Visit Albacete

Let's be clear: Albacete is no open-air museum. A modern, commercial city on the plain, it has kept little of its old fabric and has no spectacular historic quarter. It sees few tourists, which is also its appeal: gentle prices, generous tapas, and local life with no staging. One day is enough to see it. It becomes more interesting as a stop between Madrid and the Mediterranean, on the way to Valencia or Alicante, or as a base for exploring the province by car. On a first trip to Spain, keep it for a stopover rather than a whole stay.

Cutlery is Albacete's true identity. The municipal cutlery museum, housed in the Casa de Hortelano near the cathedral, traces this craft through antique navajas, daggers and artisans' tools. Check opening hours before you go, as online information varies. It can be seen without hurrying, and it sets up what comes next: the cutlers' shops in the centre sell handmade pieces, from the simple pocket navaja to decorated models. Think ahead for the flight home: a knife travels in the hold, never in the cabin.

The Pasaje de Lodares is the city's finest setting. Built in 1925 by the architect Buenaventura Ferrando Castells for Gabriel Lodares, this Italian-style covered arcade lines up ornate facades, wrought iron and a glass roof between two central streets. It is a listed Bien de Interés Cultural and takes only minutes to walk through: come for the photo, then carry on to the cathedral of Saint John the Baptist and Calle Mayor, the main shopping street. The Abelardo Sánchez park, the city's great green space, holds the Albacete museum and its Iberian and Roman collections.

From 7 to 17 September, the Feria transforms this discreet city. Held in honour of the Virgin of Los Llanos, it combines bullfights in the plaza de toros, concerts, stalls and crowds day and night around Los Redondeles, the circular fairground. It is the only time Albacete sells out: book early and expect rates well above the usual level. The rest of the year, the contrast is total. If you want peace, avoid these dates; if you want to see the city come alive, they are the only ones to aim for.

Albacete eats well for little money. The set lunch menu runs from around 11 to 15 euros, and tapas fill the evenings, especially around Calle Concepción. Try Manchego sheep's milk cheese, gazpacho manchego, a hot game stew unrelated to the cold Andalusian soup, and atascaburras, a mash of salt cod and potato. La Mancha saffron and regional wines round things out. This is plateau cooking, rustic and filling, more pleasant in winter than in the heart of July.

Two villages beat a second day in town. Chinchilla de Montearagón, about twenty minutes away by car, overlooks the plain with its castle, arcaded Plaza Mayor and cave houses: a morning is enough. Alcalá del Júcar, under an hour away, is more spectacular: its white houses stack up the cliff above a bend in the river, beneath a castle, and some cave houses can be visited. Allow the whole day if you add the gorge road, and avoid summer weekends if you can, when the village fills up.

The Ruidera lagoons come as a surprise in this dry landscape. A natural park since 1979, straddling the provinces of Albacete and Ciudad Real, this string of turquoise lakes linked by waterfalls is explored by car and on foot. The Cave of Montesinos, inside the park, is where Cervantes sends Don Quixote down. May and June offer the best balance of water levels, greenery and calm. In July and August the shores draw many Spanish holidaymakers at weekends. A car is essential, and a full day is needed. To stay in Castilla-La Mancha, Toledo, further north-west, supplies the heritage missing here.

The longest outing is also the finest. Allow a little over an hour and a half to drive to Riópar in the Alcaraz sierra, then head for Los Chorros, where the Río Mundo bursts from a rock face as a waterfall in the heart of the Calares del Mundo y de la Sima natural park. The flow peaks in spring, and the main car park can fill on busy days: leave early and check with the park before you come. In this mountain setting, the Albacete plain is quickly forgotten.