Calatayud Station (AVE and Alvia)

Calatayud is the gateway to Monasterio de Piedra for anyone travelling without a car. The AVE and the Alvia on the Madrid – Zaragoza – Barcelona line stop at its station, so from Madrid or Barcelona you can be in the area in no time and do the visit as a day trip. What takes some planning is the last stretch, from the station to the park, because there is no train to Nuévalos.

Train journey times

According to the monastery itself, the AVE takes about 57 minutes from Madrid and about 2 hours 10 minutes from Barcelona; from Zaragoza the journey is shorter. When searching on renfe.com, check that the train you choose stops at Calatayud. The monastery recommends checking times and prices with the operator before travelling, because they change with the season and the day of the week.

From the station to the park

From Calatayud to Monasterio de Piedra it is about 30 minutes by road. Without a car you have two options. The first is a taxi from the station, which is the most flexible and leaves you the most time inside the park; it is worth booking it for the return, especially if you are leaving at the last minute. The second is the bus run by Automóviles Zaragoza, part of the Monbus group, which links Calatayud with Nuévalos and the monastery. Its timetable will not necessarily match the trains, so call 976 219 320 beforehand or check monbus.es to fit the outward and return journeys together.

If you end up preferring to go by car, the park has free car parks, described on the monastery car park page.

Fitting the times together

The park opens at 9:00 and last entry is at 16:30 on the general timetable, and at 16:00 between 10 November and 6 January. The park route is about 4 km and the ticket is valid all day, so the ideal is to take an early train and reach the grounds mid-morning. For the return, leave a margin between leaving the park and the train: to the half-hour by road you need to add the wait for the taxi or the bus.

What to do in Calatayud

If you have time to spare before your train, in the city itself is the Collegiate Church of Santa María, with its Mudéjar tower declared a World Heritage Site; it opens on Sunday mornings. On the way to the park, in Alhama de Aragón, is the Termas Pallarés thermal lake, and if you decide to stay overnight by the park, the Hotel Las Truchas and the Hotel Río Piedra are in Nuévalos, a short distance from the grounds.