40.36° N · 0.41° E
Pope Luna's castle on a rocky headland joined to the mainland, a whitewashed old town of 27 streets, boat trips and the unspoilt Irta coast, an hour from Castellón.
Part of Game of Thrones Locations
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
Templar castle on the rock, residence of Papa Luna, with the Artillery Park · 1 h 15 · €5 · card only · open all year except five days.
A walk through the 27 streets of the rock, from the Portal de Sant Pere to the Casa de las Conchas · 1 h · free.
A natural tunnel in the rock below the old town through which the sea shoots out in stormy weather · 10 min · free.
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
Spring and autumn: the castle in good light, Irta without the heat and the old town without crowds. In summer, the castle is open until 21:30 and it is busy; in winter, everything is quieter and the castle closes at 17:30.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
You arrive by the AP-7, or by the N-340 and the CV-141 from Benicarló. The old town is pedestrian and hilly: leave the car in the car parks on the promenade or by the harbour and walk up. The car comes back into its own for getting into the Sierra de Irta.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
Peñíscola works well with children because everything is a short walk away: the castle, the boat and the beach fit into one morning. The slopes and steps of the old town are the only thing that weighs on you with a pushchair.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: A four-star hotel 10 m from the sand of Playa Norte and next to the old town, with an adults-only pool, a wellness area and a rooftop in summer.
Why we like it: Four-star family hotel with 422 rooms with terraces on the Playa Norte front line, with spa, kids' club and parking, about 4 km from the old town.
Why we like it: Three-star family campsite in the town, 800 m from the old town and Playa Norte: 77 shaded pitches, wooden cabins and rooms with bathroom.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: a seafood rice, which you order when booking, or the fishermen's stew; ask about the fish of the day from the fish market.
What to order: the creamy rice with baby squid or the seafood paella, with some garlic prawns to start
Map
The places to stay and services on the map are the ones for the way you travel. Turn on the layers you want and tap a point to see its details.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
Tips
In winter it closes at 17:30. If you arrive at midday, go in before lunch.
The castle ticket office does not accept cash.
With a calm sea there is no show; with an easterly wind, there is.
To drive along the track you must book on the GVA Parcs Naturals app.
Peñíscola is a rocky headland joined to the mainland by a sandy isthmus, with a Templar castle on top and white houses running down to the water. It was the last seat of Pope Luna, Benedict XIII, who shut himself away here in the early 15th century without ever giving up the tiara. Today the old town is about 510 houses on 27 streets inside the wall, with the North Beach on one side and the fishing harbour on the other. To the south begins the Sierra de Irta, a natural park with some 12 km of undeveloped coastline. It is a perfect Sunday from Castellón and a good overnight stay from Valencia or Tarragona.
By car. From Castellón it is about 75 km and a little under an hour along the AP-7 or the N-340, with the exit for Benicarló and Peñíscola. From Valencia, about 145 km and an hour and a half or an hour forty along the same AP-7. From Tarragona, around an hour and a half heading south. The coastal train stops at Benicarló-Peñíscola station, a few kilometres from the town, so without a car you need to connect with a bus or a taxi: for a Sunday, the car is better.
Don't drive into the old town: it is pedestrian-only, with slopes and steps. There are car parks on the seafront promenade, by the harbour and in the South Beach area, five or ten minutes' walk from the Portal de Sant Pere. In summer and at Easter they fill up early; arrive before 10:00. If you are staying in the town, ask your hotel: the Gran Hotel Peñíscola has its own paid car park, and Camping Ferrer is 800 m from the old town.
A day covers the essentials: the castle (a good hour), a walk around the old town and the walls, the Bufador if the sea is up, a half-hour trip on the little tour boat around the headland and a rice lunch. With a night you add the Sierra de Irta: the circular Badum tower route, almost 15 km, or in July and August the boat that tours it from the sea. With children, the town council's Pirate Trail and the beach fill the rest.
Go up through the Portal de Sant Pere, from 1411, when the sea reached the walls, or through the Portal Fosc, the only land entrance until the 18th century. On the way: the House of Shells, the Font de la Petxina, the church of the Virgen de la Ermitana, the Plaza de Santa María (a Game of Thrones location) and the Bajada de Felipe II, the ramp designed by Bautista Antonelli. Finish at the Artillery Park, the gardens between the medieval and Renaissance walls, and go into the castle: €5 for general admission, €3.50 reduced, card payment only.
Besides the little tour boat, you can get close to the sea. On the North Beach, the paddle surf school has a guided board trip to the castle and surf lessons on days with waves, from June to September. On the South Beach, next to the harbour, you can hire a licence-free boat for up to seven people, from €120 an hour, and kayaks by the hour. With children, when the sun is strong, the hedge maze on the N-340 is the afternoon plan.
In spring and autumn. The castle is open from 9:30 to 21:30 from Palm Sunday to 15 October and from 10:30 to 17:30 the rest of the year; it closes on 1 and 6 January, 9 September, 9 October and 25 December. In July and August the town fills up and the Sierra de Irta requires a reservation to drive along the track; in return, there is a boat to Irta. In winter everything is quieter and almost everything is still open, although some beach hotels reduce their services.
Rice and fish. In the old town, El Raconet de Ca Deu is open every day with creamy rice dishes and seafood paella. On the North Beach promenade, Casa Jaime, from 1967, is a 24-seat seafood eatery: you order the rice when you book, by phone only, and it closes on Wednesdays and Sunday evenings. To sleep, the RH Boutique Portocristo is at the foot of the old town; the Gran Hotel Peñíscola, further north, is the family one, with a spa and kids' club; and Camping Ferrer, within walking distance of the centre, is good for a motorhome or a cabin.
Questions
€5 for general admission and €3.50 reduced (ages 9 to 16, over-60s, students and unemployed people, with proof). Card payment only.
From 10:30 to 17:30 from 16 October to Palm Sunday, and from 9:30 to 21:30 the rest of the year. The ticket office closes half an hour earlier.
Yes: it is an hour and a half or an hour forty each way. There is time for the castle, the old town, the boat and lunch.
Yes. Golondrinas Clavel runs a 30-minute loop around the headland all year (€10) and, in July and August, an hour-and-a-half trip to the Sierra de Irta (€20).
Yes. The town council's Pirate Trail, the boat, the North Beach and the castle all work well. With a pushchair, the old town is slopes and steps: a baby carrier is better.
A natural park and marine reserve south of Peñíscola, with some 12 km of undeveloped coast, coves and the Badum tower on the cliff.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/valencian-community/peniscola
