Lleida (Lérida in Spanish) is the westernmost city of Catalonia, sitting on a rise above the Segre river in a broad agricultural plain that produces some of the best fruit in Spain — the orchards around the city turn spectacular in spring blossom. It is often overlooked by travelers rushing between Barcelona and Zaragoza, but those who stop discover a city with a proud history and one outstanding monument.
Dominating the old town from its hilltop is La Seu Vella, the old cathedral of Lleida — an extraordinary Gothic structure begun in the thirteenth century. After the War of Succession in 1707, the cathedral was converted into a military barracks (Felipe V's punishment for Lleida supporting the wrong side), and it was only returned to cultural use in the twentieth century. The result is a building that is half military fortress, half ecclesiastical grandeur, with cloisters that look out over rooftops toward the Pyrenees on clear days.
The lower city is lively and modern, with a university that keeps the bar and café scene energetic. La Paeria, the Gothic city hall on the main square, is among the finest medieval civic buildings in Catalonia. The covered market and the pedestrian streets around Carrer Major are pleasant to wander. Lleida is also a useful base for the Pyrenean foothills and the medieval villages of the Pallars region to the north.