Spain is home to mighty cities, perfect hilltop villages and coastal hotspots. As well as huge variety on the mainland, Spain also has 7 Canary Islands and 4 Balearic Islands. We’ve visited countless times and are always surprised.
Here’s our all time top 5 places:
Barcelona:
Not only is Barcelona our favourite city in Spain, it’s one of our favourite cities in the world. Make sure you:
Wander around the Gothic quarter – explore the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia and its beautiful 14th century cloister; hang out in the Placa Reial with its lamp posts and palm trees and walk down Carrer del Bisbe under the neo-Gothic bridge. Tip – BCN is packed with cool cafes, but breakfast chocolate and churros at the historic artistic Els Quatre Gats is hard to beat.
Indulge in Gaudi’s marvels – every time we visit we return to at least one or two Gaudi sites. Our favourite is Casa Batlló, but La Sagrada Familia (book ahead), Guell Parc and Casa Miro (La Pedrera) are all phenomenal. Tip – beware pickpockets in Guell Parc.
Max out on modern art – BCN is a big hitter if you are a fan of modern art. Choose from the Miro Foundation, the Picasso Museum and MACBA – the Museum of Contemporary Art. Tip – if you can’t decide which to visit, go for the Miro Foundation as you also get the city wide view from Monjuic.
Hit the beach – choose from 4.5 kilometres of coastline with clear sea. Our favourite area is Barceloneta as it’s walking distance from the city and has cool bars.
Seville:
Plaza de Espana – this elaborate, tiled extravaganza of a public space is breathtaking. It was built in 1928 for the Ibero-American Exposition. Tiled bridges cross a semi-circular canal which follows the lines of the columned pavilion. Hiring a boat on the canal is a good way to appreciate the painted tiles close up. Tip – take water, it gets extremely hot in the Summer.
Cordoba:
Ronda:
The most famous of the Andalucian white towns may well be rammed with tourists, but we couldn’t leave it off our list. We once spent a week in Ronda and in the early morning and evening (after the day trip rush of tourists) it’s enchanting.
Ronda’s USP is its geography. The town is split in two by a 120 metre gorge forged by the Guadalevín River. The town towers over this chasm with the two sides connected by the extraordinary Ponte Nuevo – this “new” bridge is actually quite old dating back to 1759.
There’s not much to do in the town itself. Ronda is the home of bull fighting and home to the famous Bullring. This historic building (1785) is an impressive structure if you can tolerate its purpose – we disagree with bull fighting. The Arab Baths are incredibly well preserved and worth a visit if you’re interested in Moorish architecture.
However, the best thing to do in Ronda is explore the gorge, the town’s whitewashed streets and squares and take in all the views.
Mundaka:
The small town of Mundaka in Spain’s Basque Country oozes low key magic. Dramatically positioned on a headland on the Oka River estuary, Mundaka is a fishing port with outstanding beaches and world class surfing. It’s 25 miles north east of Bilbao, but feels like a different world. The harbour is surrounded by traditional Basque architecture and ancient stone alleyways. It’s the main entry point for surfers accessing the left handed barrelling wave that Mundaka is famous for. If you don’t surf (we don’t) you can also swim in the harbour, or at the nearby golden beaches – Laidatxu is the best – or just nibble on pintxos in a bar or cafe and take in local life.
Tip – check out the remote headland Hermitage of Santa Catalina. Also, just 30 minutes up the coast is the spectacular San Juan de Gaztelugatxe. The small island is connected to the mainland by a dramatic winding bridge. For GOT fans – it’s the location of Dragonstone.