# A weekend in Morella, two hours from Valencia

One night inside the walls of Morella: castle and basilica on Saturday, a Morella dinner and, on Sunday, the rock paintings of Morella la Vella before heading home.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/valencian-community/morella/itineraries/morella-weekend-from-valencia · Revisado: 2026-11-12

Dónde: Morella

Morella is 2 h 10 from Valencia and 1 h 20 from Castellón. In a day it can be seen, but in a rush; with a night inside the walls you see it properly: the streets empty at dusk, a dinner of Els Ports cooking without watching the clock and, on Sunday morning, the rock paintings of Morella la Vella, a World Heritage Site, six kilometres away. The plan fits into a Saturday and a Sunday, all on foot except that last visit.

## Where to sleep?

Inside the walls, so you don't have to touch the car again. The three hotels we have checked are a few minutes' walk from one another:

HotelWhereFor whom

Hotel Rey Don JaimeNext to the Sant Miquel gateFamilies: family and triple rooms, 44 rooms

Hotel Cardenal RamOn the arcaded streetCouples: outward-facing rooms, restaurant and lift

Hotel La Fonda MorenoCarrer de Sant Nicolau, in the old townModest budgets; dogs admitted with notice

None has parking inside: go in to drop your luggage and park in the blue zone on Passeig Jaume I. After 18:00 it is free, and on Sunday morning charging resumes at 10:00.

## What changes with the season?

In spring and autumn, the whole plan is done in good temperatures and the return to the walls at dusk is the best part of the trip. In winter it is cold at a thousand metres and sometimes snows: the castle closes at 17:00 and the restaurants lean on black truffle and spoon dishes. In summer, the castle is open until 19:00 and Morella is cooler than the coast, though with more people under the arcades.

## With children

Swap the guided visit for the dinosaur museum, next to the towers, with a life-size iguanodon and an escape room included in the €3 ticket; book by phone. The Rey Don Jaime has family rooms. A rucksack is better than a pushchair: the castle and the towers have stairs and rock.

## El plan

### Saturday · 10:30 · Arrival and the Sant Miquel towers
Park on Passeig Jaume I and enter by the Sant Miquel gate. Climb the 14th-century towers, open on Saturday from 10:00 to 13:00 and from 16:00 to 18:00 (€3, cash only), and look at the model of the city.

### Saturday · 12:00 · Guided visit of the old town
The Noverint visit leaves at 12:00 from the tourist office: two hours through the town hall, the Jewish quarter, the arcaded street and the basilica, with admission included. €16; €12 for ages 6 to 12. Book beforehand.

### Saturday · 14:15 · Lunch at the Mesón del Pastor
Next to the basilica, since 1975. Order the typical tasting menu, with local produce. Open at midday every day except Wednesdays.

### Saturday · 16:30 · The castle
An hour for the climb, the summit and the descent, at 1,072 metres. From October to March it closes at 17:00, so in winter go up before lunch; from April to September it is open until 19:00.

### Saturday · 18:30 · Back to the walls and dinner
At dusk, go out through a gate and walk round the outside of the wall. Dinner at Casa Roque, which on Saturday serves dinner from 21:15 to 22:00, or at the Mesón del Pastor, from 20:45 to 22:00.

### Sunday · 11:00 · Rock paintings of Morella la Vella
6 km away, in your car. Free tours with a booking at the tourist office at 11:00 and 12:30, for 15 people at most. Hunting scenes of Levantine art in a rock shelter.

### Sunday · 13:30 · Lunch and the drive home
Casa Roque is open on Sunday at midday: the truffled stuffed lamb or the rice with quail, mushrooms and truffle. Leave around 16:00 and you will be in Valencia about 18:15.

## Un consejo más

Book Morella la Vella when you book the hotel: there are 15 places per tour and it can only be booked at the tourist office, by phone, WhatsApp or email.

## Cuándo no ir

Going Sunday to Monday: on Monday the towers and the dinosaur museum close, and Morella la Vella has no tours.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### How long does it take from Valencia to Morella?
About 2 h 10, 170 km, via the A-7, the CV-10 and the N-232.

### Do I need a car?
To get there at the weekend, yes: the Castellón bus only runs Monday to Friday. Once there, everything is on foot except Morella la Vella.

### How much does the weekend cost?
Between €120 and €180 per person with hotel, meals, tickets and parking, depending on the hotel and the menus.

### Do I need to book anything?
The hotel, the Morella la Vella visit, the guided visit and the weekend meals.

### Can I bring a dog?
To the Fonda Moreno, with notice. The towers, the dinosaur museum and Morella la Vella don't admit dogs.

