Discover the Charm of Lleida: a unique travel report beyond Spain’s main cities

Diverging from the typical path of most well-known Spanish cities, we explored Lleida last December. I want to share the enchantment of discovering this city in this article.

I won’t lie and say that the 2020 pandemic made me panic when surrounded by many people; this had been happening for much longer. I’ve always needed help being in crowds. And I guess that’s why I seek out undiscovered, unique, alternative, and perhaps lesser-known places. I enjoy strolling through ruins and exhibition halls with the fewest people possible.

It’s not that I hate people; I’m far from it! I just struggle to fully enjoy the moment when too many stimuli surround me. That was why I chose to travel to Lleida in early December. After a few months of living in Barcelona, with all the hustle and bustle in the city, I needed a quieter place.

Lleida is located on the border between Catalonia and Aragon, just 1 hour away by high-speed train from Sants Estació. And as a Brazilian, one thing that enchants me is traveling by train. We arrived in Lleida on a freezing Wednesday morning and stayed at a hotel near the station.

We arrived around 8 am, and our check-in was at 1 pm. We left our bags in the hotel’s luggage storage and walked. There was almost no one on the streets. Before breakfast, we stopped to observe this beautiful landscape on the banks of the Segre river.

The city is entirely walkable despite having accessible public transport. In addition to being walkable, it’s peaceful and friendly. We walked everywhere, so it’s essential to wear comfortable shoes — don’t do as I did, walking almost 5 km in combat boots.

On the first day, we visited the Lleida Museum, and for a moment, we thought it was closed because we didn’t see a soul around. Until I realized that the receptionist was looking at us curiously, and we entered. The museum admission was almost free (2,50 €), but I wouldn’t have minded paying more than that. Another thing that amazes me here is the support for culture; you can always find some kind of discounts: for specific age groups (our case), city residents or library cardholders, there’s always some incentive to appreciate these spaces.

I loved walking through the almost empty museum halls. However, they should welcome more visitors because it is a truly incredible collection!

The Lleida Museum and Seu Vella were my Top 2 places to visit. The collection is incredible, and the curation and education work were fantastic. At the entrance, the receptionist handed us a guide with translations into Spanish for all informational signs throughout the rooms, as they are written in Catalan. The rooms feature “prehistoric”*, Roman, Arab, medieval, and contemporary collections. Again, I must emphasize that the visit is well worth it!

Lleida is a city founded by an Iberian people, the ilergetes, and its history dates back to the 6th century BC. Until the town was annexed to the Roman Empire, these people defended themselves against Carthaginians and Romans. With the fall of the Roman Empire and the Germanic invasions, Lleida was conquered by the Visigoths and later by the Arabs until it was reincorporated into Catalonia in 1149. Indeed, it’s a historical saga!

After this reincorporation, the construction of Seu Vella, our next stop, began. It’s a cathedral on top of a hill, around which the city expanded. The works started in 1203 and lasted until the first half of the 15th century. Although today it is almost empty of ornaments, which were burned, mutilated, or desecrated when the cathedral was closed for worship in 1707 during the War of Succession (1701–1715) and turned into a military barracks in the mid-18th century, the coexistence of Gothic and Romanesque forms left me in awe. During the Civil War (1936–1939), Seu Vella was even a concentration camp until the year 1948 (Lleida Tourist Guide).

Despite the difficulty in climbing the hill after lunch, the view from this place is magnificent. Seu Vella is Lleida’s main tourist spot, and we arrived around 4 pm. We decided to stay to watch the sunset; it was our best decision.

More than the space dedicated to worship, what struck me the most were the Gothic forms of the cloister galleries, built during the 14th century and among the largest in European Gothic architecture. The bell tower, built between the second half of the 14th century and the early 15th century, with its 60 meters in height and 238 spiral stairs, presents us with a panoramic view of the city and its surroundings.

This picture was the best shot from the entire trip. I love the play of lights and shadows that the sunset provided. The arches and arabesques on top of the windows amaze me.

In addition to Turó de la Seu Vella, there is a Templar castle in Lleida, dating back to the second half of the 12th century, the Templar House of Gardeny. My tip for this visit is to take the guided tour. We paid 8€ each for the 1 hour and 30-minute tour, and it was exceptional! The guide was fantastic, engaging us very well in the history of the monument.

Our arrival at the guided tour time was unintentional. It was our last day in Lleida, and we enjoyed the first part of the morning at the hotel to sleep. Coincidentally, we decided to visit the castle around noon. When we bought the tickets, the receptionist informed us that the guided tour would start in a few minutes, and we decided to participate. It was the best decision we made.

Despite being a castle with an attached basilica, it should be noted that the building underwent reforms and changes over the years, and perhaps the most impactful transformation is at the top, where some ornaments were added to give a more “medieval” look to the castle. Anyway, passing through there is essential!

Our trip to Lleida was short but surprising. It’s so good to be surrounded by history, beautiful landscapes, and incredible monuments!

If you, like me, seek out this kind of place, a place where you can transport yourself to the past in just a few steps, be sure to visit Lleida.

*I wrote prehistoric in quotation marks because I didn’t find a better term to describe it. But let it be clear that it is a term that raises discussions among historians and archaeologists.