Peñíscola Places of Interest

The city of Peñíscola (emphasis on the letter I!) is famous for an ancient fortress located on a peninsula, which is a rock rising from the sea, connected to the shore by a sand spit. Hence the name, from the Latin peninsula - "peninsula". A fortified trading post was founded here by the Phoenicians in the 7th century BC, they were replaced by the Carthaginians, then the Romans. In the 5th century, the peninsula was ruled by the Byzantine Empire, which was replaced two centuries later by the Arabs, who built a fortress here and named it Banaskula. The heyday of Peñíscola began in the 14th century, when the Knights Templar built a fortress here, which became one of the most impregnable on the Mediterranean Sea.
We go by train to Benicarlo-Peniscola station, then by bus Vinaros-Peniscola to the end, to the fortress itself (schedule). In summer, the bus stops right at the railway station, in winter - in the city center next to the Monastery of St. Francis (address Carrer San Francisco, 29)

Gate of St. Peter

A bus from Benicarlo took me directly to the fortress walls and I headed to the old town through the Puerta de Sant Pere Gate. The portal was designed by Filibert Bertalla in 1414, during the time of Benedict XIII, known as Pope (or Antipope) Luna, as evidenced by the disgraced cardinal's coat of arms above the arch...read more

Casa Juanita Guest House

I booked a room in a small hotel called Pensió Casa Juanita, located right above the Sanat Maria Gate. The blank wall in front of the entrance turned out to be the wall of St. Mary's Church, but I found out much later...read more

Capelleta de Santa Anna

After walking a block from St.Peter's Gate along Calle Ruiz de Carlos, on the left, in a small impasse, you can see the Chapel of St. Anna (Capelleta de Santa Anna or Ermita de Santa Ana). There used to be a medieval church with the same name on this site, but it was destroyed in January 1812 during the siege of the city by Napoleonic troops of General Severoli...read more

Bastion Botnet

The fortifications of Peniscola were built at different times, starting from the era of the Phoenicians and Carthaginians. Then there were the Greeks and Romans, and at one time there was a Moorish fortress. The rock, connected to the shore by a sandbar, became truly impregnable in the early 14th century, when the Knights Templar built a powerful castle here...read more

Calle del Principe

From the Bonet bastion starts the Calle del Principe, the sea front of the old town. The street stretches along the fortress wall, built on a natural rock base...read more

Tiled Balconies in Peñíscola

The houses of the old town are not distinguished by architectural delights, and it would seem that they look the same. However, each house has its own personality, which is given to them by the wonderful ornaments of ceramic tiles decorating the balconies...read more

Casa de la Conchas

This story began in the fifties of the last century, when an economic crisis broke out in Spain. As a result, the family of Timoteo Pau and Justa Mir Soria with three young children were left without work. At that time, Spain was not yet a world center of mass tourism, and did not have the appropriate infrastructure, but travelers visited Peñíscola. Juste came up with the idea of offering tourists individual tours of the city and the castle of Papa Luna, leaving the reward at their discretion...read more

Peñíscola Lighthouse

In 1899, an 11-meter-high lighthouse (Faro de Peñíscola) was built in front of the main entrance to the fortress, with a paraffin lamp that could be seen from 14 miles away...read more

Castell del Papa Luna

In the following century, in 1235, the castle came under the rule of the Aragonese crown, and in 1294, King Jaime II the Just (Jaime II el Justo) transferred the peninsula to the Templar order. In the same year, the knights, under the leadership of Master Berenguer de Cardona, began the construction of the castle, which was completed in 1307...read more

Monument of Benedict XIII

Pedro Martinez de Luna was born in 1328 in the Aragonese castle of Illueca, in an aristocratic family that had its roots in the line of the kings of Navarre (Pamplona). In his youth, the future cardinal studied law and ecclesiastical law in France, at the University of Montpellier...read more

Peñíscola Castle Interiors

Take the stairs to the second floor of the castle, in one of the preserved towers of the main portal. Here are the apartments of the "antipope" Benedict XIII (Palacio Papal), where he spent the last years of his life after his excommunication...read more

