Sights in Spain
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Park Güell
North of Gràcia, Park Güell is where Gaudí turned his hand to landscape gardening and the artificial almost seems more natural than the natural.
Park Güell originated in 1900 when Count Eusebi Güell bought a hillside property (then outside Barcelona) and hired Gaudí to create a miniature garden city of houses for the wealthy. The project was abandoned in 1914, but not before Gaudí had created 3km of roads and walks, steps and a plaza in his inimitable manner, plus the two Hansel-and-Gretel-style gatehouses on Carrer d’Olot.
Try coming to the park early on a weekday. On summer weekends it can be unpleasantly packed. Bus 24 drops you at an entrance near the top of …
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La Sagrada Família
If you only have time for one sightseeing outing, this should be it. La Sagrada Família inspires awe with its sheer verticality and, in the true manner of the great medieval cathedrals it emulates, it’s still not finished after more than 100 years. Work is proceeding apace, however, and it might be done between the 2020s and 2040s. If the work should be carried on is the subject of controversy, but Spain’s most visited monument was consecrated by Pope Benedict XVI in late 2010. The main nave is now open for daily mass. Feathers were much ruffled by the high-speed train tunnel project, on which work began in 2010, that will pass in front of the church under Carrer de Mallo…
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Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
Home to Picasso’s Guernica, arguably Spain’s single-most famous artwork, and a host of other important Spanish artists, the Centro de Arte Reina Sofía is Madrid’s premier collection of contemporary art. The collection principally spans the 20th century up to the 1980s.
In addition to Picasso’s Guernica, which is worth the admission fee on its own, the work of the Madrid-born Juan Gris (1887–1927) or Georges Braque (1882–1963) may appeal. The work of Joan Miró (1893–1983) is defined by often delightfully bright primary colours, but watch out also for a handful of his equally odd sculptures; his paintings became a symbol of the Barcelona Olympics in 1992.
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Alhambra
Stretched along the top of the hill known as La Sabika, the Alhambra is the stuff of fairy tales. From outside, its red fortress towers and walls appear plain, if imposing, rising from woods of cypress and elm, with the Sierra Nevada forming a magnificent backdrop.
Try to visit first thing in the morning (8.30am) or late in the afternoon to avoid the crowds, or treat yourself to a magical night by visiting the Palacio Nazaríes.
The Alhambra contains two outstanding sets of buildings: the Palacio Nazaríes and the Alcazaba (Citadel). Also within its walls you’ll find the Palacio de Carlos V, the Iglesia de Santa María de la Alhambra, two hotels, several bookshops and souve…
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Casa Batlló
If La Sagrada Família is his master symphony, then Casa Batlló is Gaudí’s whimsical waltz. The facade, sprinkled with bits of blue, mauve and green tiles, and studded with wave-shaped window frames and balconies, rises to an uneven blue-tiled roof with a solitary tower. The roof represents Sant Jordi (St George) and the dragon, and if you stare long enough at the building, it almost seems like a living being. Inside the main salon overlooking Passeig de Gràcia everything swirls. The ceiling is twisted into a vortex around a sun-like lamp. The doors, windows and skylights are dreamy waves of wood and coloured glass. The same themes continue in the other rooms and covered t…
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Plaza Mayor
Designed in 1619 by Juan Gómez de Mora, the stunningly beautiful Plaza Mayor is a highlight of any visit to Madrid. The grandeur of its buildings is one thing, but this is a living, breathing entity, from the outdoor tables of the terrazas to the students strewn across the cobblestones on a sunny day.
The plaza’s first public ceremony was the beatification of San Isidro Labrador, Madrid’s patron saint. Thereafter, bullfights watched by 50,000 spectators were a recurring spectacle until 1878, while the autos-da-fé (the ritual condemnation of heretics) of the Spanish Inquisition also took place here. Fire largely destroyed the square in 1790, but it was rebuilt and became …
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Parque del Buen Retiro
The glorious gardens of El Retiro are as beautiful as any you’ll find in a European city. Littered with marble monuments, landscaped lawns, the occasional elegant building and abundant greenery, it’s quiet and contemplative during the week but comes to life on weekends. Put simply, this is one of our favourite places in Madrid. Laid out in the 17th century by Felipe IV as the preserve of kings, queens and their intimates, the park was opened to the public in 1868 and ever since, whenever the weather’s fine and on weekends in particular, madrileños from all across the city gather here to stroll, read the Sunday papers in the shade, take a boat ride or nurse a cool drink at…
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Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza
One of the most extraordinary private collections of predominantly European art in the world, the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza is a worthy member of Madrid’s ‘Golden Triangle’ of art. Where the Museo del Prado or Centro de Arte Reina Sofía enable you to study the body of work of a particular artist in depth, the Thyssen is a place to immerse yourself in a breathtaking breadth of artistic styles. Most of the big names are here, sometimes with just a single painting, but the Thyssens’ gift to Madrid and the art-loving public is to have them all under one roof. Not surprisingly, it often ends up being many visitors’ favourite Madrid art gallery.
