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It’s official: These are Spain’s most beautiful and charming small towns

From white-washed hilltop villages in Andalusia to medieval walled towns in the foothills of the Pyrenees, The Local takes a look at Spain's prettiest places.

Published: 6 October 2015 16:53 CEST

It's official: These are Spain's most beautiful and charming small towns

Frigiliana in Andalusia Photo: Lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

Spain might be renowned for its costas but it is also home to dozens of quaint little towns, 35 of which have earned a coveted spot in the Association of the Most Beautiful Towns in Spain.

The idea to start the association, in 2011, came after the success of its French counterpart and first such group, Les plus beaux villages de la France.

“It is our goal to promote preferably rural and small towns,” the association says on its website.

Town halls can apply for their town to join the list, but only 20 percent make the grade, winning the right to publicize themselves as “one of Spain's prettiest towns”.

To qualify, towns must have a population of under 15,000 and some kind of provable architectural or cultural heritage.

So which towns make the grade? The Local gives you the rundown.

Andalusia

Mojácar

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

Pampaneira

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

Lucainena de las Torres

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

Vejer de la Frontera

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

Frigiliana

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

In Aragón

Valderrobres

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

Albarracín

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

Calaceite

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

Puertomingalvo

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

Rubielos de Mora

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

Cantavieja

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

Aínsa

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

Anento

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

Alquézar

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

Ansó

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

In Castilla y León

Maderuelo

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

Medinaceli

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

Ayllón

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

Pedraza

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

Urueña

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

Frías

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

La Alberca

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

Mogarraz

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

Candelario

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

In Castilla La Mancha

Valverde de los Arroyos

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

Alcalá de Júcar

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

Almagro

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

In Cantabria

Santillana del Mar

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

Bárcena Mayor

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

In the Community of Valencia

Peñíscola

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

Morella

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

El Castell de Guadalest

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

Vilafamés

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

In the Canary Islands

Tejeda

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

In Asturias

Llastres

Photo: lospueblosmasbonitosdeespana.org

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German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

“The German Train Drivers’ Union (GDL) and Deutsche Bahn have reached a wage agreement,” GDL said in a statement.

Further details will be announced in a press conference on Tuesday, the union said. A spokesman for Deutsche Bahn also confirmed that an agreement had been reached.

Train drivers have walked out six times since November, causing disruption for huge numbers of passengers.

The strikes have often lasted for several days and have also caused disruption to freight traffic, with the most recent walkout in mid-March.

In late January, rail traffic was paralysed for five days on the national network in one of the longest strikes in Deutsche Bahn’s history.

READ ALSO: Why are German train drivers launching more strike action?

Europe’s largest economy has faced industrial action for months as workers and management across multiple sectors wrestle over terms amid high inflation and weak business activity.

The strikes have exacerbated an already gloomy economic picture, with the German economy shrinking 0.3 percent across the whole of last year.

What we know about the new offer so far

Through the new agreement, there will be optional reduction of a work week to 36 hours at the start of 2027, 35.5 hours from 2028 and then 35 hours from 2029. For the last three stages, employees must notify their employer themselves if they wish to take advantage of the reduction steps.

However, they can also opt to work the same or more hours – up to 40 hours per week are possible in under the new “optional model”.

“One thing is clear: if you work more, you get more money,” said Deutsche Bahn spokesperson Martin Seiler. Accordingly, employees will receive 2.7 percent more pay for each additional or unchanged working hour.

According to Deutsche Bahn, other parts of the agreement included a pay increase of €420 per month in two stages, a tax and duty-free inflation adjustment bonus of €2,850 and a term of 26 months.

Growing pressure

Last year’s walkouts cost Deutsche Bahn some €200 million, according to estimates by the operator, which overall recorded a net loss for 2023 of €2.35 billion.

Germany has historically been among the countries in Europe where workers went on strike the least.

But since the end of 2022, the country has seen growing labour unrest, while real wages have fallen by four percent since the start of the war in Ukraine.

German airline Lufthansa is also locked in wage disputes with ground staff and cabin crew.

Several strikes have severely disrupted the group’s business in recent weeks and will weigh on first-quarter results, according to the group’s management.

Airport security staff have also staged several walkouts since January.

Some politicians have called for Germany to put in place rules to restrict critical infrastructure like rail transport from industrial action.

But Chancellor Olaf Scholz has rejected the calls, arguing that “the right to strike is written in the constitution… and that is a democratic right for which unions and workers have fought”.

The strikes have piled growing pressure on the coalition government between Scholz’s Social Democrats, the Greens and the pro-business FDP, which has scored dismally in recent opinion polls.

The far-right AfD has been enjoying a boost in popularity amid the unrest with elections in three key former East German states due to take place later this year.

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