Bus tickets to Zaragoza

Zaragoza rises on the Ebro’s broad banks, where the green river mirrors the Baroque domes of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar at sunset. Quick facts: population ≈675,000; capital of Aragon, Spain; language Spanish; currency euro (EUR); time CET/CEST. The city layers Rome, Islam, and Castile: wander Plaza del Pilar between the El Pilar basilica and La Seo (with Mudéjar towers), then step into the 11th-century Aljafería Palace—today seat of the Aragonese parliament and a jewel of UNESCO-listed Aragonese Mudéjar. Roman Zaragoza (Caesaraugusta) still speaks through the theatre, forum and river port museums. Contemporary notes sound along the Expo 2008 riverfront—the sinuous Bridge Pavilion by Zaha Hadid, the Water Tower—and at the IAACC Pablo Serrano and the Goya Museum. For tapas, follow the aromas into El Tubo’s lanes; taste ternasco de Aragón (roast lamb), migas, chicken or lamb chilindrón, and springy borage, with wines from Cariñena or Somontano. Festivals light the calendar: the Fiestas del Pilar around October 12 (flower offering, processions, giants and big-heads), solemn Holy Week processions with drums, the Zaragoza Jazz Festival in November, and March’s Cincomarzada picnics in parks. Getting around is easy: Zaragoza-Delicias is a combined AVE rail and bus hub, with high-speed links toward Madrid and Barcelona; a modern tram crosses the city, and Zaragoza Airport (ZAZ) connects domestic and European routes.