Zaragoza in 3 days

Ruta de Caesaraugusta (the "Route of Caesaraugusta" — the four underground Roman museums of Zaragoza, all built over the excavated remains of the Roman colonial city of Caesaraugusta (founded 14 BCE by Emperor Augustus): the most innovative presentation of Roman urban archaeology in Spain): the four museums (the four Caesaraugusta museums each occupy the basement of a modern building above the Roman remains: the Roman Theatre Museum (Museo del Teatro Romano de Caesaraugusta — the most important: the remains of the Roman theatre of Caesaraugusta (built c. 12 BCE, the year of Augustus's second visit to Hispania): the theatre (the theatre seated approximately 6,000 spectators and measured 86 m in diameter — one of the largest Roman theatres in Hispania: the remains (the foundations of the curved cavea seating banks and the stage building (the "frons scaenae")); the interactive display of the Roman theatrical performances; the River Port Museum (Museo del Puerto Fluvial de Caesaraugusta — the Roman river port on the Ebro: the remains of the Roman river port installations (the stone quay walls, the warehouse floors and the dock structures) excavated under the Plaza San Bruno); the Baths Museum (Museo de las Termas Públicas — the remains of the Roman public baths (the "thermae") excavated under the Calle San Juan y San Pedro); the Forum Museum (Museo del Foro de Caesaraugusta — the remains of the Roman forum (the civic and commercial centre of the Roman colony): the forum complex (the portico columns, the temples, the tabernae (commercial shops)): the Forum Museum displays the most important Roman finds from Caesaraugusta including the monumental bronze inscriptions): the combined ticket (the combined ticket for all four museums is the most cost-effective option: €7 (€8.19)/ person)).

Mercado Central de Zaragoza (the Central Market of Zaragoza — on the Plaza del Pilar at the southern end; the most important food market in Zaragoza): the building (the Mercado Central de Zaragoza (the "Lonja de Verduras" — the "Vegetable Exchange"): the market hall was built 1903 in the Aragonese Modernista style (the Catalan Modernisme movement as it was interpreted in Aragon — less ornate than the Gaudí tradition but using the same technological innovations (the structural iron, the large glass skylights (the iron-and-glass roof of the Mercado Central), the polychrome ceramic tile facades)): the most important food market in the Ebro Valley (the Mercado Central de Zaragoza is the primary fresh food market for the Zaragoza hospitality industry — the restaurateurs of Zaragoza buy their ingredients at the Mercado Central every morning): the produce (the most characteristic Aragonese produce at the Mercado Central: the Ternasco de Aragón (the "Ternasco" — the Aragonese suckling lamb, specifically the milk-fed lamb under 30 days old (the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) "Ternasco de Aragón"): the most prized meat product of Aragon (the ternasco asado — the oven-roasted suckling lamb — is the most important festive dish of Aragonese cuisine)); the Melocotón de Calanda (the Calanda peach — the PDO peach from the Bajo Aragón region (the Calanda, Alcañiz and Mas de las Matas area of southern Aragon): the largest, sweetest and most flavour-intense peach in Spain (the "paperbag peach" — the Calanda peach is individually paper-bagged on the tree to prevent insect damage and promote the white flesh development))); the borage (the "borraja" (Borago officinalis) — the most characteristic vegetable of the Aragonese kitchen (the borage plant — the only vegetable unique to the Aragón regional cuisine in Spain)).

Francisco Goya in Zaragoza (the city that launched the career of Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (March 30, 1746 – April 16, 1828) — the greatest Spanish painter and one of the most important artists in the Western tradition): the Zaragoza connection (Francisco Goya was born in Fuendetodos (the village 43 km south of Zaragoza) and trained as a painter in Zaragoza under the master José Luzán (from 1760 to 1763 in Luzán's Zaragoza workshop): the Zaragoza Goya sites: the Cartuja de Aula Dei (the Carthusian monastery 6 km north of Zaragoza): the 11 enormous frescoes of the Life of the Virgin Mary that Goya painted in 1774 (the largest and earliest surviving Goya murals in existence: the cycle painted when Goya was 28 years old, the most important early Goya work in Spain); the Basílica del Pilar Coreto frescoes (1771-72 — the first major Goya commission: the fresco "Regina Martyrum" on the ceiling of a chapel aisle); the Goya Museum (the Museo Goya — Colección Ibercaja (the Goya Museum in the Palace of the Counts of Argillo on the Calle Espoz y Mina): the most important Goya collection in Aragon: the paintings include the portraits from the early career period (the Zaragoza period 1771-1775: the most important early Goya paintings in any Spanish collection outside the Prado); the graphic works (the Goya graphic prints: the "Caprichos" (1799 — the 80-print series of satirical aquatints: the most radical social criticism in Spanish art history (the critique of superstition, clerical corruption and human folly)), the "Desastres de la Guerra" (1810-1820 — the 82-print series documenting the atrocities of the Peninsular War (1808-1814): the most important anti-war graphic art series in the Western tradition)).

