Poble Espanyol

The so-called Spanish Village, Poble Espanyol is both a cheesy souvenir-hunters’ haunt and an intriguing scrapbook of Spanish architecture. Built for the Spanish crafts section of the 1929 exhibition, it is composed of plazas and streets lined with surprisingly good copies of characteristic buildings from across the country’s regions.

You enter through a towered medieval gate from Ávila. Inside, to the right, is an information office with free maps. Straight ahead from the gate is a plaza mayor (town square), surrounded by mainly Castilian and Aragonese buildings. This is often the scene of concerts. Elsewhere you’ll find an Andalucian barrio (district) , a Basque street, Galician and Catalan quarters, and even – at the eastern end – a small Dominican monastery. The buildings house dozens of moderate-to-expensive restaurants, cafes, bars, craft shops and workshops, and a few souvenir stores.