Which Spain is yours?
Andalucía, where the light is different
Southern Spain is pure magic. The Alhambra glowing red at dusk, a forest of a thousand columns in Córdoba, the Giralda watching over Seville — three wonders of the world just hours apart. Add jamón carved by hand in the sierra of Huelva, almadraba tuna from Cádiz, the sherries of Jerez. This is Andalucía: pick a province and fall in love.
Galicia, where the Camino ends
Galicia is legend and landscape. In Santiago the Camino ends, the road pilgrims have walked for a thousand years; in Lugo an intact Roman wall embraces the entire city; and at Fisterra the Romans swore the world came to an end. It has the best shellfish in Europe and the best albariño. Step into Galicia and let it carry you.
Madrid and its crown of towns
The center of Spain is energy and sophistication — vermouth, tapas, world-class museums and luxury shopping. Hemingway called Madrid the most Spanish of all cities, the best to live in, with the best people. And ringing the capital lie some of the prettiest towns in Europe: a Hollywood plaza in Chinchón, the birthplace of Cervantes in Alcalá, royal gardens in Aranjuez, a slate hamlet in Patones, the eighth wonder at El Escorial, and the walled world of Buitrago. As the locals say: from Madrid, straight to heaven.
Windmills and the infinite plain
The heart of Spain guards a great secret — the little-known Castilla-La Mancha. Here Don Quixote and Sancho rode among windmills; Toledo gathers cathedrals, synagogues and mosques; and Cuenca hangs its houses over the abyss. The Nobel laureate Cela fell in love with the Alcarria, and Game of Thrones filmed in Guadalajara. Seek out its secrets.
Where the Mediterranean meets the Pyrenees
In Spain's northeast, between the Mediterranean and the Pyrenees, Catalunya gathers the country's most varied landscapes. Barcelona, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona weave together beaches, medieval villages, mountains, vineyards, art, food and a rich historical heritage. It is a destination that surprises with its strong personality.
Four islands, a thousand ways to live the Mediterranean
Out in the Mediterranean, the Balearic Islands work their magic across Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera. Each offers a different way into the archipelago — from clear-water coves and seafaring villages to ancient trackways, nature reserves and sensational food. It is a destination you will fall in love with.
The old kingdom of stone
Atapuerca keeps the memory of Europe, where the first Europeans lived; Salamanca has taught since 1218, and the aqueduct of Segovia has stood for twenty centuries. The walls of Ávila, the stained glass of León, the cathedral of Burgos and the wines of the Ribera del Duero take the breath away. This is the largest region in Spain, and one of the most astonishing.
The north is another country
More Michelin stars per capita than anywhere on earth, on a coastline painted in emerald.
Plan a trip →Secret beaches between cliffs, and the Picos de Europa rising straight out of the sea.
Plan a trip →Altamira — the Sistine Chapel of prehistoric art — plus surf beaches and elegant Santander.
Plan a trip →Where Spain meets the sea
The original paella on the beach where it was invented, beside Calatrava's sci-fi skyline.
Plan a trip →Europe's warmest coast and the Mar Menor lagoon — where Spaniards go to escape the tourists.
Plan a trip →Castles, canvases and the high plains
Peaks by morning, Rioja by night
Stone villages on canyon edges, Romanesque churches older than Notre-Dame, and Ordesa — Spain's Yosemite.
Plan a trip →Pamplona's bulls, the lunar Bardenas Reales, and the Irati beech forest.
Plan a trip →Rolling vines, wineries by Gehry and Hadid, and the monastery where Spanish was first written down.
Plan a trip →