Nature and villages · All year round
Rural getaways in Spain
Green valleys, mountain ranges with stone villages, canyons and forests: the corners of Spain for unwinding for a few days, walking and eating well. Each with its guide so you know what to see and when to go.
Updated 20 October 2026 · How we make our guides
Green Spain
Meadows, forests, mountains and stone hamlets in Asturias, Cantabria, Navarre and Galicia.
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SpainPicos de Europa
Limestone peaks, the Lakes of Covadonga, the Cares gorge trail and mountain villages where Cabrales cheese is made.
What to see in Picos de Europa -
SpainPotes
The capital of Liébana, with its medieval tower, the monastery of Santo Toribio and the Fuente Dé cable car nearby.
What to see in Potes -
SpainTaramundi
Hamlets of stone and slate, knife-making forges and watermills in western Asturias, a pioneer of rural tourism.
What to see in Taramundi -
SpainElizondo
The Baztán valley, with white farmhouses, meadows and forests, in northern Navarre.
What to see in Elizondo -
SpainRibeira Sacra
Canyons of the Sil and the Miño, terraced vineyards and Romanesque monasteries among oaks and chestnuts.
What to see in Ribeira Sacra
Mountains and stone villages
The Pyrenees, the Iberian range and the central sierras.
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SpainAínsa
A walled medieval hilltop village, with an arcaded main square and the Ordesa Pyrenees close by.
What to see in Aínsa -
SpainValderrobres
A medieval bridge, a castle and stone streets in the Matarraña, the area known as Aragon’s Tuscany.
What to see in Valderrobres -
SpainEzcaray
A village of grand houses in the Sierra de la Demanda, with forests, the Valdezcaray ski resort and a long tradition of blanket-making.
What to see in Ezcaray -
SpainPuebla de Sanabria
A medieval town beside Lake Sanabria, surrounded by oak woods and mountains.
What to see in Puebla de Sanabria -
SpainCovarrubias
Half-timbered houses and arcades beside the Arlanza river, in one of the most beautiful towns in Burgos.
What to see in Covarrubias
South and centre
Hills with white villages, wood pastures and chestnut groves.
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SpainGrazalema
A white village in a natural park of Spanish firs and trails, one of the prettiest in the Cádiz hills.
What to see in Grazalema -
SpainAracena
Chestnut trees, holm oaks, the Gruta de las Maravillas cave and the villages of the Huelva hills, cured ham country.
What to see in Aracena -
SpainCazorla
The largest protected area in Spain, with the source of the Guadalquivir and trails through pine forests.
What to see in Cazorla -
SpainJerte Valley
Cherry blossom in spring, gorges with natural pools in summer and colours in autumn.
What to see in Jerte Valley -
SpainHervás
One of the best-preserved Jewish quarters in Spain, in the Ambroz valley, among chestnut groves.
What to see in Hervás
Frequently asked questions
Where to go for a rural getaway in Spain?
In the north, the Picos de Europa, Liébana, Taramundi, the Baztán valley or the Ribeira Sacra; in the mountains, Aínsa, the Matarraña, Ezcaray or Sanabria; and in the south and centre, Grazalema, Aracena, Cazorla, the Jerte valley or Hervás.
What is the best time of year for a rural getaway?
Spring and autumn: the countryside is at its best, walking is pleasant and there are fewer people than in summer. In winter, mountain villages have their charm under snow.
Where to go for a rural getaway near Madrid?
The Sierra Norte and the Guadarrama, the Tejera Negra beech wood in Guadalajara, Pedraza or Sepúlveda in Segovia, and the Jerte valley or Hervás a little further away.
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Reviewed 20 October 2026. Dates and seasonal warnings: the same data the Bagintravel app uses. Sources and method.
Cover photo: Alberto-g-rovi (CC BY 3.0), Wikimedia Commons.