Elizondo

The area of the capital of the Batzan valley groups together fifteen villages spread over green hills in the Atlantic Pyrenees.

The centre of Elizondo stands on both banks of the river Batzan and contains a great many noble buildings such as stately homes and small palaces. The most representative are the palace of Arizkunenea and the City Hall, as well as the beautiful neighbourhood of Beartzu. Fortress towers are the most common structure in the valley as there were many border conflicts during the Lower Middle Ages. In Irurita there are lots of turreted ancestral homes and medieval towers, such as Dorrea or Jauregizuria. In Elbete there are the baroque palaces (17th century) of Jarola and Azkoa, while in Arizkun stands the tower of Ursua. The tour of the Baztan valley can continue on to Amaiur/Maya, a town of abundant ancestral homes such as Arretxea (16th century) and Arriada (17th century). A further two medieval towers, Zubiria and Jauregizar, in the town of Arraiotz, complete the defensive architecture of this Pyrenean valley.