Loarre Castle, Spain

Loarre Castle (Castillo de Loarre) is widely regarded as the finest Romanesque castle in Spain — and, according to National Geographic, the best-preserved on the entire continent. It stands dramatically on a rocky outcrop at around 1,070 metres in the foothills of the Pyrenees, in the Hoya de Huesca of Aragon, looking out over a vast plain. Built in the second half of the 11th century by King Sancho Ramírez of Aragon on the frontier with Moorish territory, it is unusual in being both a fortress and a monastery: around 1071 the king installed a community of Augustinian canons within the walls and raised the church of San Pedro. Remarkably complete after nearly a thousand years, its towers, chapels and ramparts have made it a favourite of film-makers, most famously for Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven.

What to See

Within its double ring of walls and cylindrical towers, Loarre is a maze of stairways, dark passages and chambers to explore. The showpiece is the Romanesque church of San Pedro, raised over a crypt and covered by a barrel vault, with beautifully carved capitals and a dome — a sophisticated piece of architecture for such a remote frontier setting. From the keep and the wall-walks there are tremendous views across the Hoya de Huesca to the plains below and back to the Pyrenees, while the lower outer wall, added later, rings the approach with its round towers. The castle’s atmospheric, largely unrestored feel — bare stone, echoing vaults and sweeping vistas — is a large part of its magic, and explains why it stood in for a medieval fortress in Kingdom of Heaven and other films.

How to Get There and Practical Information

Loarre lies about 35 kilometres north-west of the city of Huesca and roughly 90 kilometres from Zaragoza, in northern Aragon. It is reached by car via the village of Loarre, from which a winding road climbs up to a car park just below the castle; there is no direct public transport to the gate, so a car is by far the easiest option. The castle is ticketed, with a cheaper self-guided entry and a slightly dearer option including an expert guided tour, and it keeps seasonal hours — longer in summer, shorter in winter — and is generally closed on Mondays in the low season. Allow an hour or two to explore, wear sturdy shoes for the uneven stone stairs, and bring a layer, as it can be windy and cool on its exposed rock even when the plain below is hot.