Peñíscola, a town with charm

Peñíscola is not an easy place to sum up because it is so much more than just a holiday resort. That said, we would like to invite you to describe it from these photos and videos, along with a text we wrote a while back for one of the main local publications:

They say that when painters come face to face with beauty, their pupils instantly dilate, flooding the iris. I can say from experience that we can all have that feeling when we first witness the beauty of a castle overlooking the sea. I sincerely hope that these few lines will make you feel closer to Peñíscola.

Located in the north of the Valencia region, this town is close enough to visit on a whim and, once you are here, far enough to enable you to forget all life's trivialities.

The history books proudly recount that the imposing castle that in its youth protected the town, stood upright and firm, unperturbed by the storms that nature and man mercilessly threw at it. It sheltered nobles, knights and even a pope - the castle's most faithful companion, its favourite son: Don Pedro de Luna. It tirelessly watched over its inhabitants like a father, regardless of the beliefs they proclaimed or the ideals they sought. Whoever lived within its walls was treated like a guest of the highest honour and had nothing to fear. It witnessed the change of each century, the fleeting passage of its people,
the future of the world ... Today, tired of being young, it awaits you on its bed of fine sand, elegant, serene, renewed.

If you close your eyes you will feel how the sea caresses it, the wind fans it, the breeze refreshes it. Like all old warriors, the time has come for this one to tell the world about its battles, its loves, its passions. It does this at every step you take, when you lose yourself in its narrow streets or while you contemplate the vastness and beauty of its coast from the vantage points along its walls. From there it will hold up like trophies the unexplored Sierra de Irta natural reserve, its outstanding beaches, its houses, its people...

Even though time marches relentlessly on, its reputation as a renowned host remains unchanged. If, as so often happens, it talks you into coming back, don't think twice ... IT AWAITS YOU HERE.

TodoPeñiscola Guide 2005. By: Juan Antonio Beltrán