La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
If you can’t catch a night at the opera, you can still take in the awe-inspiring architectural riches of one of Europe’s greatest opera houses. Opened in…
Must-see attractions in Spain
Salamanca
Founded initially as the Estudio General in 1218, the university reached the peak of its renown in the 15th and 16th centuries. The visual feast of the…
Andalucía
From a distance the Fortaleza de la Mota looks more like a city than a mere fort, with its high church tower and doughty keep rising above the surrounding…
Granada
In the Alhambra, this elegant patio is the central courtyard of the Palacio de Comares, the palace built in the mid-14th century as Emir Yusuf I’s…
Antequera
Favoured by the Granada emirs of Islamic times, Antequera’s hilltop Moorish fortress has a fascinating history and covers a massive 62,000 sq metres. The…
Castilla-La Mancha
The fascinating archaeological site of Ruinas Romanas de Valeria is located just outside the village of Valeria, 34km south of Cuenca. Though not as…
L'Eixample
One of Puig i Cadafalch’s most striking flights of Modernista fantasy, Casa Amatller combines Gothic window frames and Romanesque flourishes with a…
Castilla y León
This wonderful Cistercian monastery 27km northeast of Medinaceli was founded in 1162, expropriated in 1835, then restored to the order in 1930; 20…
Granada
This huge Renaissance palace clashes spectacularly with the style of its surroundings on the Alhambra. Its main (western) facade features three porticoes…
Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau
L'Eixample
Domènech i Montaner outdid himself as architect and philanthropist with the Modernista Hospital de la Santa Creu i de Sant Pau, renamed the 'Recinte…
Madrid
This graceful square is one central Madrid's most beautiful, home as it is to a royal palace that once had aspirations to be the Spanish Versailles,…
Pamplona
Pamplona’s cathedral stands on a rise just inside the city ramparts amid a dark thicket of narrow streets. The cathedral is a late-medieval Gothic gem…
Palacio de los Duques del Infantado
Castilla-La Mancha
The only reason to visit businesslike Guadalajara, aside from changing buses, is a pretty good one: the former palace of the illustrious Mendoza clan is…
Jardín Botánico Histórico La Concepción
Málaga
These exotic gardens were conceived in the mid-19th century by the Loring-Heredia clan, a noble family of railway builders and bankers who bequeathed the…
Bilbao
The compact Casco Viejo, Bilbao’s atmospheric old quarter, is full of charming streets, boisterous bars and plenty of quirky and independent shops. At the…
Granada
Built between the 16th and 18th centuries by the Carthusian monks themselves, this monastery features an imposing sandstone exterior and some incredibly…
Granada
From street level it’s difficult to appreciate the immensity of Granada’s cavernous, boxed-in cathedral. But it’s nonetheless a monumental work of…
Iglesia de Santa María la Mayor
Extremadura
This 13th-century church is a stunner. It has a mainly Gothic nave and two towers that you can climb for fabulous views across Trujillo, the castle and…
Cuenca
Luring visitors in with its impressive old-looking facade (it was actually cleverly rebuilt in neo-Gothic style in 1902), Cuneca’s cathedral is well worth…
Reial Monestir de Santa Maria de Poblet
Catalonia
The largest monastery of the Cistercian Route, Unesco-listed Santa Maria de Poblet was founded by monks from southern France in 1150, and rose rapidly to…
Ávila
Commissioned by the Reyes Católicos (Catholic Monarchs), Fernando and Isabel, and completed in 1492, this monastery is an exquisite example of Isabelline…
Mallorca
Marine-research, -conservation and -preservation programs offset any animal-welfare qualms you may have visiting the excellent Palma Aquarium. Five…
Salamanca
Just down the hill from the cathedral, the lordly Dominican Convento de San Esteban's church has an extraordinary altar-like facade, with the stoning of…
Toledo
It's hard to imagine that this 16th-century building was once a hospital. If only modern hospitals were equipped with the kind of ornate plateresque…
Castilla y León
Proof that Astorga does not exist solely for the virtuous souls of the Camino comes in the form of this quirky private museum. Chocolate ruled Astorga's…
Andalucía
The lovely Plaza Vázquez de Molina is the monumental heart of Úbeda's old town and the perfect place to start exploring. An early case of Andalucian urban…
Granada
This 14th-century hall forms the entrance to the Palacios Nazaríes in the Alhambra. Originally, the council of ministers would have met here and the…
Andalucía
Possibly the most spectacular beach on Huelva's Costa de la Luz, this 8km-long sand bar along the mouth of the Río Piedras can be reached only by ferry,…
Centro de Lobo Ibérico de Castilla y León
Castilla y León
This excellent interpretation centre devoted to the Iberian wolf is built in the form of a traditional, circular corral used by local farmers to protect…
Monasterio de San Miguel de Escalada
Castilla y León
Rising from Castilla's northern plains, this beautifully simple treasure was built in the 9th century by refugee monks from Córdoba atop the remains of a…
L'Eixample
Puig i Cadafalch’s 1905 Casa Terrades is known as the Casa de les Punxes (House of Spikes) because of its pointed tile-adorned turrets. Resembling a…
Extremadura
Plasencia’s magnificent cathedral is two-in-one. The 16th-century Catedral Nueva is a Gothic-Renaissance blend with a handsome plateresque facade, a…
Granada
Rising above the Patio de los Arrayanes (Patio of the Myrtles) on the Alhambra, this tower houses two fine rooms: the Sala de la Barca (Hall of the…
Bilbao
Take a neglected wine storage warehouse, convert it into a leisure and cultural centre, add a shot of Bilbao style and the result is the Azkuna Zentroa …
León
Antoni Gaudí's contribution to León's skyline is the castle-like, neo-Gothic Casa Botines (1893), though the zany architect of Barcelona fame seems to…
Granada
Occupying the western tip of the Alhambra are the martial ramparts and towers of the Alcazaba, the site's original 13th-century citadel. The Torre de la…
La Latina & Lavapiés
This contemporary-arts centre is a stunning multipurpose space south of the centre. Occupying the converted buildings of the old Arganzuela livestock…
Málaga
Located in an aesthetically renovated 16th-century palace in the heart of the city’s former Moorish quarter, this extensive collection concentrates on…
Museo de Art Nouveau y Art Decó
Salamanca
Utterly unlike any other Salamanca museum, this stunning collection of sculpture, paintings and art deco and art nouveau pieces inhabits a beautiful,…
Almería
The second enclosure of the Alcazaba sits above the Muro de la Campana de la Vela, a wall named after its bell, which once chimed in times of danger. Much…
