From Murcia with its squares and fountains to the Moorish marvels of Zaragoza and Jaén, Paul Richardson captures the essence of Spain’s less visited cities 1. Salamanca The Oxford of Spain Palaces, convents, towers, not one but two cathedrals… Salamanca is stuffed with historic architecture the way the hornazo, its signature baked item, is stuffed with ham and chorizo. Granite-built, serious and strait-laced, this is a city deeply in tune with its own heritage. Salamanca University was granted a royal charter by King Alfonso IX of León in 1218, making it the oldest in Spain and one of the half-dozen oldest in Europe. A visit to the university makes for a good dose of culture: you can’t miss the tapestry-hung Paraninfo hall and the glorious Plateresque facade with the famous frog hidden among the stonework. But if Salamanca knows how to have fun, it’s mainly due to the 32,000 students living and (occasionally) working here. It’s down to the student body, too, that the live music scene in particular is streets ahead of most Spanish towns (Cum Laude, Santa Rita, Milú and Tio Vivo are recommended locales). The University New Year celebration held in mid-December in the Plaza Mayor is a riotous fiesta with few equals. Greatest icon The Plaza Mayor is Salamanca’s elegant outdoor drawing room – surely a candidate for Spain’s finest square. The insider secret Most visitors miss the Casa Museo Unamuno, the touchingly maintained former home and library of genial Spanish writer Miguel de Unamuno. The place to stay Palacio de San Esteban, a 15th-century convent virtually next door to the cathedral, has been divinely repurposed by the always recommendable Hospes group into a five-star hotel with rooms from €80. 2. Murcia A Mediterranean gem (and a vegan’s dream) Comfortably tucked into a corner of Spain’s Mediterranean south-east, Murcia wins friends easily. A weekend stroll would typically take you from the mighty cathedral, a gothic/baroque mash-up, into delectable squares with fountains and terrace tables like the Plaza de las Flores, where on summer nights Murcianos congregate to take the cool night air, a vínico and tapas. In a protein-loving country, Murcia stands out for its love of vegetables, sourced in the farmlands surrounding the city, and employed in hearty plant-based dishes such as zorongollo (scrambled egg with courgette and onion) and olla gitana (“gypsy pot”, a chickpea stew with pumpkin and pear). Not for nothing is Murcia designated Spanish Capital of Gastronomy 2020. Murcia is also notable for what lies on its doorstep. The Mar Menor, a saltwater lagoon separated from the sea by a thin strip of land, is a favourite day-trip from the city. Also within striking distance is one of the Spanish Mediterranean’s last scraps of untouched coastline. The secret coves of Calblanque have dunes, dark cliffs, and waters the colour of lapis lazuli. Greatest icon The Baroque Belén (Nativity scene) by 18th-century sculptor Francisco Salzillo is much loved by Murcianos. See it in situ at the Salzillo Museum. The insider secret Lemon leaves fried in batter and dusted in icing sugar are a cult Murcian dessert (don’t make the mistake of eating the leaf – simply nibble off the fragrant batter). Perfect paparajotes can be found at the restaurant Rincón de Pepe. The place to stay Hotel Cetina (cetinahotels.com), Murcia’s only characterful boutique hotel, is design-savvy and affordable. 3. Zaragoza Big, vibrant – but still under the radar If the region of Aragon is Spain’s last great unknown, then Zaragoza, the region’s grand and festive capital, is the big Spanish town that somehow escaped our notice – the one that got away. This is the fifth largest city in the country and a vibrant, lively place that nevertheless retains something of its intimate provincial character. Important elements of a Zaragoza tour might include the 11th-century Aljafería Palace, a Moorish marvel, and the imposing Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar, whose resident Virgin is the patroness of Spain and the whole Hispanic world. There are reminiscences of Goya, Gargallo and Luis Buñuel (all Aragonese creators) in a slew of museums and monuments around the city, and the local cuisine is fascinatingly idiosyncratic – try chicken al chilindrón, borage with potatoes, and local ternasco lamb. When night falls, join the Zaragozanos of all ages and conditions in El Tubo, an old-town district heaving with taverns and tapas bars. Greatest icon The Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar. The insider secret El Plata, a glorious cabaret bar rescued from closure by film director Bigas Luna, is an underground Zaragoza institution. The place to stay Gran Hotel (nh-collection.com). The city’s go-to posh hotel since 1929 is enjoying a new lease of life under the utterly reliable NH chain. 