Cuenca is the stop you’ve probably seen on the Madrid to Alicante train route and completely ignored, and that’s exactly why we decided to get off. What we found is a UNESCO World Heritage city that feels carved into the landscape: a medieval old town stacked on a finger of rock between two river gorges, with streets that can be so quiet you start listening for your own footsteps.
We start at the Cuenca train station, which surprised us with contemporary design that reads more like an art installation than a transport hub. From there we dig into the city’s headline act, the Casas Colgadas (the Hanging Houses): what they’re actually called, how they were built to survive a near-vertical cliff edge, and how restorations in the 20th century left just three hanging on today. If you’ve ever wondered why some Spanish towns feel “overrun” while others still feel local, Cuenca is a perfect case study.
Then we move to the cathedral, a building with French Gothic DNA, lightning strikes, rebuilds, and a façade that still shows its scars. We also share a favourite discovery for art lovers: Fernando Zóbel’s museum and the unlikely story of serious Spanish abstract art living in a small city of roughly 50,000 people.
We finish with a practical, honest day-trip playbook: cheap transport into town, what’s walkable, why the Parador de Cuenca is worth your time, and the taxi scramble that had us running for the train. If you enjoy smart travel stories, subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave us a review.
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