SPAIN travel advice

Hiking in the Pyrenees in Torla was one of the highlights of my trip -- gorgeous medieval village in the middle of a national park/nature area. AMAZING.

la lechera otm, GO TO SAN SEBASTIAN.

and yeah Bilbao is lovely too, great people in both San Seb and Bilbao.

there are good pencions (spanish people using their flat/house as a guesthouse) in most places.

in fact if you go san seb i can recommend one, unless you intend to stay somewhere fancy. it was very very basic but safe, central, and clean, and the owner made us basque custard tarts and stuff, really fun.

san sebastian is like a food paradise.

toooootally a food paradise
easy to get around on foot too, amazing beach, bizarro amusement park on top of a religious monument

so bummed that the funicular was closed the day i tried to go to that amusement park.

this is but one of the amusements

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6134/5976905378_f43801484e.jpg

and the food was amazing. but honestly the food was amazing everywhere i went in spain.

yeah, p much

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was fuego negro open when you guys were there? a tapas bar up near the church in the old town but markedly different from the older bars, really swanky in a sort of naff way apart from the fact the food is this insanely good fusion type tapas, it was really incredible.

other than that it's nice having foie gras everywhere, and those squadrones of spanish men singing opera songs as they go from bar to bar. best way to get drunk ever...

we mostly went to local places, just kinda skipped around. there are a LOT of super fancy restaurants in spain, but i didn't go to any of them. i love the grazing aspect of spanish eating -- just kind of grab what you want, eat it, drink a little, go somewhere else, have something else, sit by the water a while, la ti da, eat/drink some more, etc.

i'll tell you what, if i disappear, san sebastian would not be a bad place to look for me.

now i really want to go to san sebastien but it seems on the opposite end of the country from where i need to end up (murcia)!

next time! i didn't make it south or west at all on my first trip; it's not a place you can cover reasonably in one short trip, i think.

btw if i disappear, please don't look for me.

this was the best tapas place we tried in barcelona. one of the best restaurants I've ever been to. cleaner and brighter than many, not too expensive. two long bars laden w/amazing jamon seafood etc. in the eixample area near ave diagonal, passeig de gracia and some cool gaudi buildings.

Cervecería Catalana
C/ MALLORCA, 235, 08013 Barcelona, Spain
+34 932 16 03 68 ‎

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some of the tapas places were a little greasy/heavy; not here

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please try to get yourself to san sebastian
that is my #1 suggestion

― La Lechera, Tuesday, January 24, 2012 2:24 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

YESSSSS

I wound up there sort of by accident and only for a day during a trip to France and it was amazingly lovely. I really want to go back. I have no other advice about Spain because S Sebastian is actually the only place I've ever been to there. LL otm though. If you can go there definitely try to.

now i really want to go to san sebastien but it seems on the opposite end of the country from where i need to end up (murcia)!

― bene_gesserit, Tuesday, January 24, 2012 3:43 PM (22 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Oh shit, only just saw that now. Bummer. I'm sure the rest of it is great too though.

well i can recommend cartagena as a beautiful town, heavy roman influence still v apparent, they're currently doing up the amphiteatre and the harbour area is spectacular

i live in madrid and know galicia, castilla y leon, extremadura, and andalucia pretty well, but nothing of the basque country or catalonia. how long are you going to be in spain, bene?

about 9-10 days! i'm definitely spending some time in madrid, and flying in/out of there, so madrid recommendations are welcome!

No-one repping for Lanzarote? It's great.

I don't know the eastern side of the country at all, but if you head south-then-east you can visit some superb towns - Toledo, Cordoba and Granada are all excellent, and places like Seville and Malaga would be just about within reach too. Gibraltar's really interesting and spectacular.

Stay in a ye olde parador if you can afford it. They're converted historic buildings and some of them are really amazing. Jaen (east of Granada) is a castle perched on a crag above the town.

I loved driving in Spain because it's big and empty, like a mini-America. This may be less impressive to an American, granted.

Gibraltar's really interesting and spectacular.

really? my parents have an apartment about an hour from malaga and a trip to gibraltar is always an option when i go with friends, but all i've heard about it is that it's one of the worst shitholes in the universe.

The bay and the rock and the view of Africa are incredible. Historically and politically it's pretty interesting. There are apes. No doubt it's full of tat - but I didn't really notice tbh.

God, yes, Gibraltar is awful. We hare down there, pick up cheap fags and booze and get the hell back out. The caves and that are ok, I guess, but I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to visit it.

my tip is: avoid Gibraltar

go to the rock, get out

a few days in and around madrid then visiting a couple cities in andalucia (i second cordoba and granada!) before ending up in murcia sounds awesome. not sure renting a car would be much cheaper or worthwhile though. you're going to have to pay for gas and parking and will be driving around half the length of the iberian peninsula. you don't necessarily have to take the ave everywhere--if you like seeing the countryside then the avant trains are a lot cheaper and go through random towns. and there's always the bus. you could also just rent the car in granada and drive to murcia. cabo de gata natural park is between them (on the coast) and a car would be handy there.

in madrid i highly recommend you visit goya's tomb.