## Dónde dormir if you're driving
- **Hotel Cardenal Ram**: The Cardenal Ram is on Costera de la Suñer, at the start of the arcaded street of Blasco de Alagón, in the centre of Morella's old town. It is a three-star rural hotel in a stone mansion, completely renovated in 2013, with 16 rooms and 32 beds, and it opens all year. It does not belong to any chain.
Sixteen doubles, all facing the street
All the rooms are doubles and all face outwards: they look onto the cobbled streets and the arcades. Six have Morella decoration, with modern and colourful touches, and the rest damask fabrics with a classic air. Each has a full bathroom with hairdryer, television, free wifi and minibar. There are three categories: the double, the double with views and the Cardenal room, the largest, with windows more than two hundred years old looking onto the arcades of the historic centre. The double has space for an extra bed for a third person. Smoking in the rooms is forbidden, with fines of €50 to €500.
Restaurant, bicycles and scooter
The hotel restaurant cooks Morella dishes with local produce and has a set menu Monday to Friday, another for Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, a Cardenal Ram menu, the Castelló Ruta del Sabor menu in autumn and a children's menu; prices change on public holidays, so ask at reception. The hotel rents an electric mountain bike, the Powerfly 4, for rides in the surroundings, and an electric scooter for older people or those with reduced mobility, useful in a town of slopes. There is also a treatment room for facials, body treatments and massages, which can also be done in your room. Everything is booked on 964 16 00 46 or at reception.
Accessibility and pets
It has a lift and adapted rooms and bathrooms, although the main door is not at street level: tell them when booking if anyone uses a wheelchair. Pets are not admitted.
Arriving by car and parking
To arrive by car, the address is Calle Blasco de Alagón 39. Inside the wall only residents park; you can drive in to unload luggage and then leave the car in the Paseo Jaume I car park, the blue zone outside the walls, which from the fourth day is free if you show the tickets from the previous three.
How to book
Book through the engine on their website or by writing to info@hotelcardenalram.com with the dates and the board you want. Bookings with a Bono Viaje voucher cannot be made by phone or with the code on the website, and are cancelled free up to seven days before. The hotel warns of fake WhatsApp messages pretending to be from it to ask for bank details: use only its official channels.
From the door you are a few steps from the arcaded street and the basilica. For dinner out, Casa Roque is at the Cinco Esquinas, a few steps away.
- **Hotel Rey Don Jaime**: The Rey Don Jaime is at Calle Joan Giner 6, just after the Sant Miquel gate, the north entrance to Morella's walled enclosure. It is a three-star hotel with 44 rooms, run by a Valencian hotel group. Inside it mixes wood, stone and local fabrics; depending on the orientation, rooms look onto the mountain or the rooftops of the historic centre.
From the suite to the standard double
There are six types of room. The suite, for two, is the largest and has a lounge area. The family room with balcony is designed for parents with children, and the triple sleeps three. Couples choose between the double with balcony and views, the double with balcony and the standard double, which can also be rented as a single. All have a private bathroom, heating, air conditioning, television and wifi, with bed linen and towels. The hotel has a lift, welcome in a town of slopes, and a reception.
Buffet breakfast and two menus
Breakfast is a buffet, sweet and savoury. The restaurant opens at midday and in the evening, also for those not staying at the hotel, with two menus: the house menu, at €19.90 per person with a choice of first course, main and dessert and water (some dishes carry a supplement), and the gastronomic one, at €35 per person, with starters to share, a main to choose, dessert, water and house wine, for a minimum of two. For the rest of the day there is the café and a terrace beside the stone of the street.
Car, bus and pets
Inside the wall you can only drive in to load and unload. By car, drop your luggage and park in the blue zone on Paseo Jaume I, outside the wall, a few minutes' walk. If you arrive on the bus from Castellón, which only runs Monday to Friday, the hotel is just after you enter by Sant Miquel, with no long slopes to climb with your suitcase. According to the tourist office, pets are not admitted.
