Spain, especially Barcelona and Madrid are loaded with wonderful tourism attractions, incredibly interesting museums galore, hip luxury hotels, and some of the finest cuisine and restaurants in the world.
Almost 5,000 kilometers (over 3,000 miles) of coastline, along with diverse mountainous areas make Spain a privileged country for sports enthusiasts.
Hiking, routes on horseback or by bicycle, climbing, Skiing,river rafting, kayaking, parapente and hang-gliding are fascinating adventure sports which can be practiced almost all year around.
More than 50 million tourists visit Spain each year, making it one of the three most visited countries in the world.
To travel to Spain is to experience sun, superb food, hospitality and joie de vivre, and yet it is also to discover the country's rich heritage of monuments and sights, the imprint of different civilizations that once made it their home. To travel to Spain is to journey through its singular and breathtaking countryside, to delight in the stunning, starkly contrasting scenery, to study the customs of its people and towns, and to share in the local fiestas and traditions.
To choose Spain is to opt for diversity, to be the central character in what is sure to be a truly unforgettable trip. This is what makes Spain such a prized destination worldwide, and why the vast majority of those who visit it once, return... in order to share in the enjoyment of a climate, countryside and culture which embody a rather special way of life.
History has left its traces everywhere in a country with a unique legacy: Prehistoric caves, Roman remains, Jewish and Arabic architecture. The awesome bloom of Roman and Gothic art, followed by finest examples of Baroque and Neoclassical architecture, is just one example of the diversity that can be found in Spain.
Not surprisingly, 30 Spanish sites are considered World Heritage sites by UNESCO. This contrasts with the thriving new trends in architecture that attract ever more tourists, like the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao or the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia. The art experience in Spain is completed by its extensive offer of museums, featuring the best from the classics to the most avant-garde painters and sculptors.
Widely known for Flamenco music and dance, bull-fights, fantastic beaches and lots of sunshine, Spain has to offer much more than that. It is - and has been for thousands of years - one of the cultural centers of Europe. It has beautiful cities and towns, offering really old monuments as well as futuristic architecture. Its various regions are all different one to each other, geographically, climatically and even in personality. It is a fascinating country to know and to know more about it.
The diversity and contrast that go to mould the character of Spain are likewise in evidence in its cities. Celts, Iberians, Phoenicians and, at a later date, the Greco-Roman civilisation laid the first cornerstones of urban settlements which, to this day, bear the marks of their passage through time.
During the Middle Ages, Arabic, Jewish and Christian cultures, singly and through a process of mutual cross-influence, gave rise to the birth of cities which have come to house an historical-artistic heritage of incalculable proportions.
Tradition alone does not suffice. Modernity too is essential, and this was something certain Spanish monarchs -Charles III for one- managed to successfully apply during their reigns in order to beautify townscapes, like that of Madrid, with parks and landmark monuments, thereby instilling the city with a spirit of renewal. It was this element of urban renewal that became even more evident at a later date, in the form of townplans designed to extend and enlarge the leading cities, and the construction of graceful buildings which, in keeping with the shifts and changes in architectural tastes, have helped shape the identity of Spain's cities over the last two hundred years.
This contrast is also to be seen in the individual heartbeat of Spain?s cities, where surroundings, climate and daily lifestyles harmonise to lend each its own typical character and atmosphere. Some reveal to us a testimony to a glorious past and a monumental heritage; others, an exuberance of light and colour; and others still, the mysteries of wreathing morning mists and a horizon mantled in eternal green. Whether cosmopolitan or provincial, locked in time or flourishing and go-ahead, they are fascinating in the wide spectrum of realities and possibilities that they hold out to all who visit them and enjoy their warm hospitality.
"Spain is different!", Spaniards used to say. They don't specify compared to what: to the rest of Europe, to the rest of the world, or even to itself ? We don't know it either, but we do our best to supply you with loads of information so you can find the answer to this question and to many more by yourself.
Select exactly the components you want in your Spain vacation. You choose your hotel, room category -from sea views to suites-, rental car, private transfers and customized sightseeing tours. We do it all! Our Virtuoso Travel and Cruise Consultants will create the Spain vacation you have always dreamed of.
The Spain Vacations, Spain Luxury Tours, Spain Cruise Vacations and Luxury Travel Packages Guide |
