A LESSER-known holiday spot in Spain has been declared home to the greatest beer in the world.
For four days this summer, professional beer sommeliers and experienced brewers gathered in Estoril, Portugal, for the World Beer Challenge.
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The international contest declared which beers were the greatest in the world across a number of categories.
One of the winners of the 2024 gongs was Spanish beer Ambar Especial, which picked up a perfect 100/100 score from all 125 judges, who came from 29 different countries.
The beer is made in the city of Zaragoza in Spain and claimed the gold in the International Lager category at this year’s event.
It’s a city that is often overlooked by people heading to north Spain, with visitors more commonly heading to places like Barcelona, or the beaches of San Sebastian.
Holidaymakers have a lot of reasons to head there, with historical sites like the Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Pilar and Palacio de la Aljaferia making up the city’s impressive skyline.
Both historic buildings are award-winning, picking up 2024 TripAdvisor Traveller’s Choice titles for the glowing reviews they receive from visitors online.
It’s also very family friendly, with days out at the city’s aquarium or museums, including the fire and firefighters museum and the Emoz origami museum, perfect places for days out with kids.
The city is also home to the museum of lanterns, where visitors can see all the different floats and lights that parade through the town on the night of October 13 every single year.
More than 200 lanterns and 15 floats proceed along a route that runs straight through middle of the city centre as part of their Great Autumn Festival, a deeply held tradition in Zaragoza.
As well as being a great city break option, it’s also a place with excellent links to stunning countryside walks.
That includes the option of a day trip to the Monasterio de Piedra (Stone Monastery), which is a national park where several “impressive” waterfalls flow, among picturesque gardens and lakes.
World of Waterfalls said: “Some of the waterfalls were so impressive that even if the park didn’t feature so many, we would’ve been satisfied just with one or two of the major ones.
“Of course, overdelivering on waterfalls wasn’t the only thing this place had going for it.
“It also featured an extensive garden, a mirror lake flanked by red cliffs, deep and dripping caves, and let’s not forget the namesake monastery giving this place some historic credibility.”
The 10 cheapest pints in the world
These 10 countries have the cheapest pints in the world
- Uzbekistan – 70p
- China – 90p
- Madagascar – £1
- Vietnam – £1.02
- Ukraine – £1.06
- Belarus – £1.07
- Philippines – £1.25
- Colombia – £1.28
- Azerbaijan – £1.29
- Kazakhstan – £1.34
Source: How to Order a Beer in Any Country in the World by Fraser Metcalf
However, with its beer now being so well celebrated, visitors will want to know where they can sample it within Zaragoza.
El Tubo is the place to head, with the winding labyrinth of alleyway and backstreets, home to taverns, bars and of course restaurants serving delicious local Spanish cuisine and tapas dishes.
It’s another TripAdvisor Traveller’s Choice award winner this year, one of at least seven sights in the city to pick up the coveted gongs.
Spain.info labelled it as “a perfect place to enjoy the tradition of eating Spanish tapas in several different bars”.
Flights from the UK can be booked online from around £18 this summer, making it a very affordable place to get to.
A hotel for two can be booked from £33 per night.
Meanwhile, this interactive map reveals where to find the best beer gardens in Britain.
And this German town has the world’s oldest brewery.
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