At the hotel door
The Sant Miquel towers are next door, and from there you continue on foot to the arcaded street and the basilica. The Dinosaur Museum is in the same Plaza de Sant Miquel, a good stop with children. To book a room or table, call 964 160 911, WhatsApp 639 302 285 or email hotel@reydonjaimemorella.com.
- **Hotel La Fonda Moreno**: La Fonda Moreno is a family-run two-star hotel at Calle de Sant Nicolau 12, inside Morella's walled enclosure. The building was completely renovated in 2006 and mixes contemporary design with the traditional: coloured walls, wooden beams and windows that look onto the rooftops of the old town. Downstairs are the house bar and restaurant, so you sleep and eat under the same roof.
Nine rooms above the dining room
There are only nine rooms, all with a full bathroom, air conditioning, heating, flat-screen television and telephone, and there is wifi throughout the hotel. The access is accessible and it has rooms adapted for people with disabilities. The website does not detail room types, extra beds or prices: the rate appears when you choose dates in its online booking, and for any question there is 964 160 105 or info@lafondamoreno.com. Nor does it say whether breakfast is included or the check-in and check-out times, so ask when booking.
Dinner without going out
The inn's restaurant serves simple Morella cooking: ternasco, Morella soup and croquettes, partridge in oil, rabbit with almonds and, for dessert, the collà, the local curd. It has menus at €20, €32 and €34 and everything can be taken away, which is handy on a tired night with children. Its hours are not published: confirm on arrival.
With a dog or by car
According to the tourist office, the house admits dogs if you let them know beforehand; the hotel does not say so on its website, so confirm when booking and ask whether there is a supplement. By car, you can only enter the walled town to load and unload: leave your luggage at the door and park on Paseo Jaume I, the blue zone outside the wall, from where you walk up. If you arrive on the bus from Castellón, remember it only runs on weekdays.
What is nearby
From Calle de Sant Nicolau you can walk to the whole old town: the arcaded street, the basilica of Santa María and the climb to the castle, whose entrance is now at the top of Calle del Hospital. It is a good base for the Morella with the family plan, which has lunch at the inn itself.
- **Zielo de Levante**, desde 222 € / night: Bubbles in the almond fields of Tírig
Zielo de Levante is in Tírig, a village in inland Castellón south of Morella, among almond trees, olive trees and dry-stone barracas. They are bubble rooms of 25 to 40 m², each on its own plot of 240 to 300 m², with garden furniture and sun loungers. The dome gives you about 280 degrees of sky. Inside there is a double bed with a canopy, a shower with a view of the sky and a hairdryer. The bubble is climate-controlled, and the house opens all year.
The booking engine shows six types. Premium King, Premium Clean Air, with purified air, and Premium Eros are the basic ones. VIP Hidro has a whirlpool bath and a second bubble. Presidencial Vulcano adds a private jacuzzi and Presidencial Neptuno a heated 4 by 2 metre pool. The private jacuzzi and the romantic pack are also offered as extras.
What it costs and what is included
All the rates shown on its website are for bed and breakfast for two adults. There are two: a non-refundable one, a little cheaper, and a flexible one that you can cancel up to 7 days before arrival. On a Tuesday in late November 2026, a night came to from €222 in the Premium rooms and from €332 in the Presidenciales. On a Saturday in May 2027, from €342 to €460. There are few bubbles of each type, and the search engine often warns that the last one is left: if you want one with a jacuzzi or a pool, book in good time.
For dinner they have their own restaurant. Check-in is from 17:00 to 22:00 and check-out before 12:00. Arriving in daylight helps you find the plot and see the surroundings before dark. The website says nothing about children or animals: ask before booking.
Rock art a walk away
Less than eight minutes on foot is the Museu de la Valltorta, the centre of the Parc Cultural Valltorta-Gasulla, with Levantine rock paintings declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Along the drove roads that leave the village you can walk among dry-stone barracas. Tírig and Morella share that art: in Morella you can visit the shelter of Morella la Vella, with hunting scenes. For the rest of the comarca, see Morella. You need a car to get around here.