4. Jaén Andalucia’s low-key olive capital Of Andalucia’s eight provincial capitals, Jaén may be the least known. Yet Jaén has powerful arguments in its favour. With its rabbit warren of whitewashed alleys behind the cathedral, its Mudéjar churches and convents, and the extraordinary 11th-century Moorish bathhouse discovered in 1913, old-town Jaén is like Seville without the souvenir shops and tourist tapas bars. Jaén’s eponymous province produces more olive oil than the whole of Italy put together, and “olive oil tourism” is increasingly a thing. Taste-test the region’s most delicious extra virgin oils, with their haunting aromas of fig-leaves, tomato plants and fresh cut grass, at Casa Antonio, the city’s best restaurant. Head out of town through a billowing sea of olive trees to Terra Oleum, aka the Active Museum of Olive Oil and Sustainability, recently opened in a modernist building clad in gold-coloured steel. The museum’s interactive displays reveal the art and science behind olive growing and oil production. Greatest icon Jaén’s superb Renaissance cathedral with its twin-towered facade, the masterpiece of local architect Andrés de Vandelvira. The insider secret Much patronised by locals, the Taberna del Gorrión dates from 1888 and the creaky, wood-lined interior of this old-town wine bar has changed little since. The place to stay Parador Nacional de Jaén (parador.es/es/paradores/parador-de-jaen), set in a craggy castle high above the city. Fascinating fact: Charles de Gaulle wrote his memoirs in a room here. 5. Alicante Dazzling light and old-town charm Alicante is a classic example of the “airport town”, well known but usually ignored by visitors rushing to the coastal resorts of the Costa Blanca. It’s unjustly ignored, as it happens. There are surprises and delights to be had here – like the medieval quarter of Santa Cruz, a rickety old kasbah of a neighbourhood racked up against the mountainside, with narrow lanes and geraniums in tins; and the Calle Labradores with its rows of handsome 18th-century palacetes. Two sights alone make Alicante worth a weekend break: the 14th-century Basilica of Santa Maria, its gothic stonework recently scrubbed to a creamy whiteness; and the award-winning, hi-tech Provincial Museum of Archaeology (MARQ), a far cry from those traditional display cabinets full of broken pottery. After a lazy paella at one of the harbourside restaurants (La Dársena has 150 different rice dishes on the menu), join the throng of sauntering locals on the palm-lined Paseo de la Explanada. Greatest icon The view from the Arab fortress of Castillo de Santa Barbara – a Mediterranean panorama of old-town roofs and glittering sea. The insider secret Ferry boats leave Alicante harbour for the 50-minute crossing to the island of Tabarca. This tiny, car-free isle can be crowded in summer, but is especially magical off-season. Lunch on rockfish and potato caldero at Anita’s beachside restaurant. The place to stay Hotel Boutique Alicante XVII (hotelboutiquealicante.com), a 17th-century mansion in the prettiest part of downtown Alicante, within minutes of the major sights. 6. La Coruña A breath of fresh air in the far north Spain’s northernmost provincial capital stands on a headland surrounded by sweeping beaches where giant breakers roll in from the Atlantic (surfers take note). La Coruña has the brashness of a city that still makes its living from manufacturing, not tourism, and the bracing seaside saltiness of a hard-working harbour town. For a blast of its legendary passion for football, catch a home game at the Riazor stadium when Deportivo La Coruña (aka “El Depor”) are playing. Picasso lived here as a child and there’s a trail you can follow, from the family home on Calle Payo Gómez to the shop where a teenage Pablo had his first exhibition. Saturday morning might be the moment to take in the bric-a-brac and street-fashion emporia of the Brighton-like Orzán district, then repair to the taverns of the Calle Estrella for pulpo á feira (octopus and potato) and big glasses of albariño. La Coruña shows that it’s not always grim up north – indeed, its rough-hewn cordiality might remind you of somewhere much further south. Greatest icon The Torre de Hércules, a square-sided stone tower on a lonely promontory staring out into the Atlantic – Spain’s most emblematic lighthouse. The insider secret Global high-street brand Zara was born in La Coruña; the first Zara store opened in 1975 at Calle Juan Flórez 64, and is still trading. The place to stay Noa