendered rooftops and church domes set against a broad mountain backdrop, with a pocket-sized café scene and easy access to u…
Oiartzun
A Basque town in Gipuzkoa at the foot of the Aiako Harria massif, Oiartzun sits in mountain terrain with vineyards nearby and a café and restaurant scene tha…
Broto
This pocket-sized mountain village in the Sobrarbe comarca of Huesca, Aragon, Broto sits alongside a river and offers a surprisingly full set of cafés, resta…
Yecla
Wine-country town in the far north of Murcia, Yecla sits among vineyards in mountain terrain with a compact centre of cafés and restaurants.
Orreaga-Roncesvalles
The first stop on the Spanish side of the Camino de Santiago's French Way, this tiny Pyrenean hamlet in Navarra sits on the river Urrobi near the French bord…
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.
Canfranc
Canfranc International railway station, built to carry traffic across the Pyrenees between Spain and France, gave rise to the village of Canfranc Estación in…
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…
Llíria
Declared a UNESCO Creative City of Music in 2019, Llíria is a town in the Valencia region of Spain with roots stretching back to the ancient Iberian city of…
Ágreda
A small town in Soria, Castile and León, Ágreda holds an unusual concentration of historic churches for its size and draws visitors to its annual fiestas ded…
Poio
This waterside municipality on the north shore of the Ría de Pontevedra in Galicia, Poio sits between the resort town of Sanxenxo and the provincial capital,…
El Espinar
A compact town on the northern slopes of the Sierra de Guadarrama in Segovia province, El Espinar sits at the transition between mountain terrain and the Cas…
Benahavís
A mountain village on the western Costa del Sol with a restaurant scene well out of proportion to its size, Benahavís sits inland from the coast on the south…
Don Benito
This town in Extremadura's Badajoz province set along the left bank of the Guadiana river, Don Benito sits close to mountain terrain and within reach of UNES…
Molina de Aragon
Once the seat of a Moorish taifa state before Alfonso I of Aragon reconquered it in 1129, Molina de Aragón is a small town in Guadalajara province with a not…
Lesaka
Compact village in the Bortziriak (Five Villas) region of Navarre, Lesaka sits on the water in mountain country with scenic viewpoints in the surrounding hills.
Siles
This compact Andalusian village in the Sierra de Segura, most of whose municipal territory falls within the Sierra de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas Natural Pa…
Letur
A compact stone village in Albacete's upland sierra country, its tightly clustered sandstone houses and clock-towered church dusted with snow above a rocky e…
Almadén
Almadén's mercury mine, the most productive in the world over two millennia and the source of roughly 250,000 metric tons of liquid mercury, earned the town…
Riópar
A small Spanish village in the Sierra de Alcaraz, with forested rocky ridges rising directly behind its red-tile rooftops, a riverside setting, and enough ca…
Villarcayo de Merindad de Castilla la Vieja
The little capital of the Las Merindades comarca in Burgos province, Villarcayo sits in a broad valley crossed by the River Nela, with a central Plaza Mayor…
Nerpio
Compact stone-and-render village spread across a snow-dusted valley in Spain's Sierra de Segura uplands, Nerpio sits at the southern tip of Castile-La Mancha…
Tavernes de la Valldigna
This Valencian town sits where a horseshoe-shaped valley, bordered by mountains on the west, opens onto the Mediterranean coast, giving it both mountain terr…
Urretxu
This small Basque town in Gipuzkoa sits on the Urola river in mountain terrain, with a central core of cafés and restaurants and a concentration of historic…
Oropesa
This 15th-century castle dominates this modest Toledo province village — built in 1402 as the seat of the Toledo noble family, it was converted into a Parado…
Liétor
This pocket-sized village in the Mundo river valley in Albacete, Liétor sits alongside the water with mountain terrain close by and a handful of cafés and re…