INTRODUCTION There’s no generalizing with Spain. In fact, Spaniards tend not to speak of La Espana – Spain – but Las Espanas, and they even talk of the capital in the plural – Las Madriles, the Madrids. Regionalism is almost an obsession, and perhaps the most significant change to the country in the last quarter century has been the creation of a dozen autonomias – autonomous regions – with their own governments, budgets and cultural ministries. The old days of a unified nation, governed with a firm hand from Madrid, seem to have gone forever, as the separate kingdoms which made up the original Spanish state reassert themselves.
If you are coming to Spain for the first time, this regional diversity – of language, culture and artistic traditions, of landscapes, as well as politics – is likely to be the biggest surprise. The monuments, too, span an extraordinary range, from a history which takes in Romans, Moors and the "Golden Age" of Renaissance imperialism, as well as the regions’ very different twentieth-century developments. Touring Castile and Leon, you confront the classic Spanish images of vast cathedrals and reconquista castles – literally hundreds of the latter; in the northern mountains of Asturias and the Pyrenees, tiny, almost organic Romanesque churches dot the hillsides and villages; Andalucía has the great Moorish palaces and mosques of Granada, Sevilla and Córdoba; in Barcelona there are the amazing modernista (Art Nouveau) creations of Antoni Gaudí.
Not that Spain is just about monuments. For most visitors, the landscape holds just as much fascination – and variety. The evergreen rias or estuaries of Galicia could hardly be more different from the high, arid plains of Castile, or the gulch-like desert landscapes of Almeria. Spain is also one of the most mountainous countries in Europe, and there is superb walking and wildlife in a dozen or more sierras – and above all in the Picos de Europa and Pyrenees.
Then, of course, there are the Spaniards and their infectious enthusiasm for life. In the cities there is always something happening – in bars and clubs, on the streets – while the music and arts scenes are more vibrant than they have been for many years, with a resurgent "new flamenco", a film industry brought to international attention by the anarchic Pedro Almodovar, and a superb array of modern galleries, including Bilbao’s spectacular Guggenheim, and a trio devoted to the century’s greatest Spanish artists, Picasso, Miro and Dali. Even in out of the way places there’s a surprising range of nightlife and entertainment, not to mention the daily pleasures of a round of tapas, moving from bar to bar, having a beer, a glass of wine or a fino (dry sherry) and a bite of the house speciality.
Another, almost limitless source of diversion are the traditional fiestas. They include established events like the great April feria in Sevilla, the pyrotechnic extravaganzas of Las Fallas in Valencia, and the running of the bulls in Pamplona, as well as thousands of local events, celebrating a town or village saint’s day. As often as not, you’ll happen on these quite unawares, to be carried away on a tide of exuberant street partying, concerts, and any number of bizarre activities, from parades of devils to full-blown tomato-throwing battles.
WHERE TO GO: SOME HIGHLIGHTS
The identity and appeal of each of the regions is explored in the chapter introductions, and, if you re travelling around, there s a lot to be said for concentrating on one or two provinces, getting a feel for their individuality and character. If you want a broader sweep, though, definite highlights of Spanish travel include:
BARCELONA. The Catalan capital is a must for the fantasy architecture of Antoni Gaudi; the great promenading street of the Ramblas; the Picasso museum; designer clubs and nightlife, par excellence; and, not least, FC Barcelona the football team.
MADRID is not as pretty as Barcelona, by a long way, but has an irrepressible style and fantastic bars, both traditional and modern, plus three of Spain s top art galleries the Prado, the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, and the Centro Reina Sofía.
SEVILLA. Home of flamenco and all the clichés of the Spanish south; beautiful city quarters and major Christian and Moorish monuments; extraordinary festivals in Easter week, and, afterwards, at the April feria.
TOLEDO. Capital of medieval Spain and stunningly preserved, with synagogues, former mosques and an amazing cathedral; also houses a number of works by El Greco.
SALAMANCA. Spain s oldest university city remains a small, largely academic place, untouched by suburbs, and packed with Gothic and Renaissance buildings.
MOORISH MONUMENTS. The best are in the Andalucian cities: the Alhambra palace in Granada, perhaps the most sensual building in Europe; the Mezquita, a former mosque, in Cordoba; and the Alcazar and Giralda tower in Sevilla.
CATHEDRALS, CHURCHES AND MONASTERIES. A tour of the top five Gothic cathedrals will take you through the Castilian cities of Toledo, Leon, Burgos, Salamanca and Segovia. Gorgeous Romanesque churches are to be found along the pilgrim route to Santiago, particularly in the Pyrenees, whilst Oviedo and the province of Asturias are home to the unique pre-Romanesque style. The façade of the great Santiago de Compostela is the highpoint of Spanish Baroque, Aragon has superb Mudejar (Moorish-crafted) churches and towers, and the palace-monastery of El Escorial is the greatest expression of the late Renaissance in Spain.
BEACHES. There is a lot more to Spanish beaches than the over-developed costas. Excellent and much less frequented strands are to be found around Cadiz and Almería in the south, and along the Asturian and Galician coasts in the north. If you want action and nightlife, it s hard to beat the island of Ibiza, one of the clubbing capitals of the world.
MEDIEVAL TOWNS. Small-scale towns, once grand, now hardly significant, are often Spain at its best. Rewarding itineraries could include: Ciudad Rodrigo (Old Castile), Baeza and Ubeda (Andalucia), Trujillo and Caceres (Extremadura), Albarracin (Aragon) and Santillana (Cantabria).
ROMAN SITES. Mérida has the most significant sites and a superb museum; Segovia s aqueduct is stunning; other rewarding Roman ruins and sites include Italica (near Sevilla), Carmona, Tarragona and Empuries.
TREKKING. Key areas are the Picos de Europa in Cantabria and Asturias, and the Pyrenees, which spread across Euskadi, Aragon (where you ll find perhaps the best areas) and Catalunya.
WILDLIFE AND NATIONAL PARKS. Favourite parks include Monfrague (in Extremadura) and Ordesa (in the Aragonese Pyrenees). For more details, see the Contexts section of this book.
WHEN TO GO
Overall, spring and autumn are ideal times for a trip though the weather varies enormously from region to region. The high plains of the centre suffer from fierce extremes, stiflingly hot in summer, bitterly cold and swept by freezing winds in winter. The Atlantic coast, in contrast, has a temperate pattern with depressions rolling in off the ocean, a permanent tendency to damp and mist, and a relatively brief, humid summer. The Mediterranean south is warm virtually all year round, and in parts of Andalucia positively subtropical, attracting off-season visitors even in December.
In high summer the other factor worth considering is tourism itself. Spain plays host to some thirty million tourists a year one for every resident and all the better-known resorts are packed from June to September, as are the major sights. August, Spain s own holiday month, sees the coast at its most crowded and the cities, by contrast, half-empty and half-closed. Whatever time of year, though, smaller, inland towns see few visitors, and, as noted above, there are beaches beyond the major holiday costas. There s no need to feel trapped.
