Spain Travel Guide

Spain is more than bullfights, flamenco dancers and crowded beaches. It's a spectacular and diverse country, the north resembling the rolling, green hills of Ireland and the south giving you a taste of Moroccan landscapes and architecture. Its tremendous history is reflected in its prehistoric cave paintings, Moorish palaces, crumbling castles, Roman ruins, Gothic and Renaissance cathedrals as well as some very distinctive modern architecture. The uniqueness of Spain lies in the separate kingdoms which made up the original Spanish nation. These regions remain diverse in their language, culture, cuisine and art. They include: Andalucía, Aragon, Asturias, Basque Country, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Cantabria, Castilla La Mancha, Castilla León, Catalonia, Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, Navarra and Valencia. Areas of interest are not limited to each region.
Where to go and what to see in Spain?
As I have traveled more extensively through Spain it has become only more difficult to answer this question.
I have always been impressed with the south of Spain (Andalusia), the Arab influence on architecture there are breath taking.
During our 2006 trip, I was very impressed with the Basque Region, amazing food, mountains, ocean beaches and hill top walled villages (like Laguardia) can be found within its borders.
The north and east of Spain has its own special appeal. The north, central and north east of Spain, in the areas of Castile and Aragon are where the "Catholic Monarchs", Isabel the 1st and Fernando the 2nd of Aragon, ruled and engaged in the "Reconquest of Spain".
The east of Spain holds the modernistic architecture of Barcelona, the ultra modern architecture of Valencia and the upcoming community of Zaragoza, not to mention numerous walled cities that retain much of their middle age character.

The links to the left, and the click able Spain map, will help you decide on where to go. The region links, Basque County, Castile, etc. are not that useful at the moment, I am most happy with the Andalusia region page.

Links for travel tips and other useful travel information are at the top of the page. I try to keep most commercial resource links to the right side of the web page. But, when I have personally experience a travel resource or acquire extensive information on a commercial resource, it may be included in the useful information links at the top of the page. I hope to get all the navigation links in this guide updating during 2007.

With the guides my primary intent is to answer the question; why visit this place? For traveler details like, opening times of attractions. I strongly recommend a good guide book on Spain (or use my recommended Spain Travel Agent to plan your trip).

My top recommendation for touring Spain is, do not be in a rush.

Spain is best experienced slowly and as much as possible, try to match your activity to the life rhythms of the natives. Take time to linger at an outside cafe and do a little people watching. Buy some wine, cheese, bread and fruit, have a picnic while watching the sunset; even better watch the sun set with a mountain and/or Mediterranean view. Spend multiple nights at hotels and limit your transportation time as much as possible.

While communities vary somewhat, usually lunch is served from 2 - 4:00 PM and for supper, restaurants open, at the earliest, at 8:30 PM. Many Spaniards will not even start supper until 10:00 PM. Look at What to Eat in Spain for some additional tips on dinning in Spain.

Shopping hours, with some variation, run from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM, reopening around 5 PM to then close at 8 PM. Large department stores usually stay open over the lunch period. Most shops will be closed on Sunday.

I find it best to get to the tourist sites in the morning and leaving the shopping to the evening, my wife on the other hand thinks mornings are an excellent time to shop.