Zaragoza in two days

A good time to start our tour around Zaragoza would be about 10:30am. First we will explore the old town, which will take us towards the enormous Plaza del Pilar. It is well worth taking a few photos here, with the majestic Basilica of El Pilar, the Lonja building and the Town Hall along one side, La Seo Cathedral at the end (in Plaza de la Seo) and, in front, the monument to Goya next to the Caesaraugusta Forum Museum (also in Plaza de la Seo).

You have to visit the Basilica and La Seo Cathedral at the very least. First of all, you have to climb the tower to see the view of the whole city. The best photos of the exterior can be taken from the Puente de Piedra bridge. In La Seo, it is well worth visiting the interesting Tapestry Museum, as well as the interior of the Cathedral.If we have time during the morning, the Magdalena church (behind La Seo) is well worth visiting to see its Mudejar tower, and the Caesar Augusta Forum Museum, to see what the city was like during the Roman Empire.

After a short walk, this is the ideal time to have lunch, and there are numerous restaurants in the area near the square, the Calle Mayor or the Calle del Coso. We can choose either a normal meal, where we can sample typical dishes such as borage, the typical fried breadcrumbs or lamb, with local fruit from Aragon for dessert; or else we can opt for the Spanish custom of "going out for tapas" in a classic tapas city like Zaragoza. If we wander around the areas near Plaza de Santa Marta and La Magdalena, San Miguel, and El Tubo, we'll soon understand the reasons why the locals enjoy this custom so much.

Browsing through the historic centre of Zaragoza will remind us we're in a large city where the streets are always full of people. After lunch is a good time to visit the Caesar Augusta Theatre Museum, through which we can access the remains of the old Roman theatre.We continue our tour along the Paseo de la Independencia avenue, where there are numerous shops to buy souvenirs of the city. Moving on along the Paseo, we come to the Patio de la Infanta, one of the numerous Renaissance gems to be found in the city. If we return to the historic centre along Avenida César Augusto, we'll find ourselves in the perfect spot for having a rest and some mid-afternoon refreshment in a café or on a terrace while we enjoy the lively atmosphere in the streets.

After a whole day spent visiting Zaragoza, the best way to restore our strength is to visit a few of the bars in the El Tubo neighbourhood. This is an area of small alleyways packed with bars and restaurants, where the usual custom is to go from one bar to another sampling the speciality of each place, accompanied by a glass of wine or beer. 

If we want to sample the city's nightlife, we can choose between the younger atmosphere to be found around the Central Market, in the Historic Centre; the more elegant venues in the area around the streets of Francisco de Vitoria, San Vicente Mártir or Cesáreo Alierta; or, if the weather is good, the outdoor terraces in the Plaza San Pedro Nolasco or Santa Cruz.

Our second day in Zaragoza will show how different the city can be for each tourist. In the morning, we'll visit the Aljafería. At first glance we might think that nothing could be more distant from the Arab world than this military fortress. However, once inside, we find a mosque, a courtyard with orange trees, and architecture which is clearly determined by its Muslim origins.

In the evening, we will visit the former site of the Expo 2008. As we get closer we will discover the Torre del Agua on the other side of the Ebro river. To get to the other side we need to cross the Third Millennium Bridge, and from here we can see the beautiful Bridge Pavilion, shaped like a giant gladiolus. We can also travel to the rivers of the world with a visit to the River Aquarium in the Expo grounds. This is the largest freshwater aquarium in Europe and one of the largest in the world, and a visit here will seem all too short. Beside the Aquarium we can see the pavilions of Spain and Aragon in Expo Zaragoza, which are still standing.After our visit to the Aquarium there are several ways to spend the rest of the afternoon. The Luis Buñuel Water Park offers different facilities, such as restaurants, terrace bars, a white water flume, a spa centre, etc. Although if we prefer to take our leave of Zaragoza with a more urban image of the city, we can also spend our last hours making the most of its historic centre and the surrounding area.