The best traffic-free bike rides around Urgell

The Church of Sant Nicolau de Bellpuig is a late Gothic church with a single nave, accessible by an elegant Baroque staircase dating from 1792. Inside, the majestic Renaissance tomb of Ramon Folch de Cardona, crafted in marble in Italy, is a highlight. Also noteworthy are its portal, inspired by triumphal arches, and the slender hexagonal bell tower, making it a highly recommended cultural visit in the heart of the village.

Bellpuig Castle preserves the remains of an old 16th-century residential fortress, although its origins date back to the 11th century. Despite looting and subsequent renovations, the lower galleries can still be explored, and part of the southeast wall can be seen, allowing one to imagine its former grandeur. Today, the building houses municipal offices and a music school, and is an interesting stop for learning about the area's noble history during a tour of Bellpuig.

Along with the monasteries of Poblet and Santes Creus, this is one of the three pearls of Gothic architecture in Catalonia. You won't be disappointed.

Tàrrega is the capital of the Urgel region and has historically been a point of great interest since the construction of its castle and medieval Arab walls. In its old town, the church of Santa María de l'Alba, from the 17th century, and other buildings of heritage interest stand out. Its proximity to numerous communication routes makes it an ideal service center for travelers.

Forès is located on a promontory, which gives it magnificent views of the Conca de Barberá and its extensive orchard.

Rocallaura is a small nucleus of the Sierra del Tallat. It forms part of the municipal term of Vallbona de les Monges, in the Urgell region. The village belonged to the abbesses of Santa Maria de Vallbona, and has a church dedicated to Sant Llorenç. A castle was also erected, now totally gone.

The Tallat sanctuary appears in records as early as the 11th century, where a defense tower was located that took advantage of the magnificent views over the l'Urgell, Sagarra and Conca de Barberà regions. In the middle of the 14th century, a church was established as a result of the popular initiative of the residents of Rocallaura, and in 1475 it is said that a wooden carving of a Virgin Mary appeared to a shepherd. Legend has it that despite repeated attempts to move the carving, it returned to the place where the sanctuary is now, so they decided to leave it here. Then began a period of splendor for the sanctuary, with numerous reforms during the 15th and 16th centuries, some promoted by Fernando el Católico himself, who is said to have spent the night with Queen Isabella la Católica in 1493. By order of the king, it became in the priory of nearby Poblet, and a group of monks from the Cistercian order settled there. With the confiscation of Mendizabal in the first half of the 19th century, the monks abandoned the priory, and after the subsequent looting and destruction of the enclosure, the sanctuary remained abandoned until 1970 when a private association acquired the remains and took charge of their restoration and custody.

Municipality of the province of Tarragona, in the region of Conca de Barberà. The origin of the town is in the castle that Ponç de Cervera built on top of a nearby mountain in the 11th century. In the middle of the 13th century, the castle became dependent on the monastery of Poblet and the Templars, and in the lower part the encomienda of the Espluga de Francolí was established, under the jurisdiction of the hospital order. In the year 1312, the year of the extinction of the Order of the Temple, the Espluga de Francolí acquires the full señorío. Among the cultural heritage stands out the old hospital of the Order of San Juan, which currently houses the Mosén Ramón Muntanyola library, the Museo de la Vida Rural, the modernist cooperative winery Celler Cooperatiu, the work of Pere Domènech i Roura, or the Fassina Balanyà, former alcohol factory, today converted into one of the twenty-five industrial museums of the System of the National Museum of Science and Technology of Catalonia.