#along with salamanca and almeria | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

muellerewald-blog · 5 years ago

Photo

Spain ticks all the boxes for a great holiday, but where to go? Mainland Spain or the Balearic Islands? City or coast? Or what about exploring one of the country’s less visited areas? The choices are endless considering Spain has no less than 50 provinces. Fortunately, we’ve broken it down for you with a whistle-stop tour of Spain’s 17 diverse regions.

1. Andalucia

This region covers the entire southern area of mainland Spain and includes the Costa del Sol, Costa Tropical, Costa de Almeira and Costa de la Luz.

This is possibly the region which typifies Spain in the minds of tourists; from beaches to quaint whitewashed villages, flamenco to fiestas, Andalucia has it all, including the popular cities of Marbella and Seville – the region’s capital – plus a wide selection of world-class golf courses.

Provinces: Cádiz, Cordoba, Granada, Malaga, Seville, Huelva, Jaén, Almeria

2. Aragon

Aragon in the north/north-east of Spain is often overlooked by visitors perhaps because it is landlocked and doesn’t boast any of Spain’s more well-known cities.

But the region is well worth a visit, especially the area close to the French border, as it offers the stunning natural beauty of the Aragonese Pyrenees, which has no less than seven ski resorts.

Provinces: Zaragoza, Huesca, Teruel

3. Asturias

On Spain’s north coast, this single province region is home to the stunningly rugged Costa Verde that is noted for its beautiful sandy beaches.

The lush landscape comes at the price of higher annual rainfall, but it still draws climbers, walkers, cavers, kayakers and nature lovers to the peaks of the Picos de Europa National Park.

Large centres of population in Asturias include the cities of Gijón, which is located on the Bay of Biscay’s west side and about 12 miles north Oviedo, the region’s capital.

Provinces: A single province region

4. Balearic Islands

The single province region of the Balearic Islands consist of the holiday hot spots of Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza plus Formentera, which is less well known but should not be overlooked.

Provinces: The islands count as a single province region

5. Basque Country

The Basque Country is a little different from Spain’s other regions. Located in the north on the Bay of Biscay and bordering France, this region is made up of three provinces and is fiercely independent, with its own flag and version of the Spanish language. However, this little region has much to offer tourists; the Costa Vasca (coast of females from the Basque Country), a virtually unknown Costa, the city of Bilbao, and an alpine landscape all await discovery.

Provinces: Vizcaya, Álava, Guipúzcua

6. Canary Islands

Off the north-west coast of Africa, these 13 volcanic islands include the holiday hot spots of Tenerife, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria plus El Hierro, La Palma and La Gomera.

We highly recommend you don’t overlook the Canaries’ culture and scenic landscapes – a day away from the beach spent exploring will uncover delightful Spanish villages and beautiful views!

Provinces: Las Palmas, Santa Cruz de Tenerife

7. Cantabria

This single province region finds its home on Spain’s north coast. Capital and port Santander welcomes many ferries from the UK daily and is steeped in history; the cave paintings at Altamira prove that people were living in Cantabria over 15,000 years ago.

The Costa Verde also spans this region along with the short Costa Cantabria, giving visitors plenty of beaches to choose from. Santander is the Spanish Royal’s summer residence, and sits overlooking the Bay of Biscay.

Provinces: A single province region

8. Castilla La Mancha

Situated in the heart of mainland Spain, this landlocked area is the second largest region in Spain and hugs Madrid, the country’s capital. This region consists of arid, sparsely populated mountainous land that is dotted with vineyards and castles.

It also contains the former Spanish capital of Toledo, which is becoming increasingly popular as a city break destination due to its good mix of museums, Renaissance buildings and churches, including the 13th century High Gothic cathedral.

Provinces: Guadalajara, Toledo, Cuenca, Ciudad Real, Albacete

9. Castilla y Léon

The largest region in the centre of Spain, which also borders Portugal, Castilla y Leon is taken up by a large elevated plain, which is hard to get to as it is surrounded by mountains! Although the capital of this region, Salamanca, is famous for its university.

If you’re looking for a city break that is a little different and offers great value, we’d recommend a visit. Packed with Spanish culture and history, yet quieter and slightly more off the beaten track than Barcelona, it is a city of beauty.

Provinces: Léon, Palencia, Burgos, Zamora, Valladolid, Segovia, Soria, Salamanca, Avila

10. Catalonia

Best known for its amazing capital city Barcelona, Catalonia is a favourite among tourists from all over the world looking for a cultural and sunny city break, with the added bonus of the beach; it’s also famous for Antoni Gaudí’s wondrous architecture.

This well-known region – which like the Basque Country is also fiercely independent – has the added bonus of also being home to the beach holiday hot spots of the Costa Dorada and Costa Brava, which both offers great beaches tucked among wild picturesque craggy coves.

Provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, Tarragona

11. Extremadura

Lying in south-west Spain, Extremadura is bordered to the north and east by Castile and Leon, to the south by Andalucia and to the west by Portugal.

Many insiders say this region is Spain’s best kept secret as far as tourism is concerned. What it lacks in coast, Extremadura makes up for in stunning historic towns and mountains, forests and lakes.

The Roman city of Merida is one of the region’s highlights together with Plasencia, another historic city with ancient walls.

Provinces: Caceres, Badajoz

12. Galicia

Galicia is situated on the north-west coast of Green Spain, just above Portugal, making it a geographically, scenically and culturally different to many of Spain’s better known southern provinces. It has a warm but temperate climate and a lush landscape with mountain ranges, rivers and 1500km of coastline that indented by a series of rías (coastal inlets), which carve fjord-like into the land to create sandy beaches, while their shallow waters provide a harvest of shellfish.

The region’s largest centres of population are the university city of Santiago, La Coruña, which is noted for its Tower of Hercules lighthouse, and Vigo. Further south, the fishing port of Cambados is seen as the capital of Albari��o, Galicia’s delicate and fragrant white wine.

Provinces: A Coruña, Pontevedra, Lugo, Orense

13. La Rioja

Think Rioja, think wine! This single province region has more than 500 wineries and is internationally famous for the quality of their produce. As well as wine tasting, this area, located just under the Basque Country, is also geared up for rural tourism.

Provinces: A single province region

14. Madrid

You’ll know Madrid as the country’s capital, but is also the name of the single province region (the city of Madrid sits in the middle of it). Madrid boasts the stunning Sierra de Guadarrama Mountains, which hide many secluded villages for visitors to explore. Outside of the capital, the main points of interest for tourists include El Escorial, the historical residence of the king, riverside Alcala de Henares, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Aranjuez, the king’s spring residence!

Provinces: A single province region

15. Murcia

Home to the Costa Calida, this single province region sits in the bottom right-hand corner of Spain. It attracts many loyal sun worshipers to its beaches because of its all year-round rays! This region is great for activity lovers too, thanks to its many top golf courses and well-known walking and cycling trails. Plus, diving here is amongst the best in Spain!

Provinces: A single province region

16. Navarra

The single province region of Navarra often gets overlooked as a tourist destination, with France to the north and the Basque Country and wine region of La Rioja alongside.

This incredibly green area has two distinct characteristics. The north attracts walkers, cyclists, climbers and families heading into the mountains of the Navarran Pyrenees.

Much of northern Navarra is covered by hills and mountains, although south of Pamploma – the region’s capital that is best known for the Running of Bulls which form part of the Sanfermines festival that takes place each July – the mountains are left behind and the plains of central Spain begin to open out, while the wet forests become scorched vineyards and olive groves.

Provinces: A single province region

17. Valencia

Valencia is the birthplace of the country’s national dish, paella – and many say this is the best place in the world to eat it!

This region sits halfway down Spain’s Mediterranean coast and is home to the Costa Balnca, where Benidorm and Alicante can be found, and the less well known Costa Azahar, which is noted for its orange groves.

Provinces: Valencia, Castellon, Alicante

The post The 17 Wonderful Regions Of Spain Uncovered appeared first on TravelRepublic Blog.

0 notes

zitak · 7 years ago

Text

My husband and I just spent 3 days in Madrid, Spain. It took almost a full day to get there with all kinds of flight issues and such but I was determined to not let that get to me and decided to put mind over matter and make the most out of the short time there.

Our hotel was north of the center of the city in the Conde Duque district, but walking distance to almost everything. After settling in to our room we took a stroll (even though it was raining) to meet our daughter and her boyfriend at a local restaurant that they had found. On the way there, we spotted numerous fun looking tapas restaurants and bars. It seemed likely that this would be another eating holiday. I was quite tired and not hungry after the big travel day so just had a cocktail before we crashed for the night.

The next day we had a delicious breakfast at Federal Café, a super popular place opened by a couple of Australian expats who first started one in Barcelona. It’s full of lots of healthy and tasty options and excellent coffee. I loved my avocado toast with poached egg and felt energized and ready for the day.

Before heading to Madrid, we did do a bit of research and found a company called Devour Madrid that does some amazing tours around the city. While I hadn’t actually booked anything with them, we arranged to meet with one of their guides for a chat. Luke Darracott is an Englishman living in Madrid who loves all kinds of food, wine and traveling. He’s also a tv host for a variety of food/travel shows and so I was pretty certain we’d hit it off. I showed Luke a list of tapas places our wonderful friend in Almeria, Maria Virgina sent us and he loved her selection. At the top of the list, was Casa Toni so we made our plan to go there that night.

