In this video, IL Mexico editor Glynna Prentice takes you on a tour of Cuenca, Spain, a medieval mountain city less than 100 miles east of Madrid. Cuenca is the capital of Cuenca province, which is in the central Spanish region of Castilla-La Mancha. A World Heritage city since 1996, Cuenca has a dramatic location: The old city sits atop a spur of rock surrounded on three sides by steep gorges.
For much of the 20th century, Cuenca was a Mecca for both Spanish and expat artists, as well as a popular destination for hiking, cycling and rock climbing. Today the city has a well-respected modern art museum housed in one of the 15th-century “casas colgadas,” or hanging houses, which cling to the steep rock face of the gorge. In the last 10 to 15 years the city has made a bid for tourism, building a new concert hall and a science museum, and renovating many of the city’s medieval structures. It has become a popular day- and weekend-trip from Madrid, with many Madrileños buying and renovating old houses here. A new high-speed train has now cut travel time between Madrid and Cuenca to only 45 minutes, making Cuenca even more accessible.
In this video you’ll see:
- A colorful, charming main square
- Traditional cuisine at affordable prices served in local restaurants
- Medieval buildings that still serve as homes, some newly renovated
- Cuenca’s dramatic setting, with its parador (luxury hotel) and city buildings perched atop cliffs
- Views of the city, with its well-preserved medieval buildings, and of the countryside, popular with sports enthusiasts
Editor’s Note: Learn more about Spain and other countries in our daily postcard e-letter. Simply sign up for IL’s free daily postcards here and we’ll send you a FREE REPORT — Live the Good Life in Sunny, Affordable Spain.
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