Zamarramala
Historic hilltop barrio two kilometers north of central Segovia, known for its February fiesta and sweeping views over the aqueduct and old town.
Clustered stone houses on a ridge overlooking the Segovia valley
Why people stay in Zamarramala
Zamarramala clings to a low ridge above the Eresma valley, technically a district of Segovia but separated by two kilometers of farmland and modern sprawl. The core is medieval stone: narrow lanes, a twelfth-century Romanesque church, sixty or seventy old houses with tile roofs and wooden lintels. The edges are newer—brick houses from the 1980s, a school, a sports center, a bus turnaround. The population is around a thousand, half of them over sixty, and the neighborhood is famous for one thing: the Fiesta de las Águedas on the first Sunday of February, when the women of Zamarramala take over the ayuntamiento for a day and everyone drinks, dances, and eats too much lamb.
The rest of the year it's quiet. A couple of small hotels have opened in converted houses, aimed at travelers who want a cheaper, less touristy base than the old town. Rates run €55 to €75 a night, breakfast sometimes included, and the trade-off is you’re a fifteen-minute walk or a five-minute bus ride from the aqueduct. The views are the selling point: from the ridge above the church you can see the aqueduct, the Alcázar, the cathedral, and the sierra behind, especially at sunset when the stone turns gold.
There are no restaurants beyond one bar (Bar Zamarramala, weekday menú del día €11) and no nightlife. The L1 bus connects to central Segovia every twenty minutes until midnight (€1.10, eight minutes), or you can walk downhill on the old footpath—thirty minutes, steep in places, muddy after rain. If you want to be in the thick of Segovia's tourist scene, this is the wrong place. If you want a hilltop village feel, a view, and to save €40 a night, it works.
Two small hotels: Casa Rural La Posada de Zamarramala (five rooms, €60 to €75, breakfast included, run by a Segovian couple who speak basic English) and Hostal Zamarramala (eight rooms, cheaper at €55 but more basic, shared bathroom on one floor). Both are clean, quiet, and booked solid the first weekend of February for the fiesta—reserve months ahead if you want to experience that. The rest of the year they’re half-empty. Free street parking everywhere except during the fiesta, when the whole barrio is a pedestrian zone and you park down the hill.
Things to do in Zamarramala
From the church plaza take Calle del Pozo downhill, follow the cobbled path through the allotment gardens, cross the footbridge over the stream, climb the far bank to the base of the aqueduct. Thirty minutes, 80 meters of descent then 40 meters back up, scenic but steep and the cobbles are slippery when wet. Locals use this path daily; tourists rarely find it.
A small unmarked viewpoint on the ridge behind Iglesia de San Pedro, reached by a dirt track from the top of Calle Mayor. Five-minute walk from the plaza, no facilities, no signage, just a flat outcrop with a 180-degree view over Segovia. Sunset is the time to come—the aqueduct and cathedral catch the last light, and you’ll have the spot to yourself except maybe one local walking a dog.
Romanesque church at the heart of the barrio, twelfth-century, single nave, restored apse with faded frescoes. Usually locked except for Sunday mass at 11am, but the exterior is worth a look—the carved capitals on the south portal are excellent. If the door's open (rare), the interior is plain but peaceful. No entry fee, no guided tours.
Plaza de Zamarramala 3, open weekdays 12pm to 4pm and 7pm to 10pm, weekends lunch only. The menú del día is €11 (soup or salad, main, dessert, drink) and changes daily—expect lentejas, roast chicken, flan. The bar fills with local workers at lunchtime; tourists never come. No English, no frills, just solid cheap food.
Fiesta de las Águedas, first Sunday in February, honors Saint Agatha and involves the women of Zamarramala running the village for the day. It's folkloric, loud, very local, and ends with street dancing and excessive lamb consumption. The barrio is packed, hotels are full, and it's the one day of the year Zamarramala feels like a party town instead of a sleepy hilltop village.
What to see
Hotels near Zamarramala
No hotels are listed in Zamarramala yet. The nearest ones are on the region page.
Every hotel we cover in Zamarramala
Getting around Zamarramala
From central Segovia (Plaza del Azoguejo or Plaza Mayor) take the L1 bus toward Zamarramala (€1.10, eight minutes, every twenty minutes 7am to midnight). The bus stops in the plaza at the top of the barrio; from there everything is walkable. If you’re driving from the Segovia ring road (SG-20), take the Zamarramala exit, follow Calle Mayor uphill for one kilometer, park anywhere in the upper barrio—it's all free except during the February fiesta. The old footpath to the aqueduct is walkable but steep; allow thirty minutes down, forty back up.
Questions about Zamarramala
Price and views. Hotels here cost €55 to €75 a night versus €90 to €150 in the old town, and the ridge viewpoint offers a better sunset panorama than anything you’ll get from a hotel window in the city center. The trade-off is minimal services (one bar, no restaurants, no shops except a tiny grocery that opens mornings), and you’re dependent on the L1 bus or a fifteen-minute uphill walk to reach the aqueduct and cathedral. It works if you want a quieter base and don’t mind commuting.
If you’re interested in Spanish folk traditions, yes—it's one of the region's oldest and most distinctive fiestas, genuinely local, not staged for tourists. The women of Zamarramala dress in traditional costume, take symbolic control of the ayuntamiento, and the day ends with street dancing and roast lamb. Hotels book out months in advance, the barrio is packed, and it's loud and chaotic. If you just want to see Segovia's monuments, pick any other weekend.
Yes, via the old footpath—thirty minutes downhill, steep and cobbled, scenic and muddy after rain. The route starts at the church, descends through allotment gardens, crosses a footbridge, and climbs the far bank to the aqueduct base. Coming back uphill takes forty minutes and is a workout. The L1 bus (€1.10) is easier and runs every twenty minutes; most visitors bus one way and walk the other.
One: Bar Zamarramala, which serves a weekday menú del día (€11, three courses, basic but decent) and is closed most evenings and all day Sunday. That's it. For dinner or anything beyond bar food, take the L1 bus down to central Segovia, where dozens of restaurants line Calle Infanta Isabel and the streets around Plaza Mayor. Zamarramala is a residential barrio, not a dining destination.