While the rain was holding off for a bit, we strolled over to see the Royal Palace, one of Madrid’s main attractions. There was too long a line to go in so instead we headed over to the Sorolla Art Gallery, a recommendation from Luke. It’s a beautiful house with sculptures, ceramics, furniture and jewelry as well as the artist Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida’s paintings.

As dinner is quite late in Spain, with most people eating after 10PM we first scheduled to see the flamenco show at Casapatas. Starting at about 8PM it was an hour and half of almost nonstop music and dancing and was rather exhilarating. By now, the tapas places around were open and starting to fill up so we quickly made our way to Casa Toni where we were taken to a table upstairs and promptly brought a bottle of local Madrid wine while waiting for our food. This place is known by the locals to have some of the best traditional tapas such as pigs ears and lamb intestines and so, yes, I had to try them. I’m not a fan of the pigs ears but the lamb intestines that were fried and wrapped around a vine were really delicious. We also had some chorizo (some of the best I’ve ever tasted) and a really good eggplant dish, patatas bravas (fried potato cubes with a spicy sauce)and some prawns with garlic.

We woke up to more rain the next day and so decided to visit the city’s History museum to get a better understanding of Madrid’s evolution as an urban city. It’s a small and easy museum to navigate and also free to enter.

We then took the metro to the La Latina district to check out the Mercado de La Cebada, a 2 story indoor market full of stalls with meats, vegetables, fruits and seafood as well as some newer wine and beer bars and where on Saturday, the seafood aisles become a crowded and festive eating and drinking extravaganza. Thankfully, Luke met us and handled the ordering and found us a space so we could take part in this local happening. We had a very nice local Rueda wine (all of 7 euros) with mussels, octopus and delicious white anchovies.

Finding out how much I love cheese, Luke then took us to a tapas bar nearby that had an amazing assortment of cheese along with all kinds of local wines by the glass. In fact, the place called Almacen de Vino was actually a storehouse for wine that used to hold wine in casks and then sell it to the locals. The tiny place was packed and the smell of cheese wafted all around. I got to taste about 3 different types while sipping some nice monastrell.

Back on the metro, we now headed to one of Madrid’s best wine shops, Lavinia, located in the elegant Salamanca district. This large store has a restaurant upstairs where we sat down with a glass of sherry and some complimentary tapas before I browsed around and found the sherries that I ended up purchasing. After a full day of almost non stop eating and drinking, it was a simple snack and drink before heading off to bed.

The final day in Madrid was cold and windy but thankfully, not raining. Deciding it would be a good day to shop we headed to the biggest department store in Spain (and in fact, Europe, El Corte Ingles. We went to the one on Plaza Callao since we heard it had an entire floor dedicated to gourmet food and drink. The Gourmet Experience, as its called, is on the 9th floor and has an amazing outdoor terrace with beautiful views of Madrid. We managed to get some photos before rain began again and browsed the amazing display of hams, cheeses, olive oils and other Spanish delicacies. If only I could take it all back home with me.

Heading out to the Gran Via, we popped in and out of shops until we were hungry for a bite. The rain had picked up, once again, and we needed to find a place in a hurry. Fortunately, we were right by a pretty place called La Carmen in the Plaza del Carmen and found ourselves in this friendly, stylish and very comfortable restaurant. The menu was diverse and reasonable and we shared some excellent roasted pork ribs, bull’s tail risotto, a cheese and sausage platter, spicy potatoes and the popular, fried squid sandwich. A couple of glasses of albarino and I was completely satisfied.

The rain had now stopped so we made the plan to walk back to our hotel. On the way, my daughter spotted an authentic looking Vienese café and we reenergized with coffee and hot chocolate.

We made a stop on our way to see the Temple of Debod, an Egyptian monument dating back to the 2nd century BC. It was gift to Madrid and reconstructed there in 1972. It’s located in La Montana park near the Plaza de Espana that has more fabulous views of the city and surrounding mountains.

Our final meal in Madrid was at the charming and cozy El Jardin Secreto (Secret Garden), for a light dinner and a couple of glasses of wine. My husband had pig trotters that were super moist and tasty and I had a crepe filled with cheese that was simply okay. While the food might not have been the best in my opinion, the cute atmosphere was worth the visit.

The next morning, we had a quick bite at the hotel, filling up on Spanish ham and cheese before our easy taxi ride to the airport.

The three days were complete and I am thrilled that this short trip was so gratifying.

Cheers and all the best,

Zita

Meandering through Madrid My husband and I just spent 3 days in Madrid, Spain. It took almost a full day to get there with all kinds of flight issues and such but I was determined to not let that get to me and decided to put mind over matter and make the most out of the short time there.

0 notes