Boutique Hotel (noaboutiquehotel.com), a breezily modern bolthole within a few feet of the sea at Santa Cruz bay. 7. Jerez de la Frontera An Andalusian beauty with excellent wine Jerez plays second fiddle to Cádiz, though in fact this classy city is more prosperous than its own provincial capital. The handsome old town abounds with private palaces, their windows shuttered behind solid iron grilles. Key sights are the baroque churches, the stone market building pullulating with keen shoppers and top-quality produce, and the Alcázar, a Moorish fortress carefully restored with gardens of almond and carob trees. Essentially, however, Jerez has three claims to fame: horses, flamenco, and wine. The Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Arts is dedicated to preserving the culture of the pure-bred Andalusian horse (a twice-weekly show takes place in its palatial grounds). Jerez is the cradle of cante jondo, the most obstinately traditional variety of flamenco song, and aficionados shouldn’t miss the Andalusian Flamenco Centre, housed in a fine old town house. And it all comes back to sherry. Jerez is a world-class wine town – even the air smells pungently of old wood and alcohol – and a visit to one of its 20 bodegas (try Lustau, Fundador, or Williams & Humbert) is a delicious route to the city’s vinous soul. 8. Oviedo Bewitching historic hub of Asturias Conspicuous by its absence on the well-trodden tourist circuit, little Oviedo has a personality out of all proportion to its size. Its few foreign visitors discover a compact and friendly provincial city packed with relics of its early importance as capital of an ancient kingdom and a key site in the reconquest of Spain from the Moors. Not to be missed are a precious handful of pre-Romanesque buildings: San Julián de los Prados, dating from the early ninth century, is a tiny and magical church whose richly painted interior reminds you what a debt Christianity owes to the Orient. Oviedo’s cultural life is also lively: the Campoamor opera house, a classic 19th-century chocolate-box theatre, where Plácido Domingo and Montserrat Caballé sang, is the venue for Spain’s prestigious Princess of Asturias awards. The city has a superb produce market, some wonderful old pastry shops (Camilo de Blas, Rialto, Peñalba) and two or three of the country’s best restaurants. The sidrerías of the Calle Gascona are dedicated to the swigging of Oviedo’s favourite drink (cider) along with platters of pixin (fried monkfish chunks) and slabs of Asturian cheese. Greatest icon Santa Maria del Naranco. Is it a chapel, a hunting lodge or a pleasure dome? The exact purpose of this beautiful construction, built for the Asturian king Ramiro I in the mid-ninth century outside Oviedo, may never be known. The insider secret Oviedo is Woody Allen’s home-from-home in Spain (he once described it as “a fairy tale”). Part of his Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona was filmed here and a statue of the director stands on Calle Milicias Nacionales. The place to stay Hotel de la Reconquista (eurostarshotels.com/eurostars-hotel-de-la-reconquista). A room at this legendary establishment is well worth busting the budget for. 9. Logroño Rioja’s good-living little capital Logroño has never been on the tourist trail except in one important sense: the Way of Saint James passes directly along Ruavieja, the city’s most historic street. The capital of La Rioja region – and by default that of rioja, the wine – is a small and stress-free city where life is generally orientated towards pleasure and leisure. A handful of cultural offerings – most notably the amazing Wurth Museum, a contemporary art space improbably located on an industrial estate on the outskirts – can be wrapped up in a morning, leaving time for a thorough investigation of the two things Logroño does best: namely, eating and drinking. 1pm is zero-hour on the Calle Laurel, the solar plexus of the city’s fabulous pincho scene. Each of its bars – 60 of them at the last count – has its own speciality: try the crunchy-skinned slab of roast piglet at Las Cubanas, stuffed mushrooms at Bar Angel, or the tempura-like vegetables at Taberna de Correos. To drink with that? It’s got to be Rioja. Greatest icon Logroño’s very own Michelangelo, Calvary (1540), an exquisite small painting of the crucified Christ (in the cathedral). The insider secret The stupendous barrel room at Campo Viejo winery, one of the world’s largest. The bunker-like cellar contains 70,000 oak barrels. The place to stay Hotel Calle Mayor – just a three-star, but it is funky, comfortable and keenly priced (hotelcallemayor.com). 