Cuenca stands on a spur of rock between two gorges, and the Barrio de San Antón is the part of the old city that most visitors miss. The upper town has the cathedral and the famous Casas Colgadas, the hanging houses that overhang the Huécar gorge, and it gets all the attention. San Antón lies lower, near the junction where the Huécar meets the Júcar, and its streets are quieter and more residential. The whole walled town was inscribed by UNESCO in 1996 as an outstanding example of a medieval fortified city adapted to a difficult site.
The label here connects the barrio to the Marmalo painted shelters, which lie to the south-east in the hills of the Cuenca Serranía. That link is a reminder that the province has some of the best-preserved prehistoric art in inland Spain, and that Cuenca makes an excellent base for visiting it. The city is also known for its museum of abstract art, housed in the hanging houses, which shows the paintings of a group of artists who settled here in the 1960s.
Food in Cuenca has a mountain heartiness. Look for morteruelo, a rich pâté-like dish of game and liver, or zarajos, which are lamb intestines wound around vine shoots and grilled, an acquired taste that many people love. For something sweet, alajú is a traditional cake of honey and almond, made with Moorish methods. Whatever you order, the bread will be good.
For the rider, the route to Cuenca is a pleasure in itself. Roads from Valencia and Madrid run across the high, empty plateau of La Mancha and its borders, then plunge into the deep gorges of the Júcar and Huécar. A short ride north takes you to the Ciudad Encantada, a natural labyrinth of limestone pillars shaped by water and wind. The roads here are well maintained, with long curves and scenic stretches. In winter ice and snow are possible, and summer is hot but dry.
Cuenca has fifty-five thousand people, so fuel and rooms are no trouble. The old town is steep and cobbled, and traffic is restricted, so park on the lower edge and walk up.