The Local Area

The village is pleasantly situated in Soria, the eastern most province of the Castilla y Leon, 80 miles north-east of the magnificent capital Madrid.

The famous town of Medinaceli is only 4 miles south, containing the spectacular Roman triumphal arch from the 2nd century A.D., the only one surviving in Europe. Once the seat of one of Spain's most powerful Dukes, Medinaceli houses a wonderful collection of art galleries, delightful squares, the Duke's Palace, and a castle.

There are many other pretty surrounding villages of further interest, reachable by foot or train.

If the business of relaxing gets too much, then you can come out of the unsophisticated way of life and travel down the valley to one of the most picturesque of all Castillan towns, Siguenza (12 miles). Here you can paint the town red in the tapas bars and night clubs, a town which never appears to sleep. Winter skiing is available on the resorts of Sierra de Greoos (3 hours drive).

PLACES OF INTEREST

VILLAGE SHOP/SHOPPING:
Located behind the popular trees in the square is the village shop, there have basic food items, limited fresh produce, mainly tinned foods. Fresh produce can be brought from the different sellers which come to the village in there van on certain days. Bread is sold every other day, you will know when they arrive because they sound their horn.
Above the shop is a bar with varying opening times (basically if people want to drink they stay open until they finish)
There are several small supermarkets in Medinaceli (3 miles) Most food items can be brought from here.
The nearest hypomarket's are Soria, Guadalajara or Madrid.
The best and by far the biggest is Madrid, just before the Madrid airport on the right hand side, here contains C&A, Marks & Spencers, Multicomplex cinema, BurgerKing, and a large selection of Spanish retail outlets. Approximately 1 hour from Fuencaliente.

LOCAL TOWNS OF INTEREST:
Siguenza; (25 minute drive) Beautiful Spanish town, there are many tapas bars surrounding the central park, this is where the heart of Sigueoza comes to life. There are also several delicious restaurants to be experienced, most notable the Parador located at the top of the town. By night the town is open to around 5am with night club's, disco's and bar's serving into the street.
The architecture in Siguenza is wonderful, with the narrow cobbled streets, the parador. the church and
the individual properties located within the town. Well worth a visit.

Medinaceli; (10 minute drive) Old Medinaceli on top of the hill behind the modem town. Here contains the only triumphal Roman arch in Spain from the 2nd century A.D. Medinaceli once the seat of one of Spain's most powerful Duke's, houses a wonderful collection go art galleries, delightful squares, the Dukes Palace (currently under restoration) and a castle.
New Medinaceli; (10 minute drive) Public open air swimming pool with sun terrace. Great for relaxing around in the afternoon.

There are several other towns and villages of local interest which can be reached by either walking, cycling, driving, or taking the train from Torralba.

Those of you with a sense of adventure, there is a disused railway tunnel, just the otherside of Torralba railway station in a disused siding. Travel through Torralba on the road to the early age man museum, on the left hand side just on the outskirts of the village is a siding on the left hand side.
Travel down siding to reach the tunnel entrance. Distance unknown, have travelled about 1/4 mile with no light but other end no found.
Happy exploring.

This is what I like about this area, every visit I make to Fuencaliente 1 discover something new and different. The area is rich in archaeology and is geologically interesting. The remains of the earliest man to Western Europe were found approximately 6 miles from Fuencaliente. Instead of moving the remains to Madrid they have built a museum around the remains. This is well worth a visit.

Any discoveries you make please note them in our guest comments book.