My Visual Travel Experience: Zaragoza, Spain

In 2014, I spent a week in Spain. I based myself out of Barcelona, and spent a majority of my time there, but I also did short day trips to a few places, including the beautiful city of Zaragoza. Zaragoza is a fairly large city, but it has a compact city centre with most of the sights within walking distance of each other, so that made things extremely convenient for me.

Zaragoza is the capital of the Spanish province of Aragon. The city has a population of almost 700,000 and is Spain’s 5th largest city after Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Seville. The city is best known for its large basilica, the Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Pilar. The basilica lies in the heart of the city, at the Plaza del Pilar, the city’s main square. At one end of the square lies the city’s other main attraction, the Cathedral. Zaragoza dates back to the Roman period in the 1st century BC, and there are Roman ruins visible. The Goths took control of the city in the 5th century AD, and later the Arabs took over in the 7th century AD.  In the 12th century AD, it became the capital of the Kingdom of Aragon.

The Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Pilar is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Mary and is supposed to be the first church in history to be dedicated to Mary. The present church dates back to the 17th century AD, when it was built by Charles II, King of Spain. The basilica stands out because of its sheer size (130 meters x 67 meters), its eleven cupolas and it four towering pillars. According to popular legend, soon after the Crucifixion, St James went to Spain where he preached the Gospel. One day while praying, he saw an apparition of the Virgin. She is supposed to have given him a small wooden statue of herself and a jasper column, and she is supposed to have told him to build a church. St James built a small chapel in her honour. St James returned to Jerusalem and was executed in 44 AD, but his disciples took his body to Spain and buried it there. The original chapel was destroyed and over the centuries many shrines have come and gone at the site, but the wooden statue of the Pillar has remained intact. Today it lies in the Our Lady Chapel at the Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Pilar. The Plaza del Pilar is a large square in the heart of the city. The square has the Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Pilar as well as the Cathedral, the two most famous landmarks in the city. The square is full of restaurants and cafes and is a favourite with locals and tourists alike.

Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Pilar

Main Cupola, 
Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Pilar

Our Lady Chapel, 
Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Pilar

Close up of Our Lady Chapel, 
Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Pilar

High Altar, 
Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Pilar

Cupola Interior, 
Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Pilar

The Plaza del Pilar is a large square in the heart of the city. The square has the Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Pilar as well as the Cathedral, the two most famous landmarks in the city. The square is full of restaurants and cafes and is a favourite with locals and tourists alike. It also has the Foro Museum.

Foro Museum,
Plaza del Pilar

Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Pilar,
View from Caller de Alfonso I, just beyond
Plaza del Pilar

The Cathedral, also known as La Seo, was consecrated in 1318. It stands at one end of Plaza del Pilar, not far from the Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Pilar. The tower was added much later, in the beginning of the 18th century. The cathedral was built on the site of the ancient Roman Forum of Augustus and of a mosque, which was demolished in the 12th century AD, after Alfonso I arrived in the city.

Zaragoza Cathedral

High Altar, Zaragoza Cathedral

The Museo Pablo Gargallo has an impressive collection of works by the Aragonese sculptor, Pablo Gargallo [1881 – 1934]. The sculptor spent a lot of his life in Barcelona and Paris, and died of pneumonia at the fairly young age of 53. He was a friend to other famous artists of the time, including Picasso and Gris. The museum was opened in 1985 in his former birthplace and early home.

Academia,
Museo Pablo Gargallo

David, 
Museo Pablo Gargallo

Horse, 
Museo Pablo Gargallo

Homage to Chagall, 
Museo Pablo Gargallo

Torso of an Adolescent, 
Museo Pablo Gargallo

I really enjoyed my day in Zaragoza. The distance from Barcelona to Zaragoza is over 300 km (Zaragoza is roughly halfway between Barcelona and Madrid), but the super fast trains covered the journey in less than 2 hours. Walking around the pedestrianized city centre, stopping at will at some of the many cafes, and seeing the beautiful churches, museums and architecture were all amazing experiences!

My Visual Travel Experience: Udaipur

I've been to Udaipur several times on work in the early 2000's. On a couple of occasions, I managed to club it with a weekend and saw a bit of the city. Then in 2010, I went and spent a couple of days there without any agenda other than sight seeing, and I absolutely enjoyed exploring it. On one of my earlier visits, the city's lakes were practically dry and that took away a lot of the city's charm, but for large parts of the year, the lakes are full and that's what draws in the visitors.

