Things to do in Spain
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La Taberna del Pintxo
Grab a table and a plate and choose from a huge range of hot and cold tapas, such as the goats' cheese tart with cranberry jelly. At the end of the evening, the little swords or toothpicks from each tapa are counted and you are charged accordingly.
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La Taberna de Santiago
Blue tiles adorn this refined tapas bar and the blue sea is in view from its terraza, as are the curious sculptures on pedestrian Avenida del Mar. Go for cockles, fried sardines, jamón serrano (mountain-cured ham) or even snails in thyme sauce.
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Locos
Marbella's revamped Puerto Deportivo (marina) now provides an entertaining after-dark scene without the sleaze. Locos, at the back of the marina has an alternative feel.
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Museo Bonsai
The charming Museo Bonsai, devoted to the Japanese miniature-tree art, is in Parque Arroyo de la Represa just northeast of the old town. Stroll through this fascinating, open-air art gallery - and take as many photos as you like. It's wheelchair accessible.
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Museo del Grabado Español
This small art museum in the old town includes works by some of the great masters, including Picasso, Joan Miró and Salvador Dali, among other, primarily Spanish painters.
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Ojo
Gay male drinkers can head west to Calle Camilo José Cela and nearby streets, where places such as Ojo are open from 22.00 till the early hours.
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Palms
If you can cope with its skinny bronzed bodies then head for Palms.
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Parque Arroyo de la Represa
The watery Parque Arroyo de la Represa, just northeast of the old town, has a nice play area for young children.
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Recinto Ferial
A lively street market takes place on Monday mornings in the Recinto Ferial, east of the old town.
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Restaurante Ruperto de Nola
A classy establishment serving up gourmet meat and seafood with a creative touch in classical surroundings.
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Restaurante Santiago
Santiago is right on the seafront, offering top-class seafood. The waiters wear black and the tables wear white, so you need to dress accordingly.
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Restaurante Skina
A good bet for an imaginative meal, tiny Skina is great for outdoor dining on summer evenings. Try sole with lime and ginger or suckling pig with 'a trio of textured apples'.
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Selwo Aventura
This popular safari park has over 200 exotic animal species. You can tour the park by 4WD or on foot and enjoy various adventure activities. It is home to the only Asian elephant born in Spain and there is even a lodge if you fancy an overnight stay in – erm – Africa.
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The Estepona Marina
The marina is a hub of activity: yachts moored here warrant a stare to check out how the other half live, but the marina is also the nightlife centre in Estepona. Bars and restaurants line the waterfront and true to Spanish style, after midnight, nightclubs materialise from behind hidden doors and the beats pump until dawn.
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Torre del Reloj (Clocktower)
Originally a Muslim mosque destroyed during the conquest of the Castilians (Catholics) in the 15th century, the Torre del Reloj (watchtower) was rebuilt as a church. Various features such as the neoclassic dome have been added by its numerous and diverse owners, which all contribute to an aesthetically pleasing, historically interesting, town centrepiece.
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Future Zoo (Under Construction)
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Mercat de la Barceloneta
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El Choque Ideal
Hosts a range of events from films out on the terrace to live bands. There are fantastic views and lots of mosaic work on display.
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Adventurous Appetites
English-language tapas tours through central Madrid. Prices include the first drink but exclude food.
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Alameda
The largest of several verdant parks just outside the city's medieval core is the Alameda, which sprawls southwest from the old town in a tidy grid of tree-lined promenades, with some peerless views of the cathedral towers.
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Alcaicería & Plaza Bib-Rambla
Just south of the Capilla Real, the Alcaicería was the Muslim silk exchange, but what you see now is a restoration after a 19th-century fire, filled with tourist shops. Just southwest of the Alcaicería is the large and picturesque Plaza Bib-Rambla. Nearby, the handsome, horseshoe-arched 14th-century Corral del Carbon was once an inn for coal dealers (hence its modern name, meaning Coal Yard). It houses a government-run crafts shop, Artespaña.
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Alcázar
Rapunzel towers, turrets topped with slate witches' hats and a deep moat at its base make the Alcázar a prototype fairy-tale castle, so much so that its design inspired Walt Disney's vision of Sleeping Beauty's castle.
Fortified since Roman days, the site takes its name from the Arabic al-qasr (fortress). It was rebuilt and expanded in the 13th and 14th centuries, but the whole lot burned down in 1862. What you see today is an evocative, over-the-top reconstruction of the original. Highlights include the Sala de las Piñas, with its ceiling of 392 pineapple-shaped 'stalactites', and the Sala de Reyes, featuring a three-dimensional frieze of 52 sculptures of kings who…
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Aquarium
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Around the Cathedral
The cathedral is surrounded by handsome plazas that invite you to wander through them. The grand Praza do Obradoiro earned its name from the stonemasons' workshops set up there while the cathedral was being built. It's free of both traffic and cafes and has a unique atmosphere. At its northern end, the Renaissance Hostal dos Reis Católicos was built in the early 16th century by order of the Catholic Monarchs, Isabel and Fernando, as a refuge for pilgrims and a symbol of the crown's power in this ecclesiastical city. Today it shelters well-off travellers instead, as a parador (luxurious state-owned hotel), but its four courtyards and some other areas are open to…
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Bamboo
The best of both worlds on the Alameda, Bamboo does great breakfasts plus shakes and smoothies in the morning, and hosts cocktails, music and DJs at night. Decor is Tarifa eclectic (sofas and pouffes) and clientele is surfer cool.
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