Browse things to do in Spain

 

Spain (Spanish: España) is a diverse country sharing the Iberian Peninsula with Portugal at the western end of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the country with the second-largest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, after Italy, and the largest number of World Heritage Cities.

Spain is considered an exotic country in Europe due to its friendly inhabitants, relaxed lifestyle, its cuisine, vibrant nightlife, and world-famous folklore and festivities. Among many places worth visiting are Spain's thriving capital Madrid, the vibrant coastal city of Barcelona, the famous "Running of the Bulls" at Pamplona, major Andalucian cities with Moorish architecture, like Seville, Granada and Córdoba, the Way of St. James and the idyllic Balearic and Canary Islands.

 

Regions

Spain is divided into autonomías or autonomous regions, plus two independent cities. Some of the autonomías - notably the ones which have other official languages alongside Spanish - are regions with their own unique historical tradition. These include the Basque Country or Euskadi (Basque), Galicia (Galician), Catalonia or Catalunya, the Valencian region or País Valencià, and the Balearic Islands or Illes Balears (Catalan), but also Andalucía. Travelers to these parts of the Iberian Peninsula should respect their history and language. The Canary Islands lie off the coast of Morocco and are geographically part of Africa, as are the two cities of Ceuta and Melilla.

 

Cities

Spain has hundreds of interesting cities, here are nine of the most popular:

 

Madrid - The vibrant capital, with fantastic museums, great food and nightlife

 

Barcelona - Spain's second city, full of modernist buildings and a vibrant cultural life, nightclubs, and beaches.

 

Bilbao - former industrial city, home to the Guggenheim Museum.

 

Cadiz - oldest city in Western Europe, celebrates a famous carnival.

 

Córdoba - The Grand Mosque ('Mezquita') of Cordoba is one of the world's finest buildings.

 

Granada - stunning city in the south, surrounded by snow capped mountains of the Sierra Nevada, home of La Alhambra.

 

Zaragoza - recently held a Expo and is the 5th largest city.

 

Seville - a beautiful, verdant city, and home to the world's third largest cathedral.

 

Valencia - paella was invented here, has a very nice beach.

 

 

Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0

A list of contributors is available at the original article on Wikitravel.