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Alhambra
The Alhambra walls tease you and reveal little, but inside the marvellously decorated emirs' palace, Palacio Nazaríes (Nasrid Palace), Generalife (the Alhambra's gardens), and dozens of courtyards, the nooks and crannies are filled with beautiful decorations and fascinating stories from the days of Alhambra's glory.
The spell can be shattered by the average 6000 visitors who traipse through this Unesco World Heritage site each day, so try to visit first thing in the morning or late in the afternoon.
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Museo Guggenheim
Opened in September 1997, Bilbao's Museo Guggenheim lifted modern architecture and Bilbao into the 21st century – with sensation. It boosted the city's already inspired regeneration, stimulated further development and placed Bilbao firmly in the world art and tourism spotlight.
Some might say, probably quite rightly, that structure overwhelms function here and that the Guggenheim is more famous for its architecture than its content. But Canadian architect Frank Gehry's inspired use of flowing canopies, cliffs, promontories, ship shapes, towers and flying fins is irresistible.
Like all great architects, Gehry designed the Guggenheim with historical and geographical context…
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Albayzín
On the hill facing the Alhambra across the Darro valley, Granada's old Muslim quarter, the Albayzín, is an open-air museum in which you can lose yourself for a whole morning. The cobblestone streets are lined with gorgeous cármenes (large mansions with walled gardens, from the Arabic karm for garden). It survived as the Muslim quarter for several decades after the Christian conquest in 1492.
Plaza del Salvador, near the top of the Albayzín, is dominated by the Colegiata del Salvador, a 16th-century church on the site of the Albayzín's main mosque; the mosque's horseshoe-arched patio, cool and peaceful, survives at its western end.
The Arco de las Pesas, off Plaza Larga,…
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Palacio Nazaríes
This is the Alhambra's true gem, the most brilliant Islamic building in Europe, with its perfectly proportioned rooms and courtyards, intricately moulded stucco walls, beautiful tiling, fine carved wooden ceilings and elaborate stalactite-like muqarnas vaulting, all worked in mesmerising, symbolic, geometrical patterns. Arabic inscriptions proliferate in the stuccowork.
The Mexuar, through which you normally enter the palace, dates from the 14th century and was used as a council chamber and antechamber for audiences with the emir. The public would have gone no further.
From the Mexuar you pass into the Patio del Cuarto Dorado, a courtyard where the emirs gave audiences, wi…
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Montserrat
Montserrat (Serrated Mountain) is the spiritual heart of Catalonia and your best opportunity to enjoy awesome scenery on a day trip from Barcelona. Comprising a massif of limestone pinnacles rising precipitously over gorges, this wondrous place has drawn hermits (er, independent travellers) since the 5th century.
Montserrat, 50km (31mi) northwest of Barcelona, has weird rocky crags, ruined hermitage caves, a monastery and hordes of tourists from the Costa Brava. The Monestir de Montserrat was founded in 1025 to commemorate numerous visions of the Virgin Mary. Today it houses a community of about 80 monks, and pilgrims come to venerate La Moreneta (the Black Virgin), a 12t…
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Museo del Prado
This is one of the premier art galleries in the world. The more than 7000 paintings held in the Museo del Prado’s collection (although only around 1500 are currently on display) are like a window on the historical vagaries of the Spanish soul, at once grand and imperious in the royal paintings of Velázquez, darkly tumultuous in Las Pinturas Negras (the Black Paintings) of Goya and outward-looking with sophisticated works of art from all across Europe. Spend as long as you can at the Prado or, better still, plan to make a couple of visits – it can be a little overwhelming if you try to absorb it all at once.
Entrance to the Prado is via the eastern Puerta de los Jerón…
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Mirador San Nicolás
Callejón de San Cecilio leads to the Mirador San Nicolás, a lookout with unbeatable views of the Alhambra and Sierra Nevada. Come back here later for sunset (you can't miss the trail then!). At any time of day take care: skilful, well-organised wallet-lifters and bag-snatchers operate here.
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Museu del Futbol Club Barcelona
One of Barcelona's most visited museums is the Museu del Futbol Club Barcelona, next to the club's giant Camp Nou stadium. Barça is one of Europe's top football clubs and its museum is a hit with fans the world over.
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Las Vistillas, Viaduct & Calle de Segovia
Jardines de las Vistillas, the leafy area around and beneath the southern end of the viaduct that crosses Calle de Segovia, is an ideal spot to pause and ponder the curious history of one of Madrid’s oldest barrios. Probably the best place to do this is just across Calle de Bailén where the terrazas (oper-air cafés) of Las Vistillas offer one of the best vantage points in Madrid for a drink, with views towards the Sierra de Guadarrama. During the civil war, Las Vistillas was heavily bombarded by Nationalist troops from the Casa de Campo, and they in turn were shelled from a republican bunker here. The adjacent viaduct, which was built in the 19th century and replaced …
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Mezquita
Founded in 785, Córdoba’s gigantic mosque is an architectural hybrid that has experienced two big ‘modern’ changes: a 16th-century cathedral plonked right in the middle; and the closing of 19 once-important doorways, which would have filled the original Mezquita with light.
