To truly appreciate the antiquity of Spanish culture, one must start at the beginning. So where is a good place to start?
The answer can be found in the depths of various caves located throughout the Northern Regions of Spain (the origins). Many of these caves contain art painted by the first occupants of the Iberian Peninsula, 17,000 years ago.
A sample of original prehistoric art in Cantabria
28km West of Santander, you will find the small town of Puente Viesgo, nestled in a peaceful, green landscape—cows and farms dappling the beautiful hills that roll …
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While thousands of people make the trip to Rome each year to see the Eternal City’s famous 2,000-year-old ruins, most of them complain at some point during their stay about the absolute crush of tourists. Rome is seriously crowded, it’s true - but if you’re just looking for Roman ruins, you don’t have to go to Rome to see them. In fact, you don’t even have to go to Italy. There are plenty of Roman ruins in Spain, for instance, which will satisfy the curiosity of any history buff.
Those Romans were adventurous folks, and they left evidence of their far-reaching conquests wherever they went - including some parts of Spain. What we now know as Spain was under Roman rule for about 700 years, so it’s not surprising that there are lots of notable Roman ruins in Spain to check out. This is a list of the 6 best-known and most interesting sights of Roman Spain.
Italica
The ruins of the Roman city of Italica are near Seville, and visitors can check out not only the ruins of one of the largest amphitheatres in Europe but also what’s left of several houses. The floors of the houses in Italica showcase one of the trademarks of well-preserved ruins from this era - beautiful mosaics. In the Seville city center there is also a palace, called the Palace of the Countess of Lebrija, to which some of Italica’s floor mosaics were moved - so if you like mosaics and want to see more after touring Italica, be sure to check out the palace. Italica remains an archaeological dig to this day, and it’s already one of the largest Roman sites in the entire country. This Roman city was the birthplace of the Emperor Hadrian. And if you’re already in Seville and you’ve got a taste for both death and Roman history, check out the Roman necropolis in the nearby city of Carmona - it’s the burial place for more than 1,000 Roman families.
City of Merida
The city of Merida (founded in 25 BC) boasts the most Roman ruins of any Spanish city, including an impressive theatre and amphitheatre which are still in use today for performances during summer theatre festivals. Merida’s Puente Romano is, as the name suggests, a Roman bridge which is also still used today. Other Roman sights in Merida include the aqueduct of Los Milagros, the ruins of a Roman forum, the Alcazaba fort (which has both Roman and Moorish designs on it, as the Moors added to what the Romans had started), a triumphal arch for Trajan, and the columns to a temple for Diana. There’s also a museum in the city that is dedicated to Roman art, and the city itself has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Santiago de Compostela is the name of a town in northwest Spain, but when you hear travelers talking about it they’re usually referring to the medieval pilgrimage route that ends at that town’s cathedral. So even though the route is technically called the Way of Saint James, or the Camino de Santiago, you’ll probably hear people talking about walking the Santiago de Compostela route as well. No matter what you call it, it’s a popular hike and a reason many people come to this part of Spain.
The city of Santiago de Compostela is in Galicia. The entire city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and boasts a beautiful historic center and a university which was founded in the 16th century. It’s the city’s cathedral that has long been its main attraction, however, and the end point for one of the most popular Christian pilgrimage routes.
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Sometimes the usual list of museums, art galleries and historic monuments just isn’t enough to make your vacation memorable. Sometimes a new food discovery or a travel romance isn’t even going to cut it. When all else fails, then, why not get involved in a gigantic city-wide food fight? That’s exactly what you can do when you take part in La Tomatina, the tomato food fight in Spain.
Every year, on the fourth Wednesday in August, throngs of people crowd into the little town of Buñol in the Valencia region to begin …
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Privilege is the world’s biggest club capable of housing 10,000 party seekers. Having the best sound system on Ibiza, the club is preparing for the grand opening in June.
Location
Privilege is located half way between the two hot spots on the island: Ibiza Town and San Antoni.
History
Privilege started its life in 1978 when three Basques bought Club Rafael and changed the name to Ku. In 1990 a roof was added, practically closing the era of out door partying but the roof collapsed during a storm in 1991. After renovations, the club reopened under the name Privilege.