Gothic Hall in Peñíscola Castle

The front wall of the hall is decorated with the standard of the Templar Master Berenguer de Cardona. In the Middle Ages, meetings of knights were held here, and now, thanks to the excellent acoustics, the hall is used for concerts. A draped door in a niche leads to the inner chambers of the Pope Luna (Palacio Papal)...read more

Peñíscola Views the Pope Luna Tower

After getting acquainted with the interior of the castle, we will go up to the right tower of the main gate, called the Tower of the Pope Luna, as it housed the apartments of the disgraced canonic...read more

Church of the Ermitana

The church was built from 1708 to 1714, in the era of King Felipe V, so the pediment above the main portal is decorated with his coat of arms. The building has thick walls and small windows, which suggests that it has a defensive significance...read more

El Parc d'Artilleria

The fortifications were built at the end of the 16th century on the instructions of King Felipe II, and the famous Italian fortifier Juan Bautista Antonelli supervised the construction of the batteries...read more

Olvido Viewpoint

From the Artillery Park, I went back up the street of Olvido, which runs along the crest of the wall. There were two batteries located here: the upper one (Bateria Alta del Olvido) and the lower one (Bateria Baja del Olvido). This is a place with the best views, there are several binoculars...read more

Plaza Ayuntamento

After passing through the Fosc portal inside the fortress, you will find yourself on Plaza Ayuntamiento, where the Peñíscola Municipality building is located and this place is considered the official center of the city...read more

Peñíscola Old City Streets

Skirting the peninsula along the ramparts, I entered the narrow streets of the old town. The city has retained its 17th-and 18th-century buildings, and the width of the streets is clearly affected by the limited space of the fortress walls...read more

Sunset on South Beach

In the late afternoon, I set out to find a place to have dinner while enjoying the views of the fortress in the setting sun. I soon found one of these cafes across from South Beach, near Constitution Square...read more

Bridge of Love

The port pier is separated from the fortress by a small pond called Estany del Port, where the waters of the Font de Dins spring flow. The spring was discovered in 1578 and is located on the northern side of the St. Mary's bastion...read more

Sunday Evening at Portal de Santa Maria

After watching the sunset and having dinner on the South Beach, I returned to the fortress walls. It was already dark and the Christmas lights were on in the streets...read more

Night Walk in Peñíscola

I started my night photo shoot on the Northern Beach, or rather on the sandy bridge connecting the Peniscola fortress with the shore. On this side, the fortress is protected by the Bateria de los Foses and Baluarte de Santiago batteries, above which you can see the trees of the Artillery Park...read more

Avinda de la Mar and Avenida del Papa Luna

The northern shore of the isthmus connecting the fortress with the land forms a small bay, along the shore of which runs a wide Marine Boulevard (Avinguda de la Mar)...read more

Sunrise on North Beach

Meanwhile, a bright solar segment appeared above the sea horizon, turning the sky and the crests of the waves red and gold...read more

Plaza de la Constitución

After meeting the sunrise on the northern embankment, I headed to the modern part of the city. Ullal de l'Estany Lake is located in the heart of new Peniscola. In fact, this is an artificial pond, arranged on a river flowing out of a huge swamp that separates the coast from the mountains...read more

Morning on the South Beach

Constitution Square borders the Southern Beach, which is a sandy arc 60-80 meters wide and 400 meters long. The beach is protected from the sea by the pier of the Fishing Harbor, so there are no big waves here and the water warms up earlier at the beginning of the season than on the northern beach...read more

Walk Along the Breakwater

The base of the pier is made up of giant blocks of stone, and we can only guess how they were brought here. On the concrete terraces that descend to the water, during the holiday season, crowds of vacationers gather in the evenings to watch the sunset...read more

Estany del Port

Previously, sea waves broke against the walls, but after the reconstruction of the port and the construction of a pier, a reservoir isolated from the sea was formed between the wall and the port pier, called Estany del Port (port pond)...read more