Zaragoza · Aragon
Zaragoza
Aragón's capital, defined by the multi-domed Basílica del Pilar rising above the Río Ebro — home to about half the region's population and one of Spain's best tapas scenes.
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Why people fall for Zaragoza
Portrait drawn from Lonely Planet & The Rough Guide.
On the Río Ebro, the reason there's been an important city here since Roman Caesaraugusta was founded in 14 BCE.
On the table. One of the best tapas and bar scenes in Spain, notably in the small central quadrangle of lanes known as El Tubo.
Worth the trip
- The Basílica del Pilar, one of Spain's great churches
- La Seo cathedral
- The Aljafería, Spain's finest Islamic building outside Andalucía
- Art of local-born painter Francisco de Goya
Fiestas
- Fiestas in honour of the Virgen del Pilar, the week closest to October 12, with religious processions, rock/jazz/folk bands, floats, bullfights and jota dancing
A little history
There's been an important city here since Roman Caesaraugusta was founded in 14 BCE.
Who it suits: Tapas crawlers · Goya and architecture pilgrims
Who Zaragoza is for — and who it isn't
Not our opinion: we ran the same scoring engine behind the quiz for six settler profiles across all 8,132 municipalities and read off where Zaragoza lands.
Good for
- American retirees 97th percentile of 8,132 towns a hospital in town · direct flights to new york
- Retiring couples 92nd percentile of 8,132 towns a hospital in town · a health centre close by
The numbers
The decision data — each figure placed among all Spanish municipalities that report it ("top 10%" always means good, also where lower is better). Regional overlays and estimates are labelled, and where there's no local reading we say so plainly.
Climate
- Winter average temp
- 8.4°C top 34% of 8,131 towns 0.6°C above the Spanish average (7.8°C)
- Summer high (Jul–Aug)
- 32.6°C bottom 25% of 8,131 towns 2.4°C above the Spanish average (30.2°C)
- Rainy days a year
- 52 days top 22% of 8,088 towns 24% less than the Spanish average (69 days)
- Sunshine
- 7.8 h/day top 21% of 3,829 towns 8% more than the Spanish average (7.2 h/day)
- Summer water stress (WEI+) regional estimate
- 10 top 12% of 8,033 towns 46 below the Spanish average (56)
Cost & economy
- Home price
- €2,216/m² bottom 43% of 306 towns about the Spanish average (€2,208/m²)
- Net income per person
- €16,272 top 23% of 8,059 towns 12% more than the Spanish average (€14,495)
- Income growth ’18–’23
- 19.1% bottom 15% of 6,605 towns
Schools
- Schools in town
- 267 top 1% of 7,042 towns
- Nearest international school
- 65 km bottom 32% of 8,132 towns
- PISA maths (region) regional estimate
- 487 #7 of 17 regions, +8 vs national 6 above the Spanish average (481)
Healthcare
- Drive to a hospital
- 0 min top 1% of 8,132 towns
- Nearest health centre
- 2.4 km top 10% of 7,025 towns
- Surgical wait (region) regional estimate
- 132 days #13 of 17 regions, +29 days vs national 22% more than the Spanish average (108 days)
Getting around
- Drive to nearest airport
- 32 min top 8% of 8,132 towns
- Fibre-to-home coverage
- 99% top 9% of 8,132 towns 20% above the Spanish average (79%)
- 100 Mbps+ coverage
- 100% top 11% of 8,132 towns 16% above the Spanish average (83%)
Who lives here
- Population
- 699,007
- Born in Spain
- 80.6% 8.2% below the Spanish average (88.8%)
- Born elsewhere in EU/UK
- 3.3% 0.6% below the Spanish average (3.8%)
- U.S.-born residents
- 0.94 per 1,000
Numbers: SpainScore town dataset, derived from INE, AEMET, Mitma and the Catastro. Percentile chips count only the municipalities that report the figure — the "of n" says how many. Region-ranked figures (PISA, surgical waits) compare Spain's 17 comunidades autónomas. A blank means no municipal-level figure is published — not a zero.
The year, month by month
AEMET 30-year climate normals — what a January or an August actually feels like, not the annual average.
How does Zaragoza fit you?
These are the town's numbers. Whether it's your town depends on what you're optimising for — winter sun or mild summers, a city or a village, short medical waits, an easy flight home. The 3-minute quiz scores Zaragoza against every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on your priorities. It sits about 59 min from Huesca, if that's your anchor.
Take the quiz — rank Zaragoza for you →Nearby towns
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