Ciudadela

Aragón

LoginSave

Jaca's large, star-shaped citadel, built in the 1590s to defend against possible French invasion, is surrounded by an equally star-shaped moat inhabited by a herd of deer. Inside, you can explore the bastions, casemates, powder magazines and chapel as well as the broad central Patio de Armas.

The citadel also hosts the surprisingly good Museo de Miniaturas Militares (www.museominiaturasjaca.es), a model soldier museum with detailed battle scenes providing a visual military history lesson from Hannibal's elephants to Franco's fascist tanks.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Monasterio de San Juan de la Peña

    Monasterio de San Juan de la Peña

    7.31 MILES

    The road from Santa Cruz winds 7km up to the 10th-century Monasterio Viejo, tucked protectively under an overhanging lip of rock. A fire in 1675 led the…

  • Museo Diocesano

    Museo Diocesano

    0.15 MILES

    The star turn of the excellent Diocesan Museum (accessed from inside the Catedral de San Pedro) is a collection of Romanesque and Gothic art rescued from…

  • Estación Internacional de Canfranc

    Estación Internacional de Canfranc

    12.52 MILES

    The magnificent, 250m-long, Modernista structure of Canfranc station stands as a monument to a trans-Pyrenean railway that has lain idle for half a…

  • Castillo de Loarre

    Castillo de Loarre

    17.31 MILES

    This large, multi-towered, 11th-century fortress, raised in Christian/Muslim frontier territory by Sancho III of Navarra and then expanded by Sancho…

  • Eaux-Bonnes

    Eaux-Bonnes

    28.83 MILES

    During the 19th century, the small village of Eaux-Bonnes (literally, Good Waters) flourished as a spa resort thanks to its geothermal hot springs, which…

  • Iglesia de San Pedro

    Iglesia de San Pedro

    16.36 MILES

    This imposing, thick-walled church was founded in the 9th century as part of a monastery that formed the hub of the nascent County of Aragón (a small…

  • Catedral de San Pedro

    Catedral de San Pedro

    0.16 MILES

    Jaca’s 11th-century cathedral is a formidable building, typical of the sturdy stone architecture of northern Aragón. It was once more gracefully French…

  • Museo de Miniaturas Militares

    Museo de Miniaturas Militares

    0.05 MILES

    The thought of a model soldier museum might not sound particularly enticing to anyone over the age of 10, but think again. The detailed battle scenes…

View more attractions

Nearby Aragón attractions

1. Museo de Miniaturas Militares

0.05 MILES

The thought of a model soldier museum might not sound particularly enticing to anyone over the age of 10, but think again. The detailed battle scenes…

2. Museo Diocesano

0.15 MILES

The star turn of the excellent Diocesan Museum (accessed from inside the Catedral de San Pedro) is a collection of Romanesque and Gothic art rescued from…

3. Catedral de San Pedro

0.16 MILES

Jaca’s 11th-century cathedral is a formidable building, typical of the sturdy stone architecture of northern Aragón. It was once more gracefully French…

4. Torre del Reloj

0.27 MILES

Chunky gothic tower built in 1445 that once served as a prison, hence its alternative name: Torre de la Cárcel.

5. Ermita de Sarsa

0.39 MILES

This tiny 12th-century Romanesque chapel was actually moved here in 1972 from an abandoned village at the foot of Peña Oroel, the mountain that looms to…

6. Monasterio de San Juan de la Peña

7.31 MILES

The road from Santa Cruz winds 7km up to the 10th-century Monasterio Viejo, tucked protectively under an overhanging lip of rock. A fire in 1675 led the…

8. Estación Internacional de Canfranc

12.52 MILES

The magnificent, 250m-long, Modernista structure of Canfranc station stands as a monument to a trans-Pyrenean railway that has lain idle for half a…