Valderrobres, a bridge, a castle and the river that made it all.

Valderrobres is the capital of the Matarraña comarca, in the corner of Teruel that touches Catalonia and Castellón. You enter over a stone bridge across the river and climb steep streets to a Gothic castle-palace and the church of Santa María la Mayor, which dominate the village from above. Around it, the comarca: olive trees, stone villages and, ten minutes away, Beceite and the Ports, with the Parrizal, its walkways and its narrows.

How do you get to Valderrobres from Zaragoza, Castellón or Tarragona?

By car, along the N-232 as far as Ventas de Valdealgorfa, past Alcañiz, and the A-231. The town council gives these times: Zaragoza, 140 km and 1 h 49; Castellón, 179 km and 2 h 04; Teruel, 179 km and 2 h 17; Valencia, 248 km and 2 h 39; Barcelona, 222 km and 2 h 35. From Tarragona and Lleida you arrive via Gandesa or Alcañiz in about two hours.

By bus, Hife runs direct from Zaragoza, Alcañiz and Tortosa, with connections from Barcelona, Castellón and Valencia. It is fine for reaching the village, but not for the Parrizal or the Pena reservoir.

Where do you park?

By the river, on Calle Elvira Hidalgo, parking is free. The Elvira Hidalgo and Lope de Vega car parks are blue zone every day; on the street, the blue zone is only paid from November to May on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. Motorhomes have a paid area of 30 spaces with overnight stays and emptying on Calle Lope de Vega.

What is there to see in Valderrobres?

• The castle and church. €8 admission with the museum, €2 more with a guide. Fifteen minutes before each guided tour, a video-mapping is projected onto the altarpiece.
• The camera obscura, €5 or €10 with the castle: the village projected in real time.
• The bridge and old town, free, or with the foundation's one-hour guided walk.

All together, it is a morning.

What is there to do in the Matarraña?

The star is the Parrizal de Beceite: 7.6 km there and back along wooden walkways to the Estrechos, a 200 m canyon with 60 m walls. You enter with a per-person ticket, bought online, from €6 to €12 depending on the season. Dogs are not allowed.

If you don't want to walk, Senda runs a five-hour 4x4 route through the Ports to the Tossal del Rei, where Aragon, Catalonia and the Valencian Community meet. In summer it hires kayaks on the Pena reservoir, ten minutes from the village.

How much time do you need?

A day covers Valderrobres in the morning and the Parrizal in the afternoon, if you have a ticket for the afternoon slot. With a night, you add the 4x4 route or the reservoir and another village in the comarca. From Zaragoza or Castellón it is a good Sunday outing; from Valencia or Barcelona, better as a weekend.

When should you go?

In spring and autumn: the Parrizal is €8 or €10 and the temperature is right. In summer the Parrizal costs €12 and fills up, but the Pena reservoir opens for paddling. In winter, the village is quiet and the Parrizal cheaper; the El Salt hotel does a calçotada (grilled spring onion feast) from January to March.

Where do you eat on Sunday?

The restaurant at the Hotel El Salt is open on Sunday at lunchtime, except the last one of the month, with a wood fire and vegetables from its own garden. In Beceite, La Fábrica de Solfa, with a Repsol Sun, next to the river and on the way to the Parrizal. Fonda Angeleta serves home cooking; call first, because it does not publish its hours.