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[whereshegoes]

The beautiful country of Spain is heavy with history but where in your opinion is the most interesting place to visit if you are a history buff?

[uncle_davros]

Depends on what history you want

Roman history, the old capital was Tarragona. There ae loads of old ruins there, and they go all the way towards Madrid. There are also more towards the South near Portugal

The old capital of Toledo is nice and if you like more recent history, Barcelona for the Gaudi buildings.

In Bibao, there is an old swing bridge designed by one of Eiffels apprentices

[Caro!]

If you are into Art history, Barcelona is the palce to go. The Picasso Museumis Fantastic and the whole architecture of the city is breathtaking!
Caro!

[uncle_davros]

And Bilbao has the Guggenheim museum, which is great and the building itself is fantastic

[kris]

the old capital of spain was granada and is full of moor architecture, search alhambra to get a feel of the old muslim side of spain

[uncle_davros]

Granada was the old capital in Moorish times. In Spanish times, it was Toledo

[mrjoe (but can´t log in here).]

Burgos in Northern Spain is an interesting place.
El Cid used this old city a base during the war with the Moors. You can go and see his sword at the citadel which is quite cool.

[Rosie]

Granada and Toledo are both great places to visit for the history buff.

On my tour through Spain, Portugal and Morocco I fell in love with Spain. I had read much about the history of Spain so it was good to know something about what I was about to see. but not nearly as enjoyable as reading more when I got home and had seen these places.

Toledo is simply beautiful and is full of historical old buildings. Granada has the tombs of King Ferdinand and Queen Isobella, the very ones who sent Columbus on his way to discover America, to finally drive the Moors out of Spain, to drive the Jews out as well, a ruthless pair but who did much to unite their country and make it strong. Do read their history before you visit Spain, it will make your visit so much more fascinating.

Seville is another simply beautiful city with its' magnificent cathedral and fine homes with flowers, spires, wrought iron gates, lively streets making it a delight. I found that Madrid, although it too has magnificent buildings, was just another very large and busy city and didn't have the charm of the smaller cities.

Salamanca is in the north of Spain, a very old city with ancient buildings housing universities which have been there forever.

If you have a chance to visit Portugal as well, Lisbon and its' surrounding area is very interesting and beautiful. It is the place I would like to go back to some day.

Spain is far more Catholic than Italy. Every church or cathedral we visited had a madonna dressed in beautiful clothing and a wig made of human hair, in fact most madonnas have a whole huge wardrobe of clothing to wear on various holy days, and women in charge of their wardrobe room who change their clothing. The madonna is on display and venerated much more in Spain than is Christ, which was a bit of a surprise to me.

Dinner in Spain is served very late in the evening, in fact Spain's entire time frame is far different than in North America. They dine and party until the wee hours, sleep late, work for a few hours before their long mid-afternoon break of a meal and a siesta during the hottest time of day when shops and banks are also closed, then begin the next part of their day in the late afternoon.

Everywhere we went in Spain there were festivals and parades of the beautiful Spanish people dressed in their finest--especially the women and children. Women wore brightly coloured dresses, with flowers in their well groomed hair, and children were dressed just like adults, girls in colourful dresses and flowers, boys in formal attire complete with bow ties. A lovely sight to behold as they danced and made their way along the streets accompanied by music that just made me want to get up and dance too.

Spanish food is wonderful and tasty. I enjoyed every single meal I had there, especially their breads.

I envy you your trip to Spain and hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I'd go back in a heartbeat, but there is so much else to see I probably never will. Bummer.

[lar4290]

I'd have to say Sevilla, Cordoba, and Granada - the three Muslim capitals of Al-Andalus (first Cordoba in the eighth-tenth centuries, then Sevilla, then Granada, from 1248-1497). All have a great combination of Morish and Spanish culture and the uniqueness of the Spanish south!

[ScottWoz]

Granada, buenissima!

[peterandanne]

GANDIA & the surrounding areas - Last year we went twice to Gandia, once when the sun was not too hot and the next time at the end of June which was just a nice temperature. There are cheap flights by Ryanair, Jet2.com or Easyjet.

What can you do in Gandia.

First of all it has absolutely fabulous beaches, 17 to be precise, some are Blue Flag which means they are manned by people from the Red Cross, there are lots of beach sport facilities, childrens playgrounds etc. etc. Most of the beaches are backed by promenades that have bars and cafes (if there are no beach bars) Gandia has lots of history, so when you tire of the beach you can hit the city which is quite small. The nightclubs tends to be on the outskirts around the beach area but the city is famous for the Borgia family and you can visit the palace which is exquisite. There is a museum, an art gallery etc. The food is excellent and tends to be either Spanish or Chinese (eat all you can Chinese for 7.50€) there are plenty of tapas bars and it was here that they invented fiduea which is a kind of paella only its made with angel hair or thin spagetti - its just as delicious as paella.

There's lots of history: Xativa a fantastic castle perched on three hillsides and was the home to Hannibal and one of the Borgias that became a Pope (I think there are about 27 Arab castles in the immediate area but most are in ruin but if you have the energy you can have great views along the coast and countryside. Bocairent which is a medieval town: but there are lots of little interesting historical towns hidden in the hinterland if you have transport to go there. The second week in March is the Fallas (google it) both in Gandia and Valencia (which is only 40 minutes on the train from Gandia) Gandia is also quite exciting because it truly is Spanish and by that I mean most people speak Spanish (or Valenciano) so although you truly do get to mix with the locals, especially in the evening when you can stoll down the paseo where you can mix with the cafe culture.

We had a wonderful time staying in a self contained apartment in the historic area of Palma de Gandia in an old Valencian townhouse where no-one spoke Spanish but we got by with sign language and a bit of Spanish. Everyone was very kind and we were ony 5kms from Gandia.

The people who have the accommodation are also starting self-guided walks this year and we intend to go back and see a bit more of the hinterland when its not too warm. The place where we stayed is in the historical part of the town so there are lots of winding lanes and quaint passageways. Very atmospheric at night. If anyone is interested the web site is valenciaholiday. Who would have thought its only 40 minutes to Benidorm and what a difference........

[blindhead]

I live in Andalucia, the south of spain, where is Granada, Sevilla, Cordoba, and many other interesting cities,towns and villages. You can visit the important cities but is also more impresive to visit small villages with big castles and very kind people. You can check www.raar.es where you can find a lot of interesting information, like routes, informacion about traditional culture and more.

[cjb08]

The beautiful country of Spain is heavy with history but where in your opinion is the most interesting place to visit if you are a history buff?

Without a doubt the Alhambra Palace. It's the number one visitor attraction in Spain and inderstandably so. You must book in advance because they restrict visitor numbers daily, which you will find useful when you visit.

Allow at least one full day to see the whole site. Enjoy.

CJ

http://www.spanish-apartment.com