Cardona Castle and Mount Sale

Built in the X century, the castle of the Dukes of Cardona, stands on a high hill with a height of 585 meters. The castle is included in the top ten best castles in Europe. At 18 the castle was rebuilt, and now it is a luxury hotel-parador. Parador is a Spanish word for temporary accommodation for eminent travelers. In the 1920s, a network of state-run parador hotels was established. Now it includes about 90 paradors housed in reconstructed castles, palaces or monasteries. Next to the castle stands the strict and elegant Church of San Vicens of the 11th century, where the dukes of Cardona are buried. From the walls of the castle offers a beautiful view of the city below and the towering Montagna de Sal, or Salt Mountain, which for many centuries, since the time of Roman rule, was mined salt.