If you are going from Madrid to Barcelona (or vice versa) and want to break up the 7 hour train ride, consider staying in Zaragoza for the night. It's 3 hours from Madrid and 4 hours from Barcelona. It's also about halfway between Barcelona and Bilbao or San Sebastian, and almost halfway between Pamplona and Barcelona.

The Plaza de Nuestra Se�ora del Pilar is immense and a short cab ride from the train station (we walked a few blocks to catch the 36 bus instead). The plaza stretchtes from the Roman walls in on the west to the cathedral (seo) on the east. The Basilica is between the plaza and the Ebro river.

Besides the Plaza and its basilica, Zaragoza has some old Mud�jar churches, the Moorish Aljafer�a palace, and some museums, such as the Museo de Pablo Gargallo and Museo de Zaragoza . I liked the hearty aragones cuisine and the people I met. I know that there are two reasonably-priced places with rooms overlooking the Plaza:

Hostal ** Ambos Mundos
Plaza Nuestra Sra. del Pilar, 16
Tel�fono 976299704

Hotel ** Las Torres
Plaza Nuestra Sra. del Pilar, 11
Tel�fono 976394250
Fax 976394254

We stayed in Hotel Las Torres in 2001 for 8000 pts a night with a balcony overlooking the Plaza (we thought the view was worth a splurge). We liked it so much that we're staying there this year. I haven't stayed at Ambos Mundos, but I believe it's about half that.

Photos of Zaragoza

Overhead view of the Plaza del Pilar

Zaragoza Tourism