Day Trips from Zaragoza

Tarazona's hanging houses grip red sandstone cliffs above the Queiles River, forming one of Aragón's most camera-ready medieval quarters. Pair the town with Moncayo's beech forests, where signed trails climb to 2,000 m summits with views across three provinces.

Aragón's easiest wine country begins just west of Zaragoza, where family bodegas in Calatayud coax powerful garnacha from 100-year-old vines. The town also shelters one of Spain's finest Mudéjar church towers, turning the outing into equal parts culture and cuisine.

Few travelers reach Daroca, which is why its 4 km of intact medieval walls and pair of Romanesque churches still feel like a private discovery. The town's spot on the old Camino de Santiago has left layers that larger cities shed centuries ago.

Art lovers head to the tiny village where Francisco de Goya was born to see his scrupulously restored house and the adjoining print museum. Add nearby Belchite's Civil War ruins and you have a day that swings from brushstroke to bullet hole.

This medieval settlement balances on the rim of the Vero River canyon, where vultures bank between limestone walls. The collegiate church cloister looks over terraced olive groves, and short paths nearby reach prehistoric rock art.

A 13th-century Cistercian monastery ringed by waterfalls and botanical gardens carves out a pocket of green in dry Aragón. Hiking trails inside the park pass 14 falls, among them the 50 m Cola de Caballo.