Best Travel Destinations - Spain
A visit to the small Spanish town of Cuenca makes a great day trip from Madrid. Cuenca is famous for its “hanging houses,” and you will find in Cuenca an intact Medieval village hewn from stone and built onto a high bluff in the middle of a canyon. You can see traces of the Moorish culture that originally settled the area, and enough ruins, fortress walls and stone arches to ignite your imagination. The modern part of the village is a charming seat of local culture. The downtown part offers sidewalk bars and cafés, and all the friendly ambiance and semi-nocturnal social life you would expect from a Castilian town. But up the hill in the old town you'll find the real reason for your ...
Many people who only have a brief time in Spain put Granada on their short list of places to visit. This is because Granada is a beautiful, hilly town in the southern state of Andalucía that charmingly represents some of the most exotic and beautiful elements of Spanish culture. Here you find winding roads through ancient Moorish neighbourhoods, plentiful shade from orange and lemon trees, flamenco culture, an elegant cathedral, and the world-famous Alhambra Palace: perhaps the world's best preserved Moorish fortress. Any visit to Granada should include a few days for sightseeing and at least one full day for a visit to the Alhambra. This is not a single building but an expansive complex including battlements, a palace, a royal garden and various state ...
Cordoba's Great Mosque in Andalusia, southern Spain, is a glory of the Islamic world and Europe's most magnificent Muslim monument. What makes this UNESCO World Heritage Site especially intriguing is its long and checkered history, once serving as a Roman temple, Visigothic cathedral, Christian church, and Moorish mosque. Today, the Great Mosque of Cordoba (“La Mezquita”) is Cordoba's cathedral, known as the “Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption” since the Spanish Reconquista (711-1492) saw the Moorish empire fall to Christian conquerors. A curious blend of architectural styles and Islamic influences still linger inside Cordoba Mezquita's stunning interior. For many Andalucians, the Cordoba Mosque is a lasting symbol of city's heyday as the Moorish Empire's westernmost Caliphate. The mosque's construction lasted over two centuries, beginning ...
It is virtually impossible to visit the vibrant, art-infused city of Barcelona and not be drawn into the captivating world of Gaudi (Antoni Gaudi i Cornet), the creator of Spain's most famed monument: La Sagrada Familia. Your first taste of the historical significance held by this man and his work will be the hundreds of miniature replicas of La Sagrada familia, which are crammed onto shelves of the gift shops lining the main street of Barcelona: La Rambla. Apart from every hostel and hotel offering a “Gaudi Tour,” there were also the more in-depth and (dare I say more accurate) historical Sagrada Familia tours for those willing to spend a bit more for a museum-quality tour dedicated to Gaudi. You should be able to find ...
Should you find yourself in Madrid around the middle of May each year, you might notice that a healthy portion of the populace is traditionally dressed with red carnations stuck in their vest buttonholes or pinned to their hoop skirts. This is for the Festival of Saint Isidro, the Patron Saint of Madrid, Spain, and of La Ceiba in Honduras. Should you follow a mass of these folks, who will occasionally cluster together to sing choral arrangements, you will undoubtedly find yourself (eventually) at some street party or another where thousands of Madrid’s inhabitants have come to talk and drink long into the evening. To the residents of Madrid, this late spring Festival of Saint Isidro marks the beginning of the long hot summer, and ...
Spain is a country with long ties to high energy animal traditions such as bullfighting. But it is also home to another lesser known event: horse wrestling. Travel to Spain's small village of Pontevedra in Sabucedo, and join locals as they herd horses down a mountain to a semi-round corral in town to be sheared and branded. This practice is known as "A Rapa das Bestas" (Cropping the Beasts). This Spanish festival is more than just a show of strength and courage. The Rapa das Bestas is done to pay homage to St. Laurence, whose intercession saved the town from a plague. According to the legend, two sisters fervently prayed to him to save the townspeople, and when he did, the sisters offered two fine ...
As May creeps into June, you should be packing your bags, buying a ticket and flying over the Atlantic to eastern Spain to participate in a festival called the Castells of Catalonia. It is at this time, in a tradition passed through the generations, that teams of “castellers” get together in small towns throughout Catalonia and construct what can only be described as “human towers,” up to 3-stories in height, as a dramatic form of competition and regional pride. Participating in the Castells of Catalonia, you will be witnessing a tradition that began in the 17th century in a small village called Valls in France, and which arrived in north-eastern Spain in the 18th century. Historians claim the tradition was started by local dance groups ...
Ever wanted to be a part of a night out with a million people of all origins, ages and interests? Sharing one night and one city, Noche en Blanco, or the White Night is an all-night cultural extravaganza. Noche en Blanco happens at one of Spain's best travel destinations, its capital and largest city, Madrid. Hemingway once wrote "Nobody goes to bed in Madrid until they've killed the night." Locals sincerely practice this by staying awake all the night, enjoying music, dance, and performances during the White Night Festival. It doesn't end with the loyal locals though, tourists travel the world and end up at the White Night in Madrid during September, to be a part of this breathtaking event. The art festival takes place ...
The title of this experience is no joke. You will want to remember your earplugs when you visit Tamborrada, a yearly festival that is held in San Sebastian, Spain. Though it is definitely noisy, it is noisy in a good way. For 24 straight hours, day and night are rendered meaningless and the sounds of drums of all types permeate San Sebastian. People dress up in costumes, dance, eat, drink, and have an all-around great time until the celebration is over. Occurring on the same day each year, January 20, Tamborrada Festival has long been a tradition for the people of San Sebastian but has only recently begun to attract visitors from other parts of the world. However, the people of the city are welcoming ...
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