Bilbao
On the waterfront, this interactive maritime museum brings the watery depths of Bilbao and Basque maritime history to life. Start with a 10-minute video…
Must-see attractions in Spain
Mercado de Nuestra Señora de África
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Dating from 1944, this tantalising market is housed in an eye-catching building that combines a Latin American feel with Moorish-style arches and patios…
Costa Brava
The allure of the Illes Medes, seven islets off L'Estartit beach, lies in their range of depths (down to 50m), kaleidoscopic marine life, and underwater…
Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos
Córdoba
Built under Castilian rule in the 13th and 14th centuries on the remains of a Moorish predecessor, this fort-cum-palace was where the Catholic Monarchs,…
Barcelona
The city's maritime museum occupies the mighty Gothic Reials Drassanes (Royal Shipyards) – a remarkable relic from Barcelona's days as the seat of a…
Santuario de la Virgen de las Nieves
Santa Cruz de la Palma
For splendid views down the valley to Santa Cruz, put aside time to tackle the 4km uphill hike north of town to La Palma’s main object of pilgrimage, the…
Córdoba
Possibly the best flamenco museum in Andalucía, the Fosforito centre has exhibits, film and information panels in English and Spanish telling you the…
Segovia
Rapunzel towers, turrets topped with slate witches' hats and a deep moat at its base make the Alcázar a prototypical fairy-tale castle – so much so that…
Cádiz
Cádiz' beautiful yellow-domed cathedral is an impressively proportioned baroque-neoclassical construction, best appreciated from seafront Campo del Sur in…
Valencia
Recently reopened to the public after a magnificent restoration, this single-naved church down a passageway is a striking sight. Over the original Gothic…
Northern Mallorca
It's a fantastic ramble to Platja des Coll Baix – and what a bay! Snug below sheer, wooded cliffs, this shimmering crescent of pale pebbles and…
Montserrat
Catalonia's most renowned monastery was established in 1025 to commemorate local shepherds' visions of the Virgin Mary, accompanied by celestial light and…
Bilbao
The Museo de Bellas Artes houses a compelling collection that includes everything from Gothic sculptures to 20th-century pop art. There are three main…
Castilla y León
Villa Romana La Olmeda contains some of the most beautiful remnants of a Roman villa anywhere on the Iberian Peninsula. The villa was built around the 1st…
Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida
Madrid
The frescoed ceilings of the restored Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida are one of Madrid's most surprising secrets. The southern of the two small…
Monasterio de San Juan de la Peña
Aragón
The road from Santa Cruz winds 7km up to the 10th-century Monasterio Viejo, tucked protectively under an overhanging lip of rock. A fire in 1675 led the…
Comillas
With this marvellous 1888 building, the Marqués de Comillas’ summer palace, Modernista architect Joan Martorell truly managed to out-Gothic real Gothic…
Ribadeo
This spectacular 1.5km sandy stretch is strung with awesome Gothic-looking rock towers, arches and chambers, sculpted by aeons of sea-water action. Avoid…
Cádiz
Admittedly a little dusty, the Museo de Cádiz is the province's top museum. Stars of the ground-floor archaeology section are two Phoenician marble…
Galicia
The path running right round the top of the World Heritage–listed Roman walls is to Lugo what a maritime promenade is to a seaside resort: a place to jog,…
Castilla y León
The ancient Roman goldmines at Las Médulas, about 20km southwest of Ponferrada, once served as the main source of gold for the entire Roman Empire – the…
Málaga
No time to visit Granada’s Alhambra? Then Málaga’s Alcazaba can provide a taster. The entrance is beside the Roman theatre, from where a meandering path…
Toledo
This magnificent synagogue was built in 1355 by special permission from Pedro I. The synagogue now houses the Museo Sefardí, which provides a glimpse into…
Monestir de Sant Pere de Rodes
Costa Brava
Views of distant Pyrenean peaks and the deep-blue Mediterranean combine with a spectacular piece of Romanesque architecture at this hillside monastery,…
Comillas
Antoni Gaudí left few reminders of his genius beyond Catalonia, but of them the 1885 Capricho is easily the most flamboyant. This brick building, one of…
Alcúdia
Ranging over a sizeable (but walkable) area, the fascinating ruins of the Roman town of Pol·lèntia lie just outside Alcúdia's walls. Founded around 70 BCE…
Valencia
This seminary was founded in the late 16th century by San Juan de Ribera, a towering Counter-Reformation figure who wielded enormous spiritual and…
Granada
Built between 1737 and 1759, this spectacular basilica unveils a blinding display of opulent baroque decor. Barely an inch of its interior lacks…
The Catalan Pyrenees
Consecrated in CE 888, Ripoll's monastery was Catalonia’s spiritual and cultural heart from the mid-10th to mid-11th century. The five-naved basilica was…
Tarragona
Crowning the town, Tarragona’s cathedral incorporates both Romanesque and Gothic features, as typified by the main facade. The flower-filled cloister has…
Murcia
Murcia’s resplendent casino first opened as a gentlemen’s club in 1847. Painstakingly restored to its original glory, the building is a fabulous…
Parque Natural de la Breña y Marismas del Barbate
Los Caños de Meca
This 50-sq-km coastal park protects important marshes, cliffs and pine forest from Costa del Sol–type development. Its main entry point is a 7.2km (two…
Ibiza Town
Completely encircling Dalt Vila, Ibiza's colossal protective walls reach more than 25m in height and include seven bastions. Evocatively floodlit at night…
Sitges
Built in the 1890s as a house-studio by Catalan artist Santiago Rusiñol, a pioneer of the Modernisme movement, this seaside mansion is crammed with his…
Valencia
This splendid building, a Unesco World Heritage Site, was originally Valencia’s silk and commodity exchange, built in the late 15th century when the city…
Castilla y León
A lovely 2.3km riverside walk south from the Monasterio de San Juan de Duero will take you past the 13th-century church of the former Knights Templar, the…
Santander
Santander's newest and splashiest landmark, this ambitious waterfront arts and cultural centre opened to great fanfare in 2017. The futuristic two-block…
Andalucía
Dating to the 9th and 10th centuries, this rare jewel of a mezquita (mosque) perches a five-minute walk above Almonaster's main square. The almost…
Burgos
This exceptional museum just across the river from the old quarter is a marvellously told story of human evolution. The basement exhibitions on Atapuerca …
A Coruña
It was actually the Romans who originally built this lighthouse at the windy northern tip of the city, in the 1st century CE – a beacon on the furthest…
