Exploring the old town of Cuenca

After breakfast we head out to explore the old town of Cuenca. We stay in the center of the newer part of the city so we have to get across a small river and up a hill to find the old town. The easiest way to get to the old town would be just to walk across the river and then walk up the hill. But the main attraction of the old town is actually the hanging houses of the city – which you can’t see probably from the old town. So instead we walk along the small river and can look at the buildings of the old town.

We walk along the small river and we can see the old town to our left. At first there is houses right across the river but as we walk further down the road the cliff across the small stream groves higher and there is no longer any houses right across the river. After a bit we get the cliff is getting higher and now they are actually pretty impressive. On top of the cliffs are the famous hanging houses of the old town of Cuenca.

After a bit we come to a pedestrian bridge across the valley. From the bridge you get the best view of the hanging houses across the valley. The houses are clinging on to the edge of the cliff and it is hard to understand why they actually decided to build the houses at the edge of the cliff like this instead of at least leaving a bit of ground at the edge of the cliff.

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We walk across the bridge while we take in the view of the hanging houses and the view of the valley. After getting across the valley we walk into the actual old town of Cuenca.

We walk pass the hanging houses and into the old town where there is a little square there is a little museum at the square with some painting I think they are made by a famous local artist – but we decide not to go in and have a closer look at the museum.

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We continue the walk and reach the main square of the city – which ones again is named Plaza Mayor – like the major square in virtually any Spanish town. There aren’t a lot of people at the square today – but we saw pictures of the square during Easter where the square is really crowded with the locals celebrating semana Santa. At the square is the main cathedral of the town we go inside the cathedral for a bit and look at the pretty building.

From the square we start walking down through the old town until we get back to the newer part of the city where we have parked the car. It is nice walk down through the old town but the main attractions are the view of the houses and the Plaza Mayor.