Spain Attractions

Located in the heart of Madrid, Prado Museum is one of the world’s premier art museums. Itis home to some 4,000 masterpieces, many of them acquired by Spanish kings. It’s one of must see attractions in Spain. The wealth of Spanish art is amazing and a masterpiece after masterpiece unfolds before one eye, like the works by Hieronymus Bosch, Goya, Caravaggio, Fra Angelico, and Botticelli.

The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao opened its doors to the public in October 1997. It is one of the most important centers of modern and contemporary art in the world. The outstanding design of the building by Frank O. Gehry makes the Guggenheim in Bilbao one of the most significant constructions of the 20th century. It is a huge futuristic structure and a 10-foot dog made from flowering plants by the American artist Jeff Koons guards the entrance.

Granada is set against the mountain backdrop of the Sierra Nevada. The city is most famous for being the ancient Moorish capital of Spain and home to La Alhambra, one of the greatest undertakings of Islamic art and architecture.

This city of Toledo has been officially granted World Heritage Site status by UNESCO in 1987. It is built on a rugged cliff and surrounded on three sides by the Tagus River with a lengthy and colourful history. It was captured by the Romans in 193 BC, then by the Visigoths and later by the armies of Islam. Toledo is dominated by the large 16th century Alcázar fortress which now houses the Army Museum. The 13th century Gothic cathedral contains many works of art including a series of paintings by artists such as El Greco, Goya and Van Dyck.

The city of Cordoba was founded by the Romans. Realizing the strategic importance of Cordoba as the highest navigable point of the Guadalquivir River, the Romans built a majestic bridge (El Puente Romano) across the river which still exists today. Cordoba was once the capital of the Moorish kingdom of El-Andalus and is home to the Mezquita - one of the largest and most impressive mosques in the whole of Islam.

The Picos de Europa is a magnificent mountain range situated in northwestern Spain and straddling the regions of Austurias, Cantabria and Castille-Leon. These unique mountains are an easy two hour drive from Santander. Though fairly modest in terms of altitude and extent, the Picos are unique among Europe's mountains for a number of reasons. Geologically, they are the largest single mass of mountain limestone in the continent and the only true maritime range Europe possesses.

The Feria de Abril is a gigantic festival with flamenco dancing and lots of partying. It was originally a cattle market and evolved into a popular festival held annually two weeks after Semana Santa (Easter Week). The festival commences each year with the official lighting of the lanterns when half a million little lights are turned on at once. The Ferra de Abril is the ideal place to see the real Spain.

The Balearic Islands lie just off the eastern Spanish mainland. They are made up of four main islands – Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera. Each island has its own distinct personality and charm.

This is the world’s largest food fight. ‘La Tomatina’ festival in Buñol over 240,000 pounds of tomatoes are hurled by townspeople at each other from 11 am to 1pm on the last Wednesday of August each year. Once the bottle rocket goes off they all have to get together to clean up the mess. The streets are literally flooded with tomato juice, pulp, seeds, and skins.