The greenways wind for more than 3,000 kilometres along routes once travelled by trains. Walkable or cyclable, they encourage the rediscovery of local roots.
An enormous asset, the infrastructure of disused railway lines across Spain (7,600 kilometres in total once used throughout the country) has partly found a new lease of life and has become a network of trails extending for more than 3,000 kilometres. The greenways are perfect routes for discovering the country in a sustainable way, by any means of slow mobility. Running for the vast majority across gentle, low-gradient terrain, they are suitable for everyone and lend themselves particularly well to cycling, offering a privileged point of access to the natural environment. The surface is carefully maintained — whether unpaved, asphalted or a gravel track — and designed for trekking, cycle tourism or simple family walks, including for people in wheelchairs.
The greenways are therefore easy-access trails, well signposted, comfortable to travel regardless of age or physical condition, and safe because no motor vehicles use them.
To date there are more than 120 greenways, covering a total of 3,200 kilometres winding through every region of Spain, with the exception of the Canary Islands. Each one is unique — no two are alike: they vary in length and pass through different territories, urban and rural, coastal and inland, offering spectacular views and painting, taken together, a varied picture of Spain.
The greenway network makes it possible to recover architectural and natural heritage, stimulate sustainable tourism and slow mobility, while at the same time reviving the local economy. Places where trains once whistled past, transit hubs, exchange junctions — today they welcome a different kind of traveller: active, aware that, while journeying through magnificent natural landscapes, they can immerse themselves in cultural and architectural richness as well as local traditions. The initiative concerns not only the routes of the railway lines themselves but in many cases also involves the old stations, which have been transformed into charming hotels, restaurants, service points, bike-hire outlets or railway museums.
The greenway project is made possible by the participation of various actors, both public and private, whose shared objective is a commitment to sustainability. The greenways are managed by the Spanish railway company Renfe, which is in a privileged position to promote slow mobility, in particular by integrating train and bicycle journeys or by otherwise encouraging the use of trains to support sustainable tourism alongside a culture of leisure time spent outdoors and on the move.
The infrastructure itself is a source of curiosity and enlivens the journey, offering interesting glimpses at every greenway — new viewpoints and perspectives. It should not be forgotten that the railways ran through tunnels or crossed gorges on tall viaducts. Many of these structures remain and add variety to the routes, allowing travellers not only to feel in touch with nature, but also to be part of a unique historical and cultural narrative. Reclaiming these infrastructures and these routes means not allowing the efforts invested in building them to be lost.
Situated in the heart of Asturias, some thirty kilometres from the regional capital Oviedo, this greenway is a truly excellent example of reconversion, as it follows the route of the ancient mineral railway line that transported coal extracted in the area. The Valle del Oso, with the villages of Proaza, Quirós, Santo Adriano and Teverga, has a history deeply marked by the mining sector: its development brought the railway to the region, until the abandonment of the mines also led to the disappearance of the trains. The greenway stretches for 36 kilometres and has 14 protected natural spaces located less than five kilometres from its route. Among these is the Las Ubiñas-La Mesa natural park, characterised by beech, yew and holly woods, with views over the central coal basin. Nature along this stretch is imposing: majestic rock faces, leafy forests and green meadows. It seems strange to imagine that a mineral railway once ran through here.
As its name suggests, it connects two regions in northern Spain that lie close to the French border: the Basque Country, which looks out over the Bay of Biscay, and Navarre, slightly further east. The old railway ran for 100 kilometres, linking Vitoria-Gasteiz and Estella-Lizarra respectively. The route is highly varied and includes a section with a fairly demanding change in elevation. This route lends itself perfectly to a two-day trip, with an overnight stay along the way, starting by train and thus making for a completely sustainable itinerary. It is worth noting that the quality of the clear skies in this area has earned the greenway the designation of a starlight trail: it is therefore an ideal spot for astronomical tourism, observing the night sky and admiring the constellations free from light pollution.
Spain is famous for its beaches and Mediterranean coastline, so it is impossible not to mention the greenway by the sea, which connects Benicassim and Oropesa del Mar in the province of Valencia. The route, around ten kilometres long, runs along the sea just a few metres from the shore through a succession of tunnels, bridges and large engineering structures that allowed the old railway to push through a landscape of such varied terrain. This is where the mountains of Oropesa meet the sea, giving rise to a jagged coastline of imposing rock faces alternating with the famous beaches of Benicassim and Oropesa, a short distance from the protected area of the Desert de les Palmes, a few kilometres inland.
Another distinctive greenway is the one that winds through the almost legendary lands of La Mancha, immortalised by Miguel de Cervantes's novel and the exploits of its protagonist Don Quixote: travelling the Alcaraz greenway, near Albacete, will feel like retracing on a bicycle the very places that the knight-errant had crossed far and wide astride his Rocinante. It will be something like taking part in the adventures that have shaped the history of literature — not only Spanish literature. The Alcaraz greenway consists of two sections: one of 74 kilometres through the impressive basins of the Jardín and Cubillo rivers, the Laguna del Arquillo and the Sierra de Alcaraz; the second, of around 19 kilometres, through the Sierra de Cazorla Natural Park, as well as the basins of the Rumblar, Guadalén and Guadalmena.
On the Spanish Tourist Office page you will find many more ideas for exploring Spain.
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