Things to do in Huesca
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Huesca
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months: warm but not brutal, gorges in condition, Ordesa green and Somontano vines full.
June adds the Huesca International Film Festival, centred on the Teatro Olimpia.
Mountains are glorious and the city is hot, with highs around or above 30C and early starts essential.
Fiestas de San Lorenzo fill the city from 9 to 15 August, with peak prices and little sleep.
Ski season for Formigal, Panticosa and Candanchú, with February the peak for snow and prices.
Semana Santa brings old town processions and the first Ordesa shuttle period at Easter.
Late autumn is the quietest and cheapest window, but short days limit mountain plans.
What's on
- Fiestas de San Lorenzo 9-15 August
The city great week in white and green, with the chupinazo, dancers, procession and closing offering.
- Huesca International Film Festival mid-June
A major short film festival centred on the Teatro Olimpia, with dates that move yearly.
- Semana Santa March or April
Holy Week processions in the old town, solemn and local compared with Andalusia.
- San Vicente 22 January
Huesca winter local festival, a smaller pick worth knowing if dates land there.
- San Jorge, Day of Aragón 23 April
St George Day is the Day of Aragón, marked across the region.
Best things to do in Huesca
Catedral de Huesca
A Gothic cathedral on the old town high point, with a carved portal, major altarpiece and a tower view over the city.
Monasterio de San Pedro el Viejo
A Romanesque cloister with carved capitals and the tombs of two kings of Aragon in a quiet old town monastery.
Museo de Huesca
A free museum in the former palace of the kings of Aragon, home to the Sala de la Campana and the Bell legend.
Círculo Oscense
The Casino building on Plaza Navarra, one of the finest Modernista buildings in Aragon and the city living room.
Ultramarinos La Confianza
A frescoed fine foods shop trading since 1871, with a visitable cellar underneath the beautiful old counters.
Parque Miguel Servet
The city green lung with pines, duck ponds, playgrounds and the white Pajaritas that are a quiet Huesca emblem.
Basílica de San Lorenzo
The basilica of the city patron saint, and the spiritual centre of the Fiestas de San Lorenzo each August.
Planetario de Aragón
A planetarium and astronomy centre at Walqa with dome shows, telescope sessions and summer night visits.
Where to stay in Huesca
Casco Antiguo / Centro
first trip, food and sights
All main sights and both starred restaurants are within a ten minute walk, with the station walkable too.
Barrio de San Lorenzo / Ensanche
drivers, groups and space
A spacious residential grid southeast of the old town, easier for cars and still a short walk to Plaza Navarra.
Best restaurants in Huesca
Lillas Pastia
Huesca flagship starred table inside the Casino, serving modern Aragonese cooking since 1995.
Tatau
A starred bistro with the soul of a tapas bar, serving creative small plates in the old town.
Restaurante Las Torres
A long established contemporary restaurant known for a tasting menu that bundles wine and courses at fair value.
Restaurante El Origen
Acclaimed Aragonese cooking reworked with lightness, with a day menu locals call a bargain.
Flor Restaurante
A polished contemporary dining room on Plaza Navarra, priced for regulars despite the prime address.
Comomelocomo
A busy young tapas bar on Padre Huesca known for risotto, huevos rotos and a long terrace day.
Da Vinci
A prize winning tapas counter on the Padre Huesca strip, open every day and built for a tapeo crawl.
Restaurante Hervi Huesca
A traditional family restaurant doing the Aragonese canon straight, at hours and prices built for residents.
Outdoor things to do in Huesca
Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido
A UNESCO national park valley walk from the Pradera to Cola de Caballo, past waterfalls to a great glacial cirque.
Pasarelas del Vero
Cliff walkways above the turquoise Vero gorge below Alquézar, with swimming spots and a steep climb back.
Avalancha
Guided canyoning in the Sierra de Guara gorges, with jumps, slides and abseils matched to your level.
Castillo de Loarre
A Romanesque fortress grown from a limestone crag, with a church, keep and views for miles over the Hoya plain.
Mallos de Riglos
Three hundred metre conglomerate towers above the Gállego, for climbing views and family rafting below.
Ciudadela de Jaca
A perfect pentagonal star fortress in Jaca with museums inside and fallow deer living in its moat.
Golf de Guara
A relaxed 9 hole course north of Huesca played twice for 18, with mountain views and a local club feel.
Aramón Formigal-Panticosa
Spain's largest ski area in the Tena Valley, with linked sectors, schools for all levels and a strong dining scene.
Best hotels in Huesca
Hotel Pedro I de Aragón
The best hotel in Huesca, a four star superior by the park with a pool, gym and the most polished service in town.
Hotel Sancho Abarca Petit SPA
A central hotel built over Roman and Muslim wall remains, with a small spa for after a canyon or ski day.
Abba Huesca Hotel
A larger modern hotel in San Lorenzo with big rooms, a seasonal pool and easy parking and driving access.
Hospedium Hotel Posada de la Luna
A small central posada with private parking and friendly staff, regularly undercutting the four star hotels.
Hostal El Centro
A spotless central hostal at hostal prices, with a review record most three star hotels would envy.
Is Huesca expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €55 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €110 a person |
| Splurge | €220 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Planetario de Aragón: a few days ahead
- Pasarelas del Vero: a few days ahead
- Avalancha: a few days ahead
- Mallos de Riglos: a few days ahead
- Golf de Guara: a few days ahead
- Aramón Formigal-Panticosa: weeks ahead
- Estación de Esquí de Candanchú: a few days ahead
- Bodega Sommos: a few days ahead
- Book Lillas Pastia and Tatau days to weeks ahead, and El Origen for lunch.
- Book central hotels early for 9 to 15 August and for February ski weekends.
- Book Pasarelas del Vero entry, canyoning and rafting slots, and Formigal passes ahead in season.
- Book Planetario timed and night sessions rather than turning up at Walqa.
Is Huesca safe?
- Watch bags in San Lorenzo fiesta crowds, when the cathedral square packs out.
- Leave nothing visible in cars at mountain trailheads.
- Carry water and sun protection in summer gorges and use licensed guides for canyoning.
- Emergency number is 112 and Pyrenean weather changes faster than the valley forecast.
Huesca travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Selling Huesca as a monument heavy city break disappoints: it is a half day old town and a superb hub.
- Dinner is late, so a 19:30 sitting means an empty room and the wrong kitchens.
- Starting gorge and valley walks at noon in summer heat is the mistake behind most negative reviews.
- Driving to the Pradera de Ordesa in peak season expecting to park, when the Torla bus rule applies.
Getting around Huesca: public transport and more
- Walk the centre: all main sights fit inside a twenty minute loop.
- The intermodal station is about 15 minutes on foot to Plaza Navarra, or a short city bus ride.
- Trains link Huesca via Zaragoza to Madrid and Barcelona, but excursions need a rental car or a booked tour.
- In high season private cars are barred from the Pradera road in Ordesa and you take the bus from Torla.
Who Huesca suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Huesca your trip
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