Zaragoza: the Pilar basilica and the Moorish Aljafería

Crossed by the Ebro, Zaragoza unites on its banks one of Spain's most venerated Marian sanctuaries and an Islamic palace that survived much farther north than usual.

The center, between the Basilica of El Pilar and the Moorish Aljafería palace, can be comfortably explored on foot.

According to tradition, in 40 A.D. the Virgin appeared here to the Apostle James on a column: that column, still preserved today in the Basilica del Pilar, makes it one of the oldest Marian shrines of Christendom.

Just steps away, the Cathedral of the Seo blends Gothic, Mudéjar and Baroque styles accumulated over centuries of successive renovations, with a museum of textiles exhibiting ancient liturgical vestments of great value.

Crossing the river on the Stone Bridge, a medieval-origin bridge rebuilt several times, one looks back at the basilica's domes.

In the afternoon, the Aljafería Palace, an eleventh-century fortress built for the Muslim taifa kings of Zaragoza, remains a rare example of Islamic architecture that survived so far north in Spain.

The Aljafería changed function multiple times over the centuries: from an Islamic palace to a residence of the Catholic Monarchs, to today's seat of the Aragon regional parliament.

The green and gold domes of the Pilar are visible from nearly every point in the historic center, becoming the visual reference that Zaragozans use to orient themselves along the river.