10 Beautiful Spanish Towns Frozen In Time

Stone and wood shape these villages. Many of its streets are still cobbled and in winter the smell of firewood fills the atmosphere. They are charming towns that have not changed in centuries. We want to take you to some Spanish towns frozen in time, places to forget everything, especially the clock.

1. Spanish villages frozen in time: La Alberca, Salamanca

This Salamanca town always appears in the lists of the most beautiful towns in Spain. Can’t be surprised. Located in the heart of the Sierra de Francia, its streets exude tradition. Its wooden balconies adorned with flowers, its half-timbered facades, the transept of its Plaza Mayor or its simple church will take you back in time.

2. Taramundi, Asturias

The story also stopped at Taramundi. He did so at a time when water mills were the driving force behind a very particular industry: knife-making. Today Taramundi is an authentic ethnographic museum where ancient hydraulic mills and traditional houses are discovered, and where you can learn a lot about ancient trades.

3. Fornalutx, Mallorca

This town is nothing like the idea that many have of Mallorca. Neither beach nor large buildings. Fornalutx is a beautiful town in the Sierra de Tramontana. A town of stone houses and steep cobbled streets that form a small labyrinth. By the way, look at the painted tiles on the cornices. One of those towns frozen in time that surprises those who visit it.

4. Aínsa, Huesca

An old crossroads and with the Pyrenees in the background, the town of Aínsa proudly remembers its past. How? with its castle and its walls, with its houses of traditional architecture, its narrow streets, its church and its Plaza Mayor, one of the most beautiful in Spain. And all well preserved and careful to detail. As if time had not passed here.

5. Peñalba de Santiago, León

We are now going to the heart of El Bierzo. Strolling through Peñalba de Santiago is a true journey back in time. Its stone houses with slate roofs and its Mozarabic church give shape to a postcard that seems to have not changed in centuries. And not only is the town wonderful, its surroundings are spectacular. One of those corners for which it is worth deviating from the path.

6. O Cebreiro, Lugo

In the Los Ancares de Lugo area this little gem hides. Here a beautiful set of traditional buildings is preserved, the pallozas. They are houses with a rounded shape and pointed thatched roofs, designed in this way to withstand the harsh conditions of winters in this area. A place that has remained to know what life was like in this beautiful region.

7. Besalú, Girona

Another of the Spanish towns frozen in time, because just crossing its bridge will give you the feeling that you are heading towards another era. And once in the town, there is nothing like getting lost in the alleys of its old Jewish quarter or discovering jewels such as the Sant Pere monastery or the Sant Vincenç church, both from the 12th century.

8. Calatañazor, Soria

It was a border place at the time of the Reconquest. In fact, it is famous for the battle that Almanzor lost here against the Christians. The town is on a rock and its steep medieval streets and modest houses stand out. Houses that are characterized by their adobe facades and wooden frames. Of course, the remains of the castle should also be visited.

9. Valverde de los Arroyos, Guadalajara

It is part of the route of the so-called “black towns”. Here the one that dominates is the blackboard, hence the nickname of these towns. You will see it in its church, in its streets and in its Plaza Mayor. Also, of course, in the houses. In fact, one of them houses an ethnological museum where you will be able to know all the details of the peculiar architecture of this area.

10. Morella, Castellón

We finish this route through Spanish towns frozen in time in Castellón. The imposing castle of Morella recalls the times in which the Cid passed through these lands. What’s more, he conquered this square twice before taking Valencia. Visit its castle, walk the more than two kilometers of its walls and discover its towers. Do you need more to feel like in another era?

Cover photo: kk / Flickr.com