Romantic getaways in Spain off the beaten path.
Less-touristed romantic getaways in Spain, for travelers seeking fewer crowds but all the beauty.
Peñafiel Castle's wine caves honeycomb the hillside below its ramparts while, across the country, Zahara de la Sierra mirrors the sky in its reservoir above the Sierra de Grazalema. These 22 Spanish towns — from the Duke of Lerma's 17th-century Vila Ducal in Burgos to the Princess of Éboli's Ducal Palace in Pastrana — reward travelers who want history that still feels inhabited rather than curated.
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 —…
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…
Pastrana
Declared a historic-artistic ensemble in 1966, Pastrana is a small village in Guadalajara's La Alcarria region whose medieval and Renaissance character remai…
Tarazona
Tarazona, on the river Queiles in Aragon, packs an unusual concentration of historic churches and medieval architecture into a modest centre shaped by centur…
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…
Peñafiel
Peñafiel Castle, visible from miles around and now housing the Wine Museum of Valladolid, crowns this pocket-sized Castilian town at the heart of the Ribera…
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…
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…
Almagro
Almagro, a little town in Ciudad Real, has hosted an International Festival of Classical Theater annually since 1978 and holds designation as one of Spain's…
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…
Segorbe
Segorbe's September bull-running week (Semana de Toros) draws large crowds to this small Valencian town in the mountains of Castellón province.
Sonseca
Modest Castilian town in Toledo province, Sonseca centres on a handsome granite Casa Consistorial draped in Spanish flags, sitting within easy reach of viney…
Belmonte
A compact Castilian village of white-walled, red-roofed houses spread across open plateau country, with a landmark church tower rising above the rooflines an…
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…
Arévalo
Arévalo, in Ávila province in Castile and León, sits on a tongue of land where the Adaja and Arevalillo rivers meet — a defensive position typical of medieva…
Briones
Tiny wine-country village in La Rioja Alta, Briones sits on a hill above the Ebro river, its northern slope dropping almost vertically to the water.
Medina Sidonia
Claimed by some to be the oldest city in Europe, Medina Sidonia is a hilltop town in Cádiz province, Andalusia, with a café and restaurant scene that is well…
Béjar
Béjar is a small town in Salamanca province whose historical identity was shaped by a once-thriving textile manufacturing industry.
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,…
Alcalalí
This tiny wine-country village in the Pop Valley of Alicante's Marina Alta comarca, Alcalalí sits between the Serra del Ferrer and the Segili hills with scen…
Chinchilla de Montearagón
Declared a historic-artistic ensemble, Chinchilla de Montearagón is a medieval-plan hill town in Albacete province, rising on the Cerro de San Blas to comman…
Belorado
This pocket-sized Burgos village on the Camino de Santiago's French Way, sitting alongside the Tirón river with the Sierra de la Demanda mountains in view.