city walks in Andalusia
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…
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…
A Totally Different Christmas Market What would Christmas be without Christmas markets? These fairs with their arts and crafts stalls, handmade candles, sticky candies and mulled wine have become such an integral part of the Western Christmas experience that we tend to forget how pagan they actually are – as pagan as, well, a Christmas…
To Market in Seville Tell me how you shop and I tell you who you are. If you come from a country north of the Great Cultural Shopping Divide (i.e. a country where most shopping is done in supermarkets), you have probably felt the urge to experience a “native” street market on a visit to…
Urban Walking in Seville For walking Seville, we chose a route on the banks of the Guadalquivir river, from the town centre to the iconic Alamillo Bridge and across into neighbouring Alamillo Park. The walk starts at San Telmo Bridge, near San Telmo Palace in the heart of the Old Town. Walk down to the…