{"id":838,"date":"2026-02-05T09:51:39","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T08:51:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ruta3reis.tortosaturisme.cat\/alcaniz\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T21:07:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T20:07:23","slug":"alcaniz","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ruta3reis.tortosaturisme.cat\/en\/3-stages-3-identities\/alcaniz\/","title":{"rendered":"Alca\u00f1iz"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Alca\u00f1iz<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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A city that surprises<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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If towns have a heart, without a doubt, Alca\u00f1iz’s heart is in its Plaza de Espa\u00f1a<\/strong> (Town Square). And if they have a soul, the municipality’s soul shines brightly in what is its main square. Here, the people of Alca\u00f1iz meet, laugh, and toast, and this is the starting point for anyone who wants to get to know this medieval jewel of the Bajo Arag\u00f3n region. <\/p>

With an irregular layout, it breathes history from all four sides. For example, the city’s Town Hall<\/strong> is located here, one of the most beautiful examples of Aragonese Renaissance architecture, which, together with the Lonja<\/strong> (and its three characteristic arches), were declared a Site of Historical and Artistic Interest back in 1931. In the same square, we find the Church of Santa Mar\u00eda la Mayor<\/strong>, an old collegiate church whose current layout follows the basic scheme of the Pilar of Zaragoza, something that became popular throughout Bajo Arag\u00f3n during the Baroque period. Its Tower of La Concordia<\/strong> has become a symbol of the city, open to visitors and offering magnificent views over Alca\u00f1iz and its surroundings. But no matter how high we climb, we will not be able to see one of the most characteristic elements of the town. <\/p>

To discover it, it is necessary to go down a few meters underground (from the Tourist Office, also located in the square) and start walking through the subterranean labyrinths of medieval past<\/strong> whose real extent has not yet been discovered and where you can visit a “nevera” (ice house) that in the past served to store snow and be able to “consume” it throughout the year.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Beyond the square, although not far from it, we find the Castle of the Calatravos<\/strong>, a magnificent construction that stands on the Pui Pinos hill and has watched over the city and the Guadalope River that crosses it for centuries.<\/p>

Built between the 12th and 13th centuries, it was occupied by the monk-warriors of the Order of Calatrava and stands out for its keep and its 14th-century Gothic frescoes, unique for their civil theme, something very rare in the panorama of Gothic mural painting in the peninsula. Currently, a Parador Nacional (state-run luxury hotel) occupies part of the site. <\/p>

The fountain of the 72 spouts<\/strong>, the Atrium Space dedicated to the history of Alca\u00f1iz, the museumized Air Raid Shelter of the Spanish Civil War<\/strong> (which recalls a bloody episode lived in Alca\u00f1iz and with numerous civilian victims) or the Center of the Iberians of Bajo Arag\u00f3n<\/strong> complement the intense cultural, historical and artistic offer of the city. Although if Alca\u00f1iz has become known for something in modern times, it is for its love of motorsports and a magnificent location to enjoy it. This is the great Motorland<\/strong> complex, a facility where you can enjoy top-level motorcycling events and its excellent architectural design, signed by the studio of the prestigious architect Norman Foster. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Naturally surprising Alca\u00f1iz<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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At a natural level, Alca\u00f1iz is also surprising. It does so with two different but nearby places. The first, that of Las Saladas<\/strong>, a set of 30 water basins with a very high concentration of salt that constitute a magnificent example of a phenomenon repeated in Bajo Arag\u00f3n, but practically unique in Europe: that of salt lagoons. This phenomenon is explained by remembering that millions of years ago, the Iberian Peninsula was covered by the sea. Now, these basins are filled seasonally with water from the subsoil, offering refreshing lagoons when they are full and a unique lunar landscape when they are empty. Currently, the arid landscape typical of this phenomenon coexists with new areas of orchards and irrigation, very close to the Estanca reservoir<\/strong>, one of the most beautiful landscapes of Alca\u00f1iz and a magnificent place to enjoy fishing, cycle tourism, hiking, horse riding and non-polluting water sports. <\/p>

Both the Estanca and the Saladas also become a must for those visitors who love bird watching and are connected by a route for walking or cycling promoted by the Alca\u00f1iz City Council. The City Council has also participated in the creation of Alca\u00f1iz Rutea<\/strong>, a tool to get to know the town through its paths and trails, and with 11 initial signposted routes with which to discover nature, but also the history of the municipality. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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A Holy Week declared of National Tourist Interest<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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And if it is always a good idea to visit Alca\u00f1iz, it is even more special to do so during the celebration of Holy Week<\/strong>. A festivity that in the town is characterized by the rumbling of the drums<\/strong> and the blue of the robes of the members of the brotherhoods, but above all for being a few days in which all the inhabitants take to the streets and collaborate in one way or another in a tradition that has been declared a Festival of National Tourist Interest<\/strong>. Holy Week in Alca\u00f1iz belongs to the Route of the Drum and Bass Drum of Bajo Arag\u00f3n. Another essential date in the city’s calendar is the day of San Jorge (April 23), when the spectacle of the Overcoming of the Dragon<\/strong> is celebrated and when the gardeners, following the tradition, give their beloved the ramo del bienquerer, a bouquet of wild flowers. During the month of February, Alca\u00f1iz travels to the 15th century with the historical recreations of the Fiestas de La Concordia<\/strong> (Festivals of Concord). <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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< Morella<\/a><\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Tortosa ><\/a><\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Nature\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Nature<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Route of the 3 Kings in its natural state<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Gastronomy<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Flavor of the Ruta de los 3 Reyes<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Festivals and festivities<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Festivals of National Tourist Interest and an intense cultural calendar<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDiscover it<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A city that surprises If towns have a heart, without a doubt, Alca\u00f1iz’s heart is in its Plaza de Espa\u00f1a (Town Square). And if they have a soul, the municipality’s soul shines brightly in what is its main square. Here, the people of Alca\u00f1iz meet, laugh, and toast, and this is the starting point for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":857,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-838","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ruta3reis.tortosaturisme.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ruta3reis.tortosaturisme.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ruta3reis.tortosaturisme.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ruta3reis.tortosaturisme.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ruta3reis.tortosaturisme.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=838"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ruta3reis.tortosaturisme.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/838\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1002,"href":"https:\/\/ruta3reis.tortosaturisme.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/838\/revisions\/1002"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ruta3reis.tortosaturisme.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ruta3reis.tortosaturisme.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}