Mirador de San Pedro

The Mirador de San Pedro is a viewpoint in the old town of Cuenca, on the rocky promontory where the city stands between two deep river gorges. Cuenca is built on a narrow spur of limestone high above the meeting of the Júcar and Huécar rivers, which have cut steep canyons on either side of the town, and this natural defence made it a stronghold in the Middle Ages. The city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognised in 1996 as an outstanding example of a medieval fortified town adapted to a difficult site, and the view from this viewpoint shows why. The old houses seem to pile on one another, clinging to the cliff and rising in tiers above the gorge.

The sight everyone looks for is the Casas Colgadas, the Hanging Houses, a row of old buildings whose wooden balconies project over the edge of the Huécar gorge, as if suspended in air. They date back to the fifteenth century and were once used as houses and as a town hall, and one of them now holds a museum of Spanish abstract art, founded in the 1960s by the painter Fernando Zóbel. The balconies are the most photographed feature in the city, and from a viewpoint such as this, you can see how they hang above the drop. Late in the morning, the sun lights up the stone and wood, and the gorge is a deep green below.

The iron footbridge of San Pablo, built in the early twentieth century, crosses the Huécar gorge near the Hanging Houses, and it gives a closer view of the balconies and the monastery on the other side, which has been converted into a Parador hotel. A walk across the bridge, with its wooden planks and the sense of height, is one of the memorable experiences of the city. Several viewpoints and paths along the edge of the gorge give different perspectives, and the one at San Pedro is a good place to begin a walk.

A walking route of about three kilometres leads from the viewpoint through the old town, past the Plaza Mayor and the Cuenca Cathedral, along the narrow streets that climb steeply up the hill, and it includes information about local legends. The streets are steep and sometimes uneven, so sturdy shoes are a good idea. The viewpoint is open at all hours and free, and the view is quiet and contemplative compared with the busy streets nearby.

The Museo de la Ciudad and the Cuenca Cathedral are within a short walk. It suits photographers, walkers and those who enjoy dramatic landscapes, and morning is the best time. Allow half an hour at the viewpoint itself.