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Generally speaking, I’m a skeptic when it comes to just about anything with a “free” price tag. I mean, the whole “getting something for nothing” routine doesn’t usually end up being the bargain it’s intended to be. But in this case, I’m willing to suspend my disbelief for a moment and consider that getting a free tour of Madrid might be a great deal.
Sandemans is a tour company that operates in several of Europe’s most popular cities, and they offer free city tours in every single one. In each case, they claim that because their tour guides are working solely for tips that “every tour is consistently one of the best in Europe.” Their Madrid free walking tours are 3.5 hours long, and includes both the city’s top sights and some additional spots that are more out-of-the-way. It’s a long walking tour, to be sure, but a walking tour like this helps you not only see the city in a more intimate fashion, it also allows you to get to some places that are inaccessible to tour buses.
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Madrid’s Prado Museum is not only one of the city’s main tourist attractions, it’s one of the highlights of any trip to Spain. This amazing art museum houses some of the most famous paintings in the world, and one of the best collections of European art anywhere. And even if you’re not generally an art person, the Prado has thoughtfully put together quick tours so you can get in and see the most important bits without spending all day looking at art. But we’ll get to that in a minute.
Originally built in the 18th century as a gallery to house the private art collection of the Spanish royal family, the museum was opened to the public in 1868 and given its current name - Museo Nacional del Prado. Almost immediately, the museum was too small to hold the impressive collection the royal family had acquired, and expansions began in the early 1900s. The museum still occasionally gets a little bigger, with the last enlargement taking place in 2007.
Even for those who are true art lovers, seeing the entire collection at the Prado Museum would be nearly impossible in one go - the museum boasts an inventory of more than 5,000 drawings, 2,000 prints, 1,000 coins and medals, 700 sculptures; and more than 1,300 paintings are actually on display on the museum’s walls. Some of the more famous works at the Prado are:
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Easily one of Spain’s most visited tourist attractions, the Alhambra is the pride of the city of Granada. This hilltop fortified palace was once the residence of royalty, and is now one of the country’s most famous examples of Moorish architecture and design.
Built during the early-to-mid 1300s, the Alhambra was originally the home of the Muslim kings who ruled the area around Granada. The palace was more than just a royal residence, however, as it was constructed during a time when Muslim rule in Spain was coming to an end - so it’s as much a fortress as it is a palace. In fact, the name “Alhambra” is taken from an Arabic word that means “the red fortress,” as the complex is built largely from red-colored brick.
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You wouldn’t expect one of the biggest tourist attractions in a city to be unfinished, especially when it’s been under construction since - get this - 1882. You’ll have to visit the Sagrada Familia church for yourself to see whether all that building time is worth it.
The gigantic Sagrada Familia church, designed by famed Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí, is one of the iconic images of Barcelona, despite remaining under a near-constant state of construction for nearly 130 years. Gaudí worked on the church almost exclusively for the last 15 years of his life, but the completion date for the Sagrada Familia is still the year 2026. But even though it’s not done, it’s still definitely worth a visit - at least to see the singular exterior.
Resembling something like a sand-castle or earth building, the Sagrada Familia’s exterior soars into the sky with eight enormous towers (with a further 10 planned for the future), and the church will eventually have three complete facades. At the moment, two are complete - the Nativity facade and the Passion facade. The Nativity facade is said to display the truest Gaudí influence, although both of the existing facades were completed after the designer’s death. It’s the Nativity facade which is most often photographed, and by which the church is best known.
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Famous for the incredible sunsets and chill-out (ambience) music, Café del Mar in Ibiza is the place to go before hitting the nightclubs. Although some of the “younger crowds” would probably choose some of the other “hot spots”, crowds in their 30s are common visitors at the Café del Mar’s Sunset bar.
History
The bar/café is located in San Antoni, to the west of West End area. The bar opened in the summer of 1980. Over the years, the music played at Café del Mar accompanied important events. In 2002, when Spain held the presidency of the European Union, a CD was created with images reviewing the Spanish presidency and the Café del Mar music accompanied these images.
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