Visit San Juan de la Pena 2 nights in albergue?

[metri]

Hi, I just started the Aragones and would like to visit the monastery San Juan de la Pena and do not want to hike to and from there.
But when I take a bus from Jaca and back in the Evening I would need to stay a second night in the albergue, which is not possible as far as I know. How to solve this, could I stay in another albergue in the same town? Any other options? Thanks, Mervi

 

[ahemobile]

Stay at the albergue in Santa Cilia. They let you stay two nights there for a visit to the monastery.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

There are two monasteries up there. The "new" one dates to 1600 I think. Part parador or parador-like and part museum. From there a not so long walk to the old one built at the cliff overhang (not to be missed). There is a bus that employees use that you can take. The Jaca albergue probably can give you information on it. On the way back down you could ask to be let off in Santa Cruz and if that happens maybe you can get a peak at an 11th century Romanesque church. The walk to Santa Cilia is easier with the mountain behind you.

Church of San Caprasio · C. Barrio Bajo, 21, 22792 Santa Cruz de la Serós, Huesca, Spain

★★★★★ · Christian church

maps.app.goo.gl

 

[Vacajoe]

It’s a pilgrimage, so walk it! Stay two nights at Santa Cilis or stay a night there and then at Santa Cruz or SJdLP parador. Give it the time it deserves.

 

[Former member 104756]

HI @metri Hope you are enjoying the Aragones. Such a wonderful path. I have walked the Aragones twice but for various reasons have not yet visited the Monastery San Juan de la Pena.

We will be walking some stages of the Aragones in May, in the opposite direction, en route back to France. I know there are options to walk to San Juan, to stay at Santa Cilia etc, but at this stage I think we will visit for a day by bus to and from Jaca. So, just the other day I wrote to the albergue in Jaca and asked if it would be possible to stay two nights to make that visit. Mercedes replied that would be fine.

Buen continued camino @metri And sorry this information below is a bit late for your purposes but perhaps useful for others.

 

[Vacajoe]

And be sure to visit BOTH monasteries! While the old is fascinating, the new one has an excellent museum showcasing what monastic life was like as well as a glass floor to see the ruined foundations of some of the buildings.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

And be sure to visit BOTH monasteries!

I advise taking something up for lunch. The best I could do a few years ago was buying some local sausage at the ticket office/souvenir shop at the new monastery. They may no longer be selling it.

 

[Former member 104756]

And be sure to visit BOTH monasteries! While the old is fascinating, the new one has an excellent museum showcasing what monastic life was like as well as a glass floor to see the ruined foundations of some of the buildings.

Yes I have read quite a bit about the monasteries and we will be visiting both.

 

[Former member 104756]

I advise taking something up for lunch. The best I could do a few years ago was buying some local sausage at the ticket office/souvenir shop at the new monastery. They may no longer be selling it.

Thank you for the tip Rick and Peg!

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I should add that there is a visitors center for the area in a separate building adjacent to the new monastery. This was closed when I was there in November so I forgot about it in my previous post. I just looked at Google Maps to see if it had information on the center like whether there was a snack shop but it didn't have any information. I remember lots of picnic tables in the nearby woods and so there be something in the summer season.

Doing that search I did notice Maps showing the hotel wing of the monastery had an icon identifying a cafeteria. This was definitely closed when I was there and since I have been reading that the hotel hasn't been open for a few years I still advise bringing up something for lunch.

Monasterio Nuevo de San Juan de la Peña

Monasterio nuevo de San Juan de la peña · A-1603, s/n, 22711 Jaca, Huesca, Spain

★★★★☆ · Monastery

maps.app.goo.gl

Monasterio Viejo de San Juan de la Peña

Monasterio Viejo de San Juan de la Peña · A-1603, s/n, 22711 Jaca, Huesca, Spain

★★★★★ · Monastery

maps.app.goo.gl

 

[sharon w]

HI @metri Hope you are enjoying the Aragones. Such a wonderful path. I have walked the Aragones twice but for various reasons have not yet visited the Monastery San Juan de la Pena.

We will be walking some stages of the Aragones in May, in the opposite direction, en route back to France. I know there are options to walk to San Juan, to stay at Santa Cilia etc, but we have decided to to visit for a day by bus to and from Jaca. So, just the other day I wrote to the albergue in Jaca and asked if it would be possible to stay two nights to make that visit. Mercedes replied that would be fine.

Buen continued camino @metri And sorry this information below is a bit late for your purposes but perhaps useful for others.

We were offered a 2 night stay at the Albergue at Jaca. However, we chose to take the bus to San Juan de la Peña and then walked on to Santa Cilia.

 

[peregrina2000]

It’s a pilgrimage, so walk it! Stay two nights at Santa Cilis or stay a night there and then at Santa Cruz or SJdLP parador. Give it the time it deserves.

@Vacajoe, do you know that the hotel in the nuevo ministerio has in fact re-opened? It has (or had, hopefully!) been closed for years after the management company left. The most recent news I can find (from 2022) says that they still haven’t done the repairs necessary before they can put it up for a bid again, but that was last year, so maybe this has happened.

This hotel has never been part of the parador chain, to my knowledge, but I think the building is one of nine owned by the government of Aragón that have been converted to hotels.

 

[Former member 104756]

We were offered a 2 night stay at the Albergue at Jaca. However, we chose to take the bus to San Juan de la Peña and then walked on to Santa Cilia.

We will be walking back towards France so we may do similar with one night in each, but in reverse. Good to have the option of two nights in Jaca albergue - we’ll decide when the time comes

 

[Vacajoe]

@Vacajoe, do you know that the hotel in the nuevo ministerio has in fact re-opened? It has (or had, hopefully!) been closed for years after the management company left. The most recent news I can find (from 2022) says that they still haven’t done the repairs necessary before they can put it up for a bid again, but that was last year, so maybe this has happened.

This hotel has never been part of the parador chain, to my knowledge, but I think the building is one of nine owned by the government of Aragón that have been converted to hotels.

I can state that in late March of 2023 that they were actively working on repairs/upgrades to the accommodation there. Given that it’s Spain, that could mean it will be opening later this month, later this year, or never…

The only way to truly know is to check directly with them. (PS: we stayed there as their only guests in April 2018 during a snowstorm; it was very reminiscent of The Shining!)