A medieval fortress in the Pyrenees above La Seu d’Urgell
El Castell de Ciutat is a hotel on a hill at the foot of a medieval fortress, 1 km from La Seu d’Urgell, in the Pyrenees of Lleida. From its rooms and restaurants you look over the old town and the Cadí-Moixeró natural park. The fortress has been part of the history of the region for more than a thousand years, and the Counts of Urgell lived there in the 11th century. The Tàpies family bought it in 1969, restored it as a place for events and built the hotel a few metres away. Andorra is 15 minutes away.
Weddings take place in the fortress and its gardens, between vaulted halls and green areas. The venue says it suits intimate weddings of 30 guests, large weddings of up to 350 seated guests and cocktail events for 500. Civil ceremonies are offered. The tasting of the wedding menu is free, and the couple spends one night in the Suite Condal, a suite inside the fortress with a stone fireplace and a terrace with views.
The hotel team organises the event and advises on flowers, music, photography and video, decoration, food and cocktails. There are two restaurants, Tàpies and Katia, and a wine cellar of 15,000 bottles. The hotel also has a spa with indoor and outdoor pools.
For your photos
The fortress has two kinds of light: the gardens in daylight and the vaulted stone halls, which are often dim. Ask the team where the civil ceremony takes place and what they do if the weather changes, because mountain weather can turn quickly. In the mountains the sun also drops behind the ridges before the official sunset time, so start your couple portraits earlier than you would on the coast.
The hotel sits on a hill with views of La Seu d’Urgell and the Cadí-Moixeró park, and the Suite Condal has a terrace with views. Ask if you can use these for portraits, and keep 45 to 60 minutes for them.
Good to know
- Location: Ctra. N-260, km 229, La Seu d’Urgell, Lleida. The hotel is 1 km from the town.
- Distance: Andorra is 15 minutes away.
- Guests: from 30 to 350 seated, or 500 at a cocktail.
- Ceremonies: civil ceremonies are offered.
- For the couple: free tasting of the wedding menu and one night in the Suite Condal.
- Stay: hotel with a spa, indoor and outdoor pools, and two restaurants.
- Website: hotelelcastell.com.
