TERNASCO DE ARAGÓN ROUTE

We begin our gastro-tourist route by tracing a line from north to south in the city. On the left bank of the Ebro River we come across several examples of industrial architecture, now turned into business incubators and cultural centers, such as the old Azucarera del Rabal – from the 19th century – and the Estación del Norte. Modernist architecture is also reflected in Casa Solans, by Miguel Navarro, very close to which we can sample one of the best parts of the Ternasco de Aragón, grilled ribs.

 

The Puente de Piedra, the oldest still standing over the Ebro River, guarded by lions sculpted by Francisco Rallo, connects the Arrabal neighborhood with the tourist district of Zaragoza, making it one of its best vantage points. The cathedrals of El Salvador and El Pilar, the Renaissance palace of La Lonja and the City Council stand proud, giving way to one of the areas with the highest concentration of restaurants in Zaragoza. There, you can dine in a historic restaurant located in a Modernist, 19th-century building, visit a bar that offers “the most intense Ternasco de Aragón tapas”, or enjoy a modern-day Aragonese grill. 

 

We continue our route to the south, crossing the Plaza de España, with its Roman and gastronomic Puerta Cinegia, to continue walking along the Paseo de la Independencia, the beating heart of the city and of its cuisine, which leads us to the Plaza Aragón, with its monument to Justice of Aragon. Restaurants and tapas temples, which have made Ternasco de Aragón their signature dish, line the intersections of this iconic boulevard, of Plaza de Aragón and nearby Basilio Paraíso, gateway to Paseo Sagasta, which still preserves some of the best examples of modernism in Zaragoza.

 

The Ternasco route leads to another area in downtown Zaragoza with a large number of eateries that pay homage to the Ternasco de Aragón: the Plaza de San Francisco, frequented by university students, and the adjacent Romareda neighborhood, which houses the pitch of Real Zaragoza and the Auditorium. 

 

A few steps away is Alfonso I el Batallador, who stands watch from the monument in the José Antonio Labordeta Park, a beautiful lung of Zaragoza that is worthy of a visit. Continuing south, towards the popular neighborhood of Torrero, you will keep discovering the innumerable possibilities of Ternasco de Aragón, seasoned with just a drizzle of oil from the Bajo Aragón or Sierra del Moncayo designations of origin, and some local rosemary.

 

About 50 km to the south on the Mudéjar Highway, the village of Cariñena offers iconic restaurants, bastions of the Aragonese products, both in its historic center and in some of its wineries, where you can pair the Ternasco with wine from the Denomination of Origin that bears its name.

 

And if instead of traveling Zaragoza from north to south, you do so from east to west, you will see for yourself that this singular meat is the star – with all due respect to borage – in Zaragoza’s cuisine. In the neighborhood of San José, for example, you can delight in haute cuisine in the oldest Michelin-starred restaurant in Zaragoza, and in the adjacent neighborhood of Las Fuentes, you can take in its most traditional flavors in a historic restaurant. 

 

At the other side, in La Almozara, very close to the Ebro River, you can eat it in a family tavern, either in tapas or in a sandwich, and if you continue your journey upstream along the Ebro, you will reach Alagón, a riverside town that houses paintings by Goya, one of the jewels of the Aragonese Mudejar style and a veritable shrine dedicated to the Ternasco de Aragón.

 

Discover the city of Zaragoza and its surroundings with the Ternasco de Aragón route!