The main entrance is the Puerta del Perdón, a 14th-century Mudéjar gateway on Calle Cardenal Herrero, with the ticket office immediately inside. Beside the Puerta del Perdón is a 16th- and 17th- century tower built around the remains of the Mezquita’s minaret. Inside the gateway is the aptly named Patio de los Naranjos (Courtyard of the Orange Trees), originally the mosque’s ablutions courtyard,…
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Museu Picasso
Barcelona’s most visited museum occupies five of the many fine medieval stone mansions (worth wandering into for their courtyards and galleries) on narrow Carrer de Montcada. This collection is uniquely fascinating, concentrating on Picasso’s formative years and several specific moments in his later life, but those interested primarily in cubism may not be satisfied. There are additional charges for special exhibitions; entry is free from 3pm Sundays and all day the first Sunday of the month. Allow two hours. The museum’s permanent collection is housed in the first three houses, the Palau Aguilar, Palau del Baró de Castellet and the Palau Meca, all dating to the 14th cent…
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Plaza de la Cebada
Just west of La Latina metro station, the busy and bar-strewn corner of Madrid marked by the ill-defined ‘Barley Square’ is important to understanding what medieval Madrid was like, although it requires a little imagination. In the wake of the Christian conquest the square was, for a time, the site of a Muslim cemetery, and the nearby Plaza de la Puerta de Moros (Moors’ Gate) underscores that this area was long home to the city’s Muslim population. The square later became a popular spot for public executions – until well into the 19th century, the condemned would be paraded along Calle de Toledo, before turning into the square and mounting the gallows. The Teatr…
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Palacio Real
Spain’s lavish Palacio Real is a jewel box of a palace, although it’s used only occasionally for royal ceremonies; the royal family moved to the modest Palacio de la Zarzuela years ago.
When the Alcázar burned down on Christmas Day 1734, Felipe V, the first of the Bourbon kings, decided to build a palace that would dwarf all its European counterparts. Felipe died before the palace was finished, which is perhaps why the Italianate baroque colossus has a mere 2800 rooms, just one-quarter of the original plan.
The official tour leads through 50 of the palace rooms, which hold a good selection of Goyas, 215 absurdly ornate clocks and five Stradivarius violins still used …
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Palau de la Música Catalana
The Palau de la Música Catalana is a Modernista high point and World Heritage Site. It’s not exactly a symphony, more a series of crescendos in tile, brick, sculpted stone and stained glass. Built between 1905 and 1908 by Lluís Domènech i Montaner for the Orfeo Català musical society, it was conceived as a temple for the Catalan Renaixença, the cultural Renaissance of the late 19th century. You can see some of its splendours – such as the main facade with its mosaics, floral capitals and sculpture cluster representing Catalan popular music – from the outside and wander into the foyer to admire the lovely tiled pillars and decor of the cafe and ticket-office area. Best of …
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Tomb of Christopher Columbus
Inside the cathedral's southern door stands the Tomb of Christopher Columbus, an elaborate monument dating from 1902 with four sepulchre-bearers representing the four kingdoms of Spain at the time of Columbus' 1492 voyage: Castile, León, Aragón and Navarra. But are the bones within really those of the great explorer?
The tomb holds bones brought back from the Caribbean in 1899 and long thought to be Columbus'. However, the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean claims that Columbus' bones lie beneath a monument in its capital, Santo Domingo. Since 2003 researchers have been conducting tests on various bones from the Seville cathedral tomb and elsewhere to try to resolve th…
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Apes' Den
The Rock's most famous inhabitants are the tailless Barbary Macaques, the only free-living primates in Europe. Some of the 240 apes hang around the Apes' Den near the middle cable-car station; the others can often be seen at the top cable-car station and the Great Siege Tunnels. Legend has it that when the apes (which may have been introduced from north Africa in the 18th century) disappear from Gibraltar, so will the British.
When numbers were at a low ebb during WWII, the British brought in simian reinforcements from Africa. Recently, however, their numbers have been increasing rapidly and a range of control measures from contraceptive implants to 'translocation' to Eur…
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Fundació Joan Miró
Dedicated to one of the greatest artists to emerge in Barcelona in the 20th century, Joan Miró, this is a must-see gallery.
The foundation holds the greatest single collection of the artist’s work, comprising around 220 of his paintings, 180 sculptures, some textiles and more than 8000 drawings spanning his entire life. Only a smallish portion is ever on display. The displays tend to concentrate on Miró’s more settled last 20 years, but there are some important exceptions. The Sala Joan Prats and Sala Pilar Juncosa show work by the younger Miró that traces him slowly moving away from a relative realism towards his own signature style. Transitional works from the 1930s an…
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