Zaragoza tapas and food evening (the Zaragoza tapas culture — one of the most underrated tapas scenes in Spain): the Zaragoza tapas tradition (the "tapeo" in Zaragoza — the tradition of bar-hopping with free tapas (the "pincho libre" — the free tapa offered with every drink order in the most traditional Zaragoza bars): the Zaragoza tapas bar tradition is more generous than the Madrid or Barcelona tapas (where the tapas are usually charged for): in the most traditional Zaragoza bars in the Casco Antiguo (the historic centre) and the El Tubo district (the "tube" — the narrow pedestrian alley between the Calle del Temple and the Calle de Méndez Núñez that is the most concentrated tapas street in Zaragoza), a beer or wine order is accompanied by a free tapa (the "convite" — the courtesy tapa); the El Tubo (the most important tapas zone in Zaragoza: the concentration of bars and tapas restaurants in the Casco Antiguo district around the Calle del Temple and the Mercado de Lanuza (the secondary food market in the historic centre): the most characteristic Zaragoza tapas: the "lechazo" (the roasted suckling lamb — the ternasco): the small portion of the oven-roasted suckling lamb breast or rib on bread (the most distinctly Aragonese tapa); the "migas" (the "bread crumbs" — the fried bread-crumb dish of the Ebro Valley: the bread soaked in water, broken into small pieces and fried with olive oil, garlic, chorizo and pork rinds); the "chistorra" (the Navarre-Aragón border cured sausage — the thin, air-dried pork and garlic sausage fried or grilled and served on bread); the Aragón wines (the Garnacha (Grenache) wines of the Cariñena and Campo de Borja PDO regions).

Zaragoza Mudéjar Architecture UNESCO World Heritage tour (the "Mudéjar Architecture of Aragon" — UNESCO World Heritage Site 1986, extended 2001: the most important collection of Mudéjar architecture in the world (Mudéjar: the art and architecture style developed by Muslims who remained in Christian Spain after the Reconquista, combining Islamic geometric brick and tile decoration with Christian Gothic and Romanesque building forms): the Aragonese Mudéjar (the Aragonese variant of the Mudéjar style is the most technically accomplished and the most geometrically complex of all the regional Mudéjar traditions in Spain: the Aragonese Mudéjar towers (the "torres mudéjares" of Aragon) are the most important individual element of the Aragonese Mudéjar tradition: the towers are free-standing bell towers (in the Christian tradition) built in the brick-and-ceramic-tile technique of the Islamic architectural tradition (the Arabic "alminar" or minaret type), giving them a visual similarity to Islamic minarets despite their Christian function): the most important Mudéjar towers in Zaragoza: La Torre de San Pablo (the tower of San Pablo church — the most complete Mudéjar tower in Zaragoza: the 14th century tower (80 m) with the geometric ceramic tile decoration on all eight sides of the octagonal shaft: the most complete example of the 14th century Aragonese Mudéjar tower type); La Torre del Salvador (Teruel — the most perfect Mudéjar tower in Aragon (though 180 km south of Zaragoza in Teruel, the UNESCO Mudéjar monument includes the four Teruel towers): the detached 14th century bell tower with the double helix staircase design (the exterior staircase spiralling around the tower shaft)).

