Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, is an interesting city with a lot of variety. When visiting Barcelona one must look at Antoni Gaudi’s unique and peculiar architecture, there is really nothing like his creations. Gaudi’s love for nature is evident in all his works, such as the Basilica la Sagrada Familia, which almost seems to grow out of the ground and in some strange way it seems to consist of both growing trees, skeletons and tendons. It sounds pretty odd for a cathedral – but when you see it you will understand! Moving on to the El Born district you will find more Gothic architecture and the whole area feels very bohemian and artistic. Pablo Picasso spent his youth here and there is a museum dedicated to the eccentric artist.
When you are tired in the afternoon, after wandering around in a big city environment in the hot summer sun, you can actually just walk, or maybe take a bus, to the Barceloneta district where you can cool off in the sea and eat paella with a refreshing ice cold beer. Before moving on to Tarragona, we would like to recommend avoiding la Rambla which is a long, wide street and crowded with tourists. If you still end up there, be extra vigilant for pocket thieves, and feel free to take your lunch elsewhere. There is a risk that you will be served a sad freezer pizza for a lot of money.
A short hour by train will take you to a slightly smaller city, Tarragona. It is a nice harbour town with beaches and much history with well-preserved Roman monuments. Feel free to visit Passeig Arquelogic, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List, where you can see amphitheatre, circus, city wall, necropolis and an aqueduct.
There are many nice small towns and cities to visit in Spain, if you intend to go to Valencia and then on to Madrid, Cuenca is a nice stop along the way. Cuenca, despite its small population of about 50,000 people, is the capital of the province of Castilla-La Mancha. The small town is built on very steep cliffs, and hence the “hanging houses” which immediately evoke a feeling of fraud. Not far from Cuenca you will find Serrania de Cuenca, a mountain range and nature reserve where you can go hiking and enjoy nature.
In Madrid it is full roll all the time and hopefully you spent some time in the nature reserve, so you have the energy needed to take it all in. One tip is to inaugurate the first evening with dinner and flamenco show! There are many so-called “tablao” where you can see flamenco, one of the oldest in Madrid called Villa-Rosa. If you are in the mood for some shopping, there are many areas to choose from. Malasana and Chueca are the areas to go to if you are looking to find unique garments and have a look at interesting small shops. There is also an outdoor market held every Sunday where you will find antique and vintage clothing, among other things. Do you feel like partying to it, there are a wide range of places to choose from, jazz clubs, nightclubs, wine bars, rooftop bars, secret bars, cocktail bars – yes, there are most!