Udaipur has about 450,000 residents and is in the Western Indian State of Rajasthan. Also called the "City of Lakes", Udaipur is famous for having several lakes, prominent among which are the Lake Pichola and the Fateh Sagar. The city also boasts of some of India's most luxurious and palatial hotels, which give the visitor a completely regal experience. The City Palace is one of India's largest and grandest palaces and is Udaipur's main attraction.

Udaipur was founded by Maharana Udai Singh in 1559, and it became the capital of Mewar (which had previously been Chittorgarh) in 1567. Maharana Pratap (who lived from 1540 to 1597 and was crowned in 1572) was the most famous of the Mewar rulers. He held out against the Mughals (under Emperor Akbar), and successfully withstood their attack in 1576, in the legendary Battle of Haldighati.

The Lake Palace or Jag Niwas, built between 1734 and 1751, is in the middle of Lake Pichola. It is now a luxury hotel run by the Taj Group of Hotels. Entry into the hotel premises is restricted to residents, and the only way to access the hotel is by boat.

Lake Palace

The City Palace is a large palace, built between the 16th and 20th centuries. 22 Maharanas of Mewar added to it during this period. Maharana Udai Singh II started the palace construction in 1553 after he shifted the capital from Chittor. Exploring the large palace can take the better part of a day. The ornate Durbar Hall inside the Fateh Prakash Palace was built in 1909 during the reign of Maharana Fateh Singh and was used for official functions. It has chandeliers, portraits and weapons of some of the maharanas. Fateh Prakash Palace is now a luxury hotel within the City Palace. The palace's crystal objects were ordered from London in 1877 by Maharana Sajjan Singh. Lakshmi Vilas Chowk has an art gallery with Mewar paintings.

City Palace

Durbar Hall, City Palace

Portrait of Maharaja Arvind Singh,
Durbar Hall, City Palace

Shiv Niwas, City Palace

Fateh Prakash, City Palace

Lakshmi Chowk, City Palace

Udaivilas is a hotel run by the Oberoi Group of Hotels and is considered to be one of India’s most luxurious hotels. The hotel lies adjoining Lake Pichola and has great views of Lake Palace and City Palace.

Lobby, Udaivilas

Lawns, Udaivilas

Rooms, Udaivilas

Dome of the lobby, Udaivilas

Tiger Painting, Udaivilas

Bagore Ki Haveli is an old Haveli, which was allowed to go to ruins, but has since been renovated and converted into a museum.

Bagore Ki Haveli

Rajasthani Puppets, Bagore Ki Haveli

Rajasthani Puppets with a Dancing Girl, Bagore Ki Haveli

Marble Objects, Bagore Ki Haveli

Saheliyon Ki Bari is a beautiful garden dating back to the 18th century, built for the queen’s maids of honour. The complex has ornamental fountains, a lotus pond and well maintained lawns.

Fountain, Saheliyon Ki Bari

The Cenotaphs of the rulers of Mewar are all in one place called Ahar. Some of the cenotaphs are very grand.

Cenotaphs, Ahar

Maharana Fateh Singhji's Cenotaph, Ahar

Shilpgram is a crafts village run by the government on the outskirts of Udaipur, and was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, in 1989. The complex gives people a chance to experience the rural way of life, including architecture, arts and costumes, not just from Rajasthan but also from the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Goa. One can do camel riding, buy traditional arts and costumes, eat a Rajasthani meal, see a traditional puppet show, or see a folk performance of music and dancing. In the month of December, there is a big fair and artesans from all over the state come and set up their stalls. 

Camel with Rider, Shilpgram

Traditional Folk Dance, Shilpgram

Museum with Terracotta Figures, Shilpgram

Museum with Costumes, Shilpgram

Traditional Gujarati Huts, Shilpgram

Moti Magri, the memorial to Maharana Pratap and his horse Chetak, is on a hill rising above Fateh Sagar. Chetak was killed in 1576 in the battle of Haldighati against Akbar’s Mughal forces, but led his master to safety. Maharana Pratap held out against Mughal rule, and refused to accede to it. 

Moti Magri

The best time of year to explore Udaipur is in winter. Summers do get extremely hot, but the months from November to February are very pleasant. Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur are three Rajasthani cities that are widely visited for their beautiful architecture and grand palaces, but the presence of the lakes in Udaipur adds to its overall charm and gives it that huge edge!