Cuenca takes flight: the latest that is cooking in the new gastronomic capital (dizzying zip line included)

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Between heaven and earth, between the avant-garde and the Middle Ages.

Cuenca, which has always given travelers more than they receive, has been chosen this week as the next Gastronomic Capital of Spain.

The title comes at the right time for this vertiginous city between the gorges of the Júcar and Huécar rivers where in recent times the illusion of claiming itself on the map and proposing new things has been pressed.

Cuenca takes off and does so almost literally.

At least this is what an imminently opening upcoming attraction is proposing, thanks to which the most seasoned visitor will be able to scream in fear while flying across the Huécar.

The

is the dream come true of Cristian Fernández, who has been pursuing this project for four years with the desire for a record: the cable promises to be, in addition to the longest double urban zip line in Europe, a spectacular way to briefly contemplate Cuenca in full view of bird.

Cristian has done his numbers well: "They are 445 meters long, 120 meters high, and 190 kilometers per hour," he reviews while pointing to the end of the zip line, just below the height of the Heart of Jesus, at the top of the hill of Socorro... "Help", some will shout.

It is another alternative to savor the city.

Because its candidacy for the Spanish capital of flavor 2023 has known how to integrate not only the strictly culinary, but also the heritage, culture and overflowing nature that frames it.

Hence, in recent months he has displayed a daring collection of live and live still lifes: We are talking about gastronomic dinners in spaces such as the

, outdoor meals between the gorges or at the top of the MUPA, the Paleontological Museum , with fantastic views of the city.

Tastings have even been organized in the Cathedral.

And all mixed with music and art festivals in the streets that anticipate what will happen in the city during 2023.

Chef Jesús Segura.MGH

Hanging houses

Another novelty is the recovery of an icon such as the Hanging Houses, which had been closed for nine years.

It has become the new adventure of chef

, winner of a Michelin star in his latest restaurant Trivio.

The new neighbor of the Museo de Arte Abstracto Español (they are wall to wall) has created two restaurants in one.

"I don't like to make things easy," the chef admits to EL MUNDO.

If in Casas Colgadas he practices "zero kilometer at all costs", in Casa de la Sirena we find one more market kitchen that changes every 15 days.

There are two menus, and two prices.

The space itself, with its views of the Hoz del Huécar and an interior design that emulates that singular stony landscape, is ideal for the new gastronomic concept championed by Segura:

"Castilian-La Mancha cuisine has been labeled as poor, but to me it has seemed very rich because it always takes advantage of resources. Cooking with a lobster is easy because it is a

. But you tell a grandmother that with a garlic, a onion and a rib feed 16. In that ingenuity and that forced creativity is where the hand is ".

The chef's menu is full of

.

Along with local ingredients, the environment is present.

"Cuenca is the municipality with the largest forest mass in Europe," he points out.

"We take advantage of the pine trees, the clay, the stones... But the most important work we are doing now is the recovery of ancestral wisdom."

The chef refers to the use of ingredients that his grandparents used, "not only as ingredients, but for their therapeutic attributes."

He gives the example of the rose hip, a wild fruit that is a source of vitamin C. "Today this is unknown and we bring oranges from Valencia."

Panoramic of Cuenca from the Espacio Torner.MGH

In Cuenca it is impossible not to also be inspired by the

, created by Fernando Zóbel in the 1960s.

These days it is semi-closed for some works that will last until the beginning of next year.

Even more reason to visit the equally essential Espacio Torner and explore Cuenca's renowned contemporary streak.

The old town, a World Heritage Site, came to add 13 parishes and 24 convents, but some have shed their skin.

This is the case of the old Gothic temple of the convent of San Pablo that houses the work of the artist

"Not a museum to use", as highlighted by the director of the center, Marta Moset, "but a space for reflection, where painting, sculpture and architecture dialogue and unite with each other. Where container and contents have the same importance".

art and mortar

The surprises continue in all corners of the city.

They are discovered on a walk through the Plaza Mayor where the Cathedral stands, which, by the way, offers nocturnal visits to its most emblematic spaces.

A few meters away, the

former palace of the family of Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo, the disciple and son-in-law of Velázquez, offers accommodation and all the typical flavors (and with great views).

See mortaruelo, ajoarriero cod

pastor gazpacho, zarajos...

Art lovers will continue up to the Antonio Pérez Foundation in the former convent of the Discalced Carmelites, from the 17th century.

And those of the books, the other way around, will head towards the beautiful Plaza de la Merced.

There stands the Museum of Sciences, but also the

, with modern rooms and jewels such as the chapel and a very valuable

.

Many visitors cannot resist visiting

Cuenca 's also famous

They are, like almost everything, two steps away, hanging with their ten or more heights between Santa Catalina street and the emptiness of the deep valley.

Although the best way to glimpse this Basin and its abyss is from the MUPA.

That bank labeled the "second most beautiful in the world" is funny.

The Natura restaurant is even more graceful with all those traditional snacks with a modern twist... Everything between

rex.

PRACTICAL GUIDE

How to get.

Renfe's AVE and AVLO reach Cuenca from Madrid in one hour.

As of December so will the 'low cost', Iryo.

For sleeping.

From the seminary to the monastery, to choose: Both the Parador, a former convent, the

or the

hotel are interesting.

Bites.

Restaurants with history and views: In addition to the Casas Colgadas proposal, you must try the mortaruelo from the

and the autumn menu from

, the MUPA bistro restaurant, the Paleontological Museum of Castilla-La Mancha.

Active turism.

Nature by land, river and air: The landscape lends itself to walking through the gorges, renting a kayak in the Júcar and even taking a balloon flight.

With a lot of art.

The Museum of Spanish Abstract Art is semi-closed these days due to works that will last until the beginning of 2023. All the more reason to visit the also essential

, dedicated to the work of the artist from Cuenca Gustavo Torner, and located in the old temple of the convent of Saint Paul.

More information

.

On the Tourism website: visitacuenca.es

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