10. Girona Where Spain feels like Tuscany An olive stone’s throw from the French border, Girona is Spanish only by the skin of its teeth. The city is the epicentre of the Catalan independence movement – Catalan is the first language here, and the yellow-and-red-striped flag flies defiantly from balconies. In its daily life Girona exudes the confident air of a prosperous provincial capital. Food lovers are drawn here as if by an irresistible force: the restaurant scene, with Can Roca at its head, turns on the rich tradition of Catalan gastronomy (specialities include the curious botifarra dolça, a cured sausage made sticky with sugar and spices.) The city’s Jewish heritage is another powerful draw: don’t miss the atmospheric Call (the medieval Jewish quarter) and its fascinating museum. Girona begs to be taken at a leisurely pace. A slow stroll takes you over the River Onyar (the view of painted old-town tenements from the iron bridge is a classic), past tiny squares with terrace tables and dark alleyways nosing upwards towards the neoclassical cathedral. It’s as picturesque as any Tuscan city-state. Just don’t mention the E-word (España). Greatest icon El Celler de Can Roca. The Roca family restaurant is Spain’s finest, and one of the world’s top three, producing exquisite dishes. The insider secret Girona has doubled for King’s Landing, Braavos and Oldtown. The city was a much-used location for Game of Thrones, and the cathedral was the Great Sept of Baelor. A Thrones tour allows you to relive the fantasy. The place to stay Opening soon on Plaça Catalunya, Casa Cacao belongs to genial pastry cook Jordi Roca, and it features a shop, a chocolate tasting room, and 15 sweet bedrooms (casacacaogirona.com). 11. León Culture-rich crucible of a medieval empire The former capital of an empire that once sprawled across a third of the Iberian Peninsula, León is justifiably proud of its architectural heritage. The great cathedral, built in the 13th century in an exquisite Gothic style and worthy of comparison with Chartres, is alone worth the journey (the building’s main attraction is its 19,300 sq ft of medieval stained glass). You might say the same of the venerable Real Colegiata de San Isidro, which comprises among other things a Roman basilica, a museum, a hotel, the pantheon in which 23 Leonese kings and queens are buried, and Doña Urraca’s famous cup, locally touted as a prime candidate for the holy grail. A few old-town streets away stands Casa Botines, a fantasy castle that features teetering spires designed in 1893 by Antoni Gaudí. When you’ve ticked the boxes culturally, do as the locals do and head for the tapas bars of the Barrio Húmedo (the name “wet neighbourhood” refers to the quantity of wine consumed) for a glimpse of León at its most convivial. Greatest icon The Panteón Real, burial place of medieval Leonese monarchs, whose 11th-century painted vaults are a thrilling masterpiece of Romanesque art. The insider secret In León’s bars (of which there are, reputedly, more per head than anywhere else in Spain) the tapas come free with your glass of wine. The place to stay Hotel Real Colegiata de Saint Isidoro, located inside one of León’s unmissable sights. 12. Mérida Roman remains, ripe for a recce Founded in the reign of Emperor Augustus as a retirement centre for veteran soldiers, Augusta Emerita grew into the well-appointed capital of a province (Lusitania) comprising most of western Spain and Portugal. Nowadays, though still nominally a regional capital (of Extremadura), Mérida has slumped into the second division but retains the romantic memory of its greatness in the Temple of Diana, the aqueduct of Los Milagros, the Roman bridge over the Guadiana river, and much more. A good plan is to mooch among the monuments, perhaps taking refuge from Extremadura’s summer heat in the air-conditioned cool of the Museum of Roman Art, a brick-built 1986 masterpiece by architect Rafael Moneo. The Festival of Classical Theatre, held every year in the awe-inspiring setting of the Roman theatre, sees the city briefly regain something of its ancient self-esteem. And Mérida has one more impressive Roman legacy: the domed bathhouse at nearby Alange, where a soak in the hot springs has soothed many a weary visitor’s feet. Greatest icon The stupendous Roman theatre, built in 15BC and still in use. The insider secret Mérida’s ibérico ham, from acorn-fed pigs, is the finest. Locals swear by the quality seal Dehesa de Extremadura – found in all the city’s best tapas bars. The place to stay Barbarossa Suites Plaza de España (activaapartment.com). Steer clear of Mérida’s lacklustre hotel scene and book yourself into this bright and beautiful revamp of an old-town apartment.