Zaragoza Expo 2008 waterfront (the "Meandro de Ranillas" — the reclaimed waterfront district of the Expo 2008 (the International Exposition of 2008, theme: "Water and Sustainable Development"): the world exposition held in Zaragoza from June 14 to September 14, 2008): the Expo 2008 (the Zaragoza Expo 2008 was the smallest world exposition of the 21st century (3.5 km² site, 110 participating countries (the same number of countries as the Seville Expo 1992 and the Osaka Expo 1970): the theme (water and sustainable development) was chosen because of Aragon's location in the driest zone of the Iberian Peninsula (the Ebro Valley average rainfall 310 mm/year) and the central role of the Ebro River irrigation system in the Aragonese economy (the Aragonese irrigation systems (the "acequias" — the medieval Muslim irrigation canals, many still in operation): the most important legacy of the Taifa period of Saraqusta in the Aragonese landscape)); the Water Pavilion (the Pabellón del Agua — the most architecturally significant building remaining from the Expo 2008: the glass-and-steel structure designed by Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue (the EMBT studio — the architects of the Scottish Parliament building in Edinburgh (2004)): the Water Pavilion cantilevered structure over the Ebro River (the building partially extends over the water of the Ebro)); the Puente del Tercer Milenio (the "Third Millennium Bridge" — the cable-stayed bridge built for the Expo 2008 over the Ebro (architect Juan José Arenas de Pablo): the most dramatic new infrastructure element of the Expo 2008 site (the 270 m cable-stayed bridge with the 216 m asymmetric pylon)).

Monastery of Veruela day trip (Monasterio de Nuestra Señora de Veruela — 60 km north of Zaragoza in the Moncayo Natural Park on the slopes of the Moncayo mountain (2,315 m — the highest peak of the Iberian Range); 1h by car from Zaragoza): the history (the Monastery of Veruela was founded in 1146 by Pierre d'Atarès (the grandson of King Sancho Ramírez I of Aragon) following the Cistercian rule (the Cistercian order (the "White Monks" — the strictest and most influential monastic reform movement of the 12th century, founded at Cîteaux (Cistercium) in Burgundy in 1098 by Saint Robert of Molesme): the Cistercian architectural principles (the "austeritas" — the austerity doctrine formulated by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (the most influential Cistercian, 1090-1153): the Cistercian buildings must be plain, without decorative ornament (no coloured glass, no carved figurative sculpture, no gilding) — the austerity that gives the Cistercian churches their characteristic serene beauty)): the monastery (the Monastery of Veruela: the complete Cistercian monastery complex (the most complete surviving 12th century Cistercian complex in Spain): the church (the 12th century Romanesque-Gothic transitional church — one of the finest examples of the Cistercian Gothic in Spain: the single-nave plan (the Cistercian architectural principle of the single undivided nave, rejecting the complex multi-aisled plan of the French and English Gothic cathedrals)), the cloister (the 12th-13th century cloister: the most important medieval cloister in the Ebro Valley: the double gallery cloister with the carved Romanesque-Gothic capitals (the stylised vegetal capitals in the Cistercian manner — no figurative carving, but the vegetal scroll capitals of increasing refinement)), the refectory (the 12th century refectory with the 13th century pulpit), the dormitory and the chapter house).

Zaragoza farewell dinner and cultural evening (the most characteristic Aragonese dinner and the cultural context of the most important festival in Aragon): the ternasco asado (the "ternasco asado" — the oven-roasted suckling Aragonese lamb: the most important festive dish of Aragonese cuisine and the definitive farewell dinner in Zaragoza): the ternasco (the "Ternasco de Aragón" (Protected Designation of Origin (PDO)): the milk-fed lamb of the Aragonese sheep breeds (the "Rasa Aragonesa" breed — the most numerically important sheep in Spain: 2.5 million heads in Aragon alone: the small, compact, fine-woolled sheep adapted to the harsh Ebro Valley climate (the dry Aragonese summers and the bitter "cierzo" north wind of the winter (the "cierzo" — the cold, dry north-northwest wind that descends from the Pyrenees to the Ebro Valley: the most characteristic meteorological phenomenon of Zaragoza (wind speeds of 60-80 km/h are common, making Zaragoza the windiest provincial capital in Spain))); the ternasco (the lamb under 30 days old (the milk-fed lamb): the weight (the PDO Ternasco de Aragón must weigh between 8 and 12.5 kg at slaughter): roasted in the wood-fired oven for 2-3 hours with garlic, olive oil and white wine until the skin is crispy (the crackling surface) and the meat (especially the leg and the rack) is so tender it falls from the bone); the Fiestas del Pilar (the "Fiestas del Pilar" — the most important festival in Aragon and one of the most important in Spain: held in Zaragoza from October 7-18 each year around the Feast of Our Lady of the Pillar (October 12 — the national day of Spain (the "Día de la Hispanidad" — the Columbus Day): the Fiestas del Pilar features the "ofrenda de flores" (the Flower Offering — the most spectacular day of the festival: on October 12, hundreds of thousands of people in traditional dress carry flowers through the Plaza del Pilar to the Basílica del Pilar to construct a flower mantle around the statue of the Virgin)).