## Dónde dormir without a car
- **Hotel Cardenal Ram**: The Cardenal Ram is on Costera de la Suñer, at the start of the arcaded street of Blasco de Alagón, in the centre of Morella's old town. It is a three-star rural hotel in a stone mansion, completely renovated in 2013, with 16 rooms and 32 beds, and it opens all year. It does not belong to any chain.
Sixteen doubles, all facing the street
All the rooms are doubles and all face outwards: they look onto the cobbled streets and the arcades. Six have Morella decoration, with modern and colourful touches, and the rest damask fabrics with a classic air. Each has a full bathroom with hairdryer, television, free wifi and minibar. There are three categories: the double, the double with views and the Cardenal room, the largest, with windows more than two hundred years old looking onto the arcades of the historic centre. The double has space for an extra bed for a third person. Smoking in the rooms is forbidden, with fines of €50 to €500.
Restaurant, bicycles and scooter
The hotel restaurant cooks Morella dishes with local produce and has a set menu Monday to Friday, another for Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, a Cardenal Ram menu, the Castelló Ruta del Sabor menu in autumn and a children's menu; prices change on public holidays, so ask at reception. The hotel rents an electric mountain bike, the Powerfly 4, for rides in the surroundings, and an electric scooter for older people or those with reduced mobility, useful in a town of slopes. There is also a treatment room for facials, body treatments and massages, which can also be done in your room. Everything is booked on 964 16 00 46 or at reception.
Accessibility and pets
It has a lift and adapted rooms and bathrooms, although the main door is not at street level: tell them when booking if anyone uses a wheelchair. Pets are not admitted.
Arriving by car and parking
To arrive by car, the address is Calle Blasco de Alagón 39. Inside the wall only residents park; you can drive in to unload luggage and then leave the car in the Paseo Jaume I car park, the blue zone outside the walls, which from the fourth day is free if you show the tickets from the previous three.
How to book
Book through the engine on their website or by writing to info@hotelcardenalram.com with the dates and the board you want. Bookings with a Bono Viaje voucher cannot be made by phone or with the code on the website, and are cancelled free up to seven days before. The hotel warns of fake WhatsApp messages pretending to be from it to ask for bank details: use only its official channels.
From the door you are a few steps from the arcaded street and the basilica. For dinner out, Casa Roque is at the Cinco Esquinas, a few steps away.
- **Hotel Rey Don Jaime**: The Rey Don Jaime is at Calle Joan Giner 6, just after the Sant Miquel gate, the north entrance to Morella's walled enclosure. It is a three-star hotel with 44 rooms, run by a Valencian hotel group. Inside it mixes wood, stone and local fabrics; depending on the orientation, rooms look onto the mountain or the rooftops of the historic centre.
From the suite to the standard double
There are six types of room. The suite, for two, is the largest and has a lounge area. The family room with balcony is designed for parents with children, and the triple sleeps three. Couples choose between the double with balcony and views, the double with balcony and the standard double, which can also be rented as a single. All have a private bathroom, heating, air conditioning, television and wifi, with bed linen and towels. The hotel has a lift, welcome in a town of slopes, and a reception.
Buffet breakfast and two menus
Breakfast is a buffet, sweet and savoury. The restaurant opens at midday and in the evening, also for those not staying at the hotel, with two menus: the house menu, at €19.90 per person with a choice of first course, main and dessert and water (some dishes carry a supplement), and the gastronomic one, at €35 per person, with starters to share, a main to choose, dessert, water and house wine, for a minimum of two. For the rest of the day there is the café and a terrace beside the stone of the street.
Car, bus and pets
Inside the wall you can only drive in to load and unload. By car, drop your luggage and park in the blue zone on Paseo Jaume I, outside the wall, a few minutes' walk. If you arrive on the bus from Castellón, which only runs Monday to Friday, the hotel is just after you enter by Sant Miquel, with no long slopes to climb with your suitcase. According to the tourist office, pets are not admitted.
At the hotel door
The Sant Miquel towers are next door, and from there you continue on foot to the arcaded street and the basilica. The Dinosaur Museum is in the same Plaza de Sant Miquel, a good stop with children. To book a room or table, call 964 160 911, WhatsApp 639 302 285 or email hotel@reydonjaimemorella.com.
- **Hotel La Fonda Moreno**: La Fonda Moreno is a family-run two-star hotel at Calle de Sant Nicolau 12, inside Morella's walled enclosure. The building was completely renovated in 2006 and mixes contemporary design with the traditional: coloured walls, wooden beams and windows that look onto the rooftops of the old town. Downstairs are the house bar and restaurant, so you sleep and eat under the same roof.
Nine rooms above the dining room
There are only nine rooms, all with a full bathroom, air conditioning, heating, flat-screen television and telephone, and there is wifi throughout the hotel. The access is accessible and it has rooms adapted for people with disabilities. The website does not detail room types, extra beds or prices: the rate appears when you choose dates in its online booking, and for any question there is 964 160 105 or info@lafondamoreno.com. Nor does it say whether breakfast is included or the check-in and check-out times, so ask when booking.
Dinner without going out
The inn's restaurant serves simple Morella cooking: ternasco, Morella soup and croquettes, partridge in oil, rabbit with almonds and, for dessert, the collà, the local curd. It has menus at €20, €32 and €34 and everything can be taken away, which is handy on a tired night with children. Its hours are not published: confirm on arrival.
With a dog or by car
According to the tourist office, the house admits dogs if you let them know beforehand; the hotel does not say so on its website, so confirm when booking and ask whether there is a supplement. By car, you can only enter the walled town to load and unload: leave your luggage at the door and park on Paseo Jaume I, the blue zone outside the wall, from where you walk up. If you arrive on the bus from Castellón, remember it only runs on weekdays.
What is nearby
From Calle de Sant Nicolau you can walk to the whole old town: the arcaded street, the basilica of Santa María and the climb to the castle, whose entrance is now at the top of Calle del Hospital. It is a good base for the Morella with the family plan, which has lunch at the inn itself.