Page 165 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2017 - Northern Spain

NA V ARR A AND LA RIOJA  163

are the Roman esque cloister Ramírez. Its aisled church has chapels – dating from the 16th
and squat Gothic tower topped five chapels, the largest closed century – may have been a
by a huge spire. by a semicircular apse. Nearby is synagogue originally. Decor­
the complex’s oldest building – ative elements from the former
E Palacio Real de Olite the Capilla de San Jesucristo. mosque are found in the
Tel 948 74 00 35. Open Oct–Mar: Romanesque cloister. Next to
10am–6pm daily; Apr–Jun & Sep: the cathedral rises the 16th­
10am–7pm Mon–Fri, 10am–8pm Sat, century Palacio Decanal, with a
Sun & hols; Jul & Aug: 10am–8pm Plateresque façade and arcaded
daily. Closed 1 & 6 Jan. & 8 phone gallery. Bullfights once took
ahead to book. place on the busy Plaza de los
Fueros, the city’s main square.
Environs The Judería Vétula is the old
To the east of Olite is Ujué, one Jewish quarter, with tall, narrow
of the better­preserved villages brick houses with broad eaves.
in the lower Pyrenees. It has the
medieval atmosphere of a
stronghold concentrated around a Bárdenas Reales
the imposing fortified church of Navarra. Road Map B5–C5. n 948 83
Santa María. It has columns with 03 08. Park: Open 8am–1 hour before
capitals depicting human and dusk daily. ∑ bardenasreales.es
animal figures. The heart of Carlos
II is found inside the church. Storks’ nests on top of the Colegiata de Between the Ebro and Aragón
Santa María Magdalena in Tudela rivers extends a breathtaking
o Monasterio de p Tudela natural park of weathered cliffs
and crags. Bárdenas Reales is an
la Oliva uninhabited area almost devoid
Navarra. Road Map B6. * 35,500. @
Carcastillo (Navarra). Road Map C5. £ n Plaza Fueros 5; 948 84 80 58. of vegetation. To the north rises
@ £ from Tafalla. Tel 948 72 50 06. ( Sat. _ Santa Ana (24–30 Jul). a plateau, El Plano de Bárdenas;
Open 9am–12:30pm & 3:30–6pm ∑ tudela.es in the middle is the Bárdena
Mon–Sat, 9–11:30am & 4–6pm Blanca, named for its white
Sun. & In medieval times, gypsum cliffs; and to the south
Tudela was subject to is the Bárdena Negra, composed
Visitors are greeted both Christian and of reddish clay and limestone.
with a serene Moorish influ ence, Centuries of erosion have given
atmosphere at this as is aptly demon­ rise to plateaus, plains, rock­
Cistercian monas­ strated by the needles and river ravines.
tery, whose design Romanesque­Gothic In nearby Valtierra, the local
is characterized by Colegiata de Santa caves have been converted
asceticism and sim­ Window, Monasterio María Magdalena. into a guesthouse – a good
plicity. The monastery de la Oliva The church was built place to stop before setting
was founded in 1143 on the ruins of a off on one of the trails through
by the king of Navarra, García mosque, and one of its Mudéjar the geological formations.

Colourful rocks worn into fantastic shapes, the remarkable Bárdenas Reales

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