Morella is named by Conde Nast Traveller as one of Valencia's top towns. The trip to Morella is through windy mountain roads, but the journey is worth it when you arrive. You have gorgeous views for miles around the surrounding area.

We checked into the Hotel Rey en Jaume Morella. This three-star hotel had a rustic charm, with rooms simply decorated and featuring locally crafted blankets. 

The hotel either has mountain views or street views and I was lucky enough to get a room with this fabulous view below.

After dropping off our bags quickly we went out to explore the town.



How lucky were we to see a rainbow!





The town has a selection of artisan shops and gourmet delis. We stopped in Casa Guimera selling local honey, gourmet sausages, chocolate and cheese. This must have been the perfect shop, I mean, what more do you want in your life than cheese and chocolate?






We also stumbled across an amazing soap and candle shop too, selling natural organic and handmade soaps. 


Morella is known worldwide as a place to find amazing truffles - not chocolate ones but the truffles of the fungi variety also known as 'black gold'. The truffle season runs from November to February with the truffle market held every Friday night. 

It's a lucrative business and not widely publicised, after all a lot of money and truffle changes hands. During the season the smell of truffle permeates the town and local restaurant menus make use of this luxury ingredient in their gourmet meals.
In this small town, there are a number of local cafes and superb restaurants where the quality of the food is excellent. Of particular note are Restaurante Daluan and Hotel Restaurant Cardenal Ram.

We had a cheeky aperitif in Restaurant Casa Pere, then we were lucky to eat at Hotel Restaurant Cardenal Ram.  Serving typically Morellan cuisine, with tender lamb, cured meats and local desserts, the food was tasty, well prepared and simply delicious.

After a few laughs, lots of amazing food and a little wine, we retired to our hotel, excited to see what tomorrow would bring.







The next day I was up early after a comfortable night's sleep to explore a little before our departure to our next town. First stop though was breakfast at Hotel Rey en Jaume Morella. A continental breakfast with a great selection of pastries, meats, cheeses, fruit, cereal and yoghurts greeted us and was delicious. Of particular note were the scrumptious selection of pastries and the Spanish tortilla, a potato and onion omelette.

After breakfast I had a quick explore before check out. 

I strolled up to the castle on the mountain as I spotted it yesterday. The castle is well worth a visit for sure. As a crossroads that links Valencia, Aragon and Catalonia, the Mediterranean and the Ebro Valley, it is of important historical significance. In 1084 El Cid rebuilt the castle, and in the Battle of Morella, defeated Sancho Ramírez of Aragon. It was conquered by the Christians in 1231. In 1938 Franco's forces captured Morella too.


I could write about the history of Morella all day, so it's well worth reading up about it if you are going to this area as I have only briefly touched upon points of note.

Also worth visiting is Santa María Morella (Saint Mary’s Church), Convento de San Francesc Morella (St. Francis’ Convent) and the Morella Museo Temps de Dinosaures (Time of Dinosaurs Museum Morella). I never knew that Morella was known worldwide for dinosaur remains, and only last month in June 2017 more dinosaur remains were unearthed, a creature over 20 metres in length.


If you would like to explore the Castellón region of Spain including the towns of Peñíscola, Morella and Benicassim, Ryanair has a new route from Bristol to Castellón (Valencia) flying twice a week. With flights from £40 return, it's a cheap way to explore this underrated area of Spain.

Watch out for my next blog post on my Castellón trip very soon where I discover Benicàssim. Also, check out my trip to Peñíscola on day one. If you like this post be sure to follow the #InCastellon hashtag on Twitter, FB and IG to see what we got up to on our trip to the Castellón region of Spain.

Read more about why you should visit Morella here. For what to do in the area check out 10 fabulous things to do in the Castellón area of Spain.

Thanks to the Castellón tourist board for hosting me on this fabulous trip.