Palacio de la Aljafería Gardens

The Aljafería is the great fortified palace of Zaragoza, set on the western edge of the old city, and its courtyards and surrounding grounds hold its gardens. Behind its plain walls and round towers lies one of the most beautiful pieces of Islamic architecture in Spain. The palace was built in the eleventh century as a pleasure residence for the Banu Hud dynasty, who ruled Zaragoza as a small independent kingdom after the collapse of the caliphate of Córdoba. The best-known ruler to use it was al-Muqtadir, who made the court a centre of poetry, science and art.

The oldest part is organised around a rectangular courtyard, the Patio de Santa Isabel, with a long pool and arcaded galleries on the short sides, where a small garden of orange trees and flowers gives a calm, shaded atmosphere. Beyond it is a small prayer room, an oratory with a mihrab niche, decorated in intricate interlaced arches and carved plasterwork of astonishing detail. These rooms rank among the finest examples of Taifa-period art and had a strong influence on later Mudéjar architecture in Aragon. UNESCO included the Aljafería among the monuments of the Mudéjar Architecture of Aragon.

After the Christian conquest of Zaragoza in 1118, the palace became the residence of the kings of Aragon, and they adapted it in the Mudéjar and Gothic styles. The Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, rebuilt much of the upper floor in the late fifteenth century, adding a magnificent staircase and ceilings with gilded wood. Tradition says that Saint Elizabeth of Portugal, a daughter of the king of Aragon, was born here, and the palace appears in nineteenth-century romantic literature, including the play that inspired Verdi's opera Il Trovatore. Over the centuries, the building served as a fortress, a prison and a barracks before it was restored in the twentieth century.

Today it is home to the Cortes de Aragón, the regional parliament, and part of the building is still used for sessions. Visitors can walk through the courtyards, the Islamic rooms, the royal apartments and the side gardens, and a moat surrounds the walls with lawns and trees. Guided tours and audio information are available, and the visit takes about an hour and a half.

The palace suits architecture lovers, history fans and anyone who enjoys quiet gardens. It stands at some distance from the centre, so allow time to travel. Check current hours and ticket arrangements.