The Association of The Most Beautiful Villages of Spain held the event at Ca’n Ramis, next to Alcúdia’s walls, with the participation of mayors from the municipalities that form part of the network. The assembly announced the five awards for the 2025/2026 edition, which will be presented tonight during the gala dinner. It also confirmed that no new municipality passed this year’s quality audit, meaning the network remains at 126 villages.
ALBARRACÍN LEADS THE AWARDS AND ALQUÉZAR REACHES THE PODIUM
Albarracín won the Best-Rated Village award thanks to its average score of 4.85 stars in visitor reviews. The podium was completed by La Alberca (Salamanca), with 4.76 stars, and Alquézar (Huesca), with 4.78. The ranking also takes into account the number of visitors who submitted ratings, in addition to the score obtained.
The remaining awards went to Santillana del Mar (Cantabria), which received the Most Visited Village award after recording the highest number of visits on the association’s app; and Liérganes (Cantabria), named Most Visited Village on Web and App for having the most-viewed profile on both platforms. Morella (Castellón) received the Hardest-Working Village award for the work carried out by its town council on the association’s website, in an edition in which numerous municipalities have made a major effort. Alcúdia (Illes Balears), host of the event, was named Most International Village, with 64.7% of visitors coming from abroad, according to Telefónica Tech data. It was followed by El Castell de Guadalest (Alicante), with 63.0%, and Betancuria (Fuerteventura), with 62.1%.
The data used to grant these awards covers the period from October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026. The five winning municipalities will also be represented at the association’s stand during FITUR 2027.
SOS DEL REY CATÓLICO MARKS TEN YEARS IN THE NETWORK
The assembly also recognized eight municipalities marking a decade as members of The Most Beautiful Villages of Spain. Among them is Sos del Rey Católico (Zaragoza), which will receive its award tonight alongside Ciudad Rodrigo (Salamanca), Laguardia (Álava), Liérganes (Cantabria), Peñalba de Santiago (León), Sepúlveda (Segovia), Torazu (Asturias) and Zuheros (Córdoba).
The association recalled that 2027 will be the turn of the 13 villages that joined the network in 2017. It also confirmed that none of the applications submitted this year passed the quality audit, so the number of member municipalities remains at 126.
The organization carried out more than 16 re-audits during 2026 to assess how municipalities manage and protect their heritage. These reviews make it possible to verify that the villages continue to meet the requirements needed to retain the designation. In addition, the Quality Charter has incorporated new aspects related to the digitalization of tourism promotion.
The Quality Commission also addressed various issues related to the conservation of the municipalities. These included the installation of solar panels on rooftops, with the aim of making energy use compatible with landscape protection and preventing the installations from being visible from viewpoints or competing visually with monuments.
Possible low-cost solutions to reduce the presence of cables, antennas and satellite dishes on façades were also discussed, making use of works that are already planned. Accessibility was another issue analyzed, with the aim of making visits easier for everyone.
