La Peñiscola

Smoooooth drive up the east coast of Spain? Yes please! We usually like to go south of the city when we take a day trip but this December we went up North to one of the iconic Spanish towns I've had on my list for a long time, La Peñiscola.

The main reason we chose to go in December is because they put on a beautiful Christmas display, the backdrop is drop dead gorgeous and it has been the set for some of the scenes in Game of Thrones!

Drive 1 hour and half north, where you will arrive at the foot of an 11th century castle that was gifted to the Templars by King Jaume II in 1294. Resting between a beautiful long beach and a hidden bay lies this incredibly well preserved castle, and the main attraction of the town. As it is low season parking was super easy, we paid 60 cents for 3 hours which probably wasn’t even necessary but better safe than sorry (in high season it was 4.70€ for 3 hours.)

Here is the link to where we parked by the port: https://maps.app.goo.gl/4j9g1SFhLMUTF8jU7?g_st=iw

We arrived at exactly 2pm so our stomachs were rumbling, the hunt for food began. Understandably the town was very quiet and there seemed to be few options for lunch but those that were open had a wonderful view of the open sea and a fantastic list of seafood and tapas. We enjoyed a slow and satisfying lunch accompanied by a couple of glasses of verdejo as the winter sun started drifting towards the mountains. We also made friends with the couple sitting next to us who were from La Rioja (where my Spanish journey began) which was a bonus because they had been visiting La Peñiscola for the last 20 years! They helped us work out our route around the town for the second part of the day.

We climbed the hill that ran alongside the old fort wall that we had been admiring at lunch, to reach the ‘lookouts’ at the top which were now of course beautiful view points. The sun was so golden and the view so breathtaking that a photo shoot was had, of course. After that we made our way to the castle through those typical winding cobble stoned streets that all lead to the entrance.

5€ a ticket and we were in! The armoury, the court room, the kitchen quarters, the dungeon, the place where Pope Luna resided. The castle is really well done with an amalgamation of the original stone and markings, restoration of some damaged sections to make movement more easy and also figurines and videos showing more accurate depictions of how the rooms were used and by who.

If you’re there for the views and not so much for the history, have no fear, the perfect Game of Thrones-esque picture is easy to achieve. You have the sea view turrets, a big courtyard conjuring up romanticised images of medieval people dancing and socialising and there are also extremely narrow stairwells lined with thin iron bars leading to higher heights or darker dungeons.

After we twirled around the old castle we went down to the gardens. We strolled through the beautifully kept, multi leveled green space strewn across the cliff face that the castle looks over, equipped with a 13th century cannon and various stray cats enjoying the final bit of warmth from the December sun.

Now the last light was slowly fading and as we came out of the gardens all the Christmas lights had come on, turning the town centre into a dreamy medieval wonderland. We walked down through the city walls and under an archway that opened out to a pretty square surrounded by wooden market stalls selling all kinds of festive crafts and decorations. Christmas music was echoing around the illuminated stone walls and we ended up buying a classic Peñiscola themed Christmas bauble for our tree as a wee memento from the day trip.

So our day trip came to an end and we left with plans to come back in the spring or summer season to take advantage of more of the gorgeous surroundings although it was such a privilege to explore it for the first time with the streets basically empty! I highly recommend!