Holiday guide to Zaragoza, Spain — theguardian.com

Zaragoza lies in a desert valley beneath the foothills of the Pyrenees, 90 minutes north-east of Madrid and three hours west of Barcelona. So, it snoozes in the hot midday sun and gets animated in the cooler evenings. Though not on the tourist trail, it has its cultural moments – the 17th-century painter Francisco Goya lived here, and there are numerous Goyas scattered around the city. The Basílica del Pilar (pictured right) is a place of pilgimage for Spaniards, who come to plant a kiss on the pillar on which Mary is said to have appeared to James while he was preaching in 40 AD. In October, the city shakes off its desert stupor with a week-long party, the Fiestas del Pilar.

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