I am planning a 3 day get away to Zaragoza this coming weekend. I have yet to travel there, and whereas most of my classmates have decided to spend our long weekend outside of Spain, I want to soak up as much of this great country as possible.Anyway, I am wondering if anyone has any must see ideas for Spain´s 5th largest city.Forgive me MM if this is tucked away in archives, but as you know your BBS is haywire. Thanks,
Shawn

Hi Shawn,

Both my parents are from Zaragoza and I lived there for 11 years. It's too bad I can't go there this weekend to show you around, I have an appointment with Chica
Anyway, try not to miss, La Basílica del PILAR, La Seo(and its 'Museo de Tapices'), La Aljafería, El Tubo(old extra-narrow streets full of bars), the Museo Provincial(if you love Goya's paintings), 'el casco viejo' for lively night-life, etc....
If you go there by yourself, I have a lot of cousins, one of them(a crazy 27-old-redhead) owns a bar, I can give you the address if you want, she'd give you great advice.

Have fun!

When I was planning my trip to Spain I had found 2 recommendations on this city at www.Epinions.com website. I took a different route but, anyway, they might be worth your reading.

[ 01-24-2002: Message edited by: MadridMan ]

Thanks for the ideas!
Pim, If you know the location of your family bar, send me an e-mail with it . I will tell your "crazy cousin" what a great cousin she has in Madrid .
Saludos,
Shawn

Shawn,

Thanks pal! You got it.

Enjoy yourself!

I loved Zaragoza. I plan on returnig throught my time here in Spain. The city is large, but suprisingly not overcrowded with tourists. Many of my classmates headed south for our long break, and encountered too many tourists interesed in speaking only English or German while drinking themselves into comas nightly. Zaragoza is a gem, that I hope these kinds of tourists avoid.

The city is well laid out, making walking to the sites easy. The Basilica, La Seo, The Mueso de Zaragoza, the Aljafería, and the Museo Pablo Gargallo are all terrfic. The Diputación de Zaragoza also had a nice exhibit of works by Francisco Rallo Lahoz. The exhibition end February 11, but includes a wide array of sculptures by this Argónes artist.

The night-life is lively as well, I started my nights at a nice coffee/bar on c/Cinco de Marzo called En Clave. A really mellow friendly environment, and a nice way to start a night. From there I would head to the spots off C/Alfonso I to the "tube" area, there is a spot for everyone here.

Looking Forward to a return visit,
Shawn

Shawn,

I'm very glad "to hear you say" you had fun!

Saludos,

p

Shawn, glad to read you enjoyed your stay in Zaragoza. I too visited the city last March for a week, I loved the place. Like you said there are not many tourists, I found that those who did were there to see their offspring who were attending the university to study the language. It was also my experience that very few people spoke English, the young did, but adults, except for major stores, spoke very little. I stayed in a little 2 star hotel in the older quarter near to the old market hall, (which lies amongst Roman ruins). The hotel is called the Las Palomas and I can highly recommend it, clean, cheap and quiet. Did you get to go around the uni area? there is a lovely park there. I too hope to visit again soon.
Saludos Sue.