Exploring Spain: Travel Advice
Best trips to Spain, from island beaches to Moorish castles
Plan a dream vacation with advice from these articles on the top sights and best experiences in Madrid, Segovia, Toledo, Andalucia, Vigo and the Canary Islands
Spain offers travelers so much variety that it’s hard to know where to begin. Southern Europe Travel offers suggestions for planning a perfect trip to the Spanish mainland and its islands.
Must-see Spanish attractions, from Gaudi’s Art Nouveau architecture in Barcelona to Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim museum in Bilbao and lava tubes in the Canary Islands, by way of the Alhambra and Santiago de Compostella.
Madrid and Spain’s Historic Heart
Day trips to Toledo, El Escorial, Avila and Segovia provide out-of-town excursions after you’ve seen the Prado and Thyssen Museums, strolled through Retriro park and Plaza Mayor and visited Palacio Real.
Elaborate parades through the streets of towns and cities mark Spain’s traditional Easter season, as pasos, hand-carved and painted statues that retell the story of the Passion of Christ, are carried from the churches on Good Friday.
Hotels in Spain’s Canary Islands
Choose the vacation resort that’s right for you, and at a price that fits your budget, on Spain’s family-friendly islands of Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Tenerife or Gran Canaria. Spend the week basking in the sun or use these modern resorts as a base for touring an island.
Lanzarote Artist, Cesar Manrique
Art and architecture add to the heady mix of beaches and exotic volcanic landscapes on Spain’s Canary Islands. See the works of the multi-talented surrealist Cesar Manrique, that make Lanzarote a major art destination for sculpture and exciting modern architecture.
Vigo: Spain’s Atlantic Cruise Port
Take a shore excursion to the pilgrim city of Santiago de Compostella, explore an Iberian Celtic hill fort, bask on a beach or feast on a paella of Spanish shellfish during a day ashore in the Gallician cruise port of Vigo, just north of the Portuguese border.
Take a walking tour of the must-see World Heritage Sites in this sensuous, exotic Andalucian city, which wears its Moorish and Renaissance past in the Alcazar, Cathedral, Archivo de Indias and La Giralda tower, all nearby for easy sightseeing.
