Last year we had the pleasure of attending one of the best weddings we have ever been to in Buenos Aires, and we were fortunate enough to spend enough time there to really see the city. We didn't speak much Spanish but we were able to get by just fine, and of course our friends were able to translate for us in times of need. Between the empanadas, steak, Argentine wine and city exploration, we actually went with a couple of friends on a hike and bird walk in a beautiful part of Argentina about an hour drive out of Buenos Aires - that was quite an adventure!
We also were married in June and spent two weeks traveling around Italy for our honeymoon. We started in Venice, then to the beaches of Rimini, then off to Florence, Siena, Cinque Terre, and at the end of the trip we ended up in Rome.
We have been to a great many countries over our years together (and even before!) and this year we've decided we're going to Spain!
We want to travel to Barcelona and Madrid of course, but I was wondering what other places in Spain people recommend? We're currently looking at traveling this October at some point for about 10 days, and would love to get your advice on things to see along the path. We would likely not rent a car for long term travel and stick to rail (as much as I love driving in Europe I'm not sure I can honestly say that it's a relaxing part of the vacation:), however, renting a car for a day trip isn't out of the question.
I would love to hear about your experiences in traveling around Spain and your advice for experiencing great adventures, hotels, restaurants, art, sights, scenery and whatever else you can think of would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
recommend
Facebook
Twitter
bookmark 
print
Comments: 5
The Alhambra is famous for it's moorish architecture, and is a world heritage site. It's the setting for Washington Irving's Tales of the Alhambra.
I don't claim to be an expert on Spain, but I have been there 3 times. Check out my photos on Gather. I've uploaded a couple from Spain. Too bad you didn't say anything when you were in Pgh last week. I have most all of them on my Mac in the office.
I can definitely recommend visiting Granada. Its our favorite city in Spain by far. Alhambra is spectacular. When I get a moment I'll look up the name of the hotel we stayed in last time we were there. IIRC it was a 1200 year old Moorish Inn that has been updated very nicely for modern comfort. Its at the bottom of the hill that leads up to Alhambra. If the weather is nice then the inner court yard will be open to the sky. When I was there it was too cold so the roof was covered.
Depending on how far across the country you are looking to travel, I can recommend a terrific place to stay outside of Valencia too. I don't remember the name of the town, but it was about 45 minute to an hour away from there. It was half way up a mountain side on the way to a big castle, which we unfortunately didn't have time to explore, but still looked very interesting.
And just for your info, we try not to spend too much on our accomodations when traveling. So unless things have changed, none of these places should break your budget.
The hotel we stayed at in Granada is the Casa Morisca. You can read about it here.Unfortunately there are no pictures provided.
We thought the hotel was fabulous though. However, the prices have risen significantly since we were there 4 years ago. Although, I think thats probably true of Spain in general. Even then we noticed the trend. Things were noticeably more expensive in 2003 than our first trip to Spain in 2000.
So you might want to start there. I just looked at the site again and it does look pretty useful. One technical detail to be aware of is that their site needs to be able to open popup windows. So if your browser is blocking them you won't be able to do much with the site.