easy hikes in Spain
Malaga has one of the busiest airports in Spain – outclassed only by Madrid and Barcelona – but Malaga airport was not primarily built to serve visitors of the city. In fact, most people who get off the plane are heading straight for the resorts on the near-by Costa del Sol, and the airport will…
For many years, Malaga was something like the Ugly Duckling among Western Europe’s large cities with a Mediterranean coastline: while places like Barcelona, Naples and Palermo became popular hotspots on the international tourism itinerary, Malaga on the southern tip of Andalusia – despite its attractive jumble of harbour vibes, grand fin-de-siècle architecture and subtropical fauna…
Just as the Alhambra is more than a mere cluster of palaces, Granada is more than the Alhambra. In fact, Granada downright spoils its visitors with a host of attractions: for starters, it has not one but two historic Old Towns, one – called the Albaicin – that was established under Islamic rule … ……
The Alhambra in Granada, the palace built for the last Islamic rulers of southern Spain, is truly one of the wonders of the world. The most gifted poet on earth would struggle to describe the experience of standing inside a place where walls, ceilings and pillars all appear to dissolve into ornament. More is not…
Last week, we took you on a day trip away from busy and noisy Madrid to the tranquility of Aranjuez. But peace and quiet are not the only things that you will struggle to find in Madrid. The city’s history, too, is short of a register or two. Madrid overflows with the Baroque glory of…
Madrid is big and lively, but after a few days of holidaying in the Spanish capital, even people who actually like big and lively may yearn for a day of calm and tranquility. For these visitors of the Spanish capital, the Aranjuez Gardens are just the ticket. But hey, I hear some of you say,…
Cordoba is the hottest city in Europe – no more than par for the course, you might say, considering its latitude and the absence of any natural source for cooling (such as the presence of the sea). Cordoba, however, holds another distinction that may come as a far bigger surprise: it also was, albeit only…
Cordoba in the south of Spain is the hottest town in Europe. Temperatures reach an average daytime high of 37° centigrade in July and August (100° F). In July 2022, the city experienced 19 days with 40° or more (104° F), a record for any European city, and one day in April 2023, the thermometer…
Here is something about Madrid that many people may not know: a river runs through it. But why is the Manzanares so much less famous than, say, the Thames, the Seine or the Tiber? One reason is certainly that all of Madrid – not just its river – flies a bit under the radar, and…
The Centro with the Madrid dos Austrias, the Gran Via neighbourhood, Malasana and Chueca: last week, we gave you a good roundup of the Spanish capital’s “greatest hits” while walking through its central districts. But big cities like Madrid are always a sum of all their parts, not only the three of four that make…