Jaca Citadel

Philip II ordered the citadel of Jaca built from 1592 to a pentagonal bastioned design by the Italian engineer Tiburzio Spannocchi, defending the Pyrenean approach against France, and it is one of the only complete examples of its type left in Europe, with all five bastions, the ditch, the covered way and the interior buildings intact and still in military ownership. Guided visits cover the courtyard, the chapel, the powder magazine and the walls. A herd of deer lives in the dry moat and is visible from the perimeter path. Inside is a museum of military miniatures with tens of thousands of figures arranged in dioramas. Jaca itself has a Romanesque cathedral of the eleventh century, among the earliest in Spain.

What you actually see

• The five bastions - a complete pentagonal artillery fortress of the 1590s.
• The deer in the moat - a herd living in the dry ditch around the walls.
• The miniatures museum - tens of thousands of figures in military dioramas.
• The interior buildings - chapel, magazine and barracks around the courtyard.

When to go

May to October; Jaca is high and cold in winter, though the ski season brings its own traffic. Visits are guided at set times and the citadel remains a military property with restricted areas.

Honest expectations

Access is by guided tour only at fixed hours, and the army closes it for its own use at times. The miniatures museum is a separate ticket and a specific taste. The site is exposed with little shade.

Nearby

Jaca cathedral is in the town; San Juan de la Pena and the Pyrenean valleys lie around.