i went to goya's tomb, it was cool

rip

thanks craigorio that is all really helpful! i'll look into costs of train/bus from madrid to granada. cabo de gata looks lovely!

alsa will be the bus line you want. it's about 20 euros, 5 hrs across la mancha, and there will be a bus leaving pretty much every hour all day long from madrid.

ok, i've just worked out some of the details, and i think we are going to take the bus to granada as you recommended! is there a specific town on the coast between granada and murcia that you would recommend spending a night in? we definitely want to spend some time in cabo de gato and take are time going up the coast.

alright - i've fully booked all my hotels so i could use some itinerary specific advice:

days 1-3 madrid - staying at a pension in the the universidad neighborhood, i definitely want to visit the prado but otherwise i could use advice on what to see/eat!

day 4 granada - staying in the downtown area but closer to the alhambra. definitely want to visit the alhambra but not sure what else. planning on renting a car here for the rest of the trip.

days 5-6 - cheaping out everywhere else on hotels, but splurged a little and booked two nights at parador de mojacar (http://spainparador.com/parador-mojacar.htm) which was still not all that expensive (came out to ~$70 per person per night) this is close to cabo de gata but could use advice on other towns to explore in the area)

days 7-8 - murcia - we will probably be at the music fesitival (watching PULP) most of the time

day 9 - need to find a budget accommodation near the madrid airport for an early flight home

Jely

I'm considering going for a week in March. I was going to do Madrid and Barcelona, but my friend is trying to convince me to concentrate on one city, and not try to do too much. Thoughts? I am leaning toward Madrid. Also, is it an okay place to travel alone in?

you should come in march instead and hang out with me!

i mean may

I wish I could; your trip sounds amazing.

xpost if you have a week that should be sufficient for two cities... but I say that as someone who's generally happy with a few days per city when I travel, guess it depends on your own travel style!

Personally Barcelona was far more memorable for me than Madrid but either of them will be okay for solo travel.

It takes 8 hours to get from Madrid to Barcelona by bus

my travel advice is eats lots of food because it will be delicious

my advice is take the train.

I have never been to madrid but I suggest you don't miss barcelona

it is cool

Thanks for the advice. I just jumped the gun and went for both Madrid and Barcelona, with a high-speed rail connection in-between. I'm going to start fasting now so that I can eat way through.

^^although San Sebastian sounds like my cup of tea

I was underwhelmed by Madrid (and never made it to Barcelona)

Flying out this week for a 2-week sojourn that will include Madrid, Rioja, Barcelona and points between. Happy for any/all recommendations. We won't make it to San Sebastian or Bilbao sadly, the itinerary just won't stretch that far

Important advice: book in advance to go to the Alhambra, otherwise you won't get in.

The Reina Sofia art gallery in Madrid is well worth a visit, particularly the civil war section.

Lots of things close on Mondays, museums an ting.

how far in advance do you need to buy alhambra tix?

i think really far in advance? like months iirc?

YASSSS

All I can say is that we spent one night in Merida on our way back from Portugal and it was a total delight. Merida has it all: A Roman aqueduct and stone walking bridge, multiple archeological sites, a Roman amphitheater, a coliseum, army barracks, a pre-Roman fort with an unforgettable subterranean well, and a fancy hotel that's a converted Moorish palace, with a rooftop pool right on the utterly charming main square. Where you can sit at your choice of cafes and watch the storks perched on the peaks of the town hall and the cathedral, nests silhouetted against the sky.

The hotel had a small fenced courtyard off the plaza, so I took my wine and my book and read late into the night. It probably doesn't need more than 2 days to see the sights but I could have stayed at that hotel forever.

don’t half ply you with food in granada

had a nice conversation with a taxi driver in french today tho so that was a highlight 👍🏻

Ronda is killing me, my god. Hard to get your head around the fact that it actually really exists.

You should get a load of Setenil de las Bodegas!

Wowee! It's only 15 minutes away by bus...

Madrid then, what nice areas would you recommend for air bnb/staying at?

We stayed in the Lavapiés neighborhood. It was a good location, close to the Prado, Reina Sofia, Retiro Park and Atocha train stationWe walked nearly everywhere from there -- covered ~70 miles over five days -- and it never felt far from what we wanted to see.

We're going back in late October. Thought this thread bump would be about this article: Locals in Spain, Tired of Booming Tourism, Say ‘Stay Away’

Catalans aren’t your average Spaniards

Thanks looking at Lavapies now

seems like kind of a first world problem to be asking for advice about traveling in spain?

we stayed at the hotel Principe Pio - it was clean, centrally located, but there was a loud nightclub out our window that stayed open basically all night

seems like kind of a first world problem to be asking for advice about traveling in spain?

― budo jeru, Wednesday, 17 July 2024 bookmarkflaglink

Just asked about Paris too. A lot of 1st world problems tonight

jelly ;)

I painfully threw my back out in Barcelona and had to learn how to say "No homeopatico! No homeopatico, por favor!" because the pharmacies kept trying to pawn that shit off on my

We caught a terrific deal at the Hotel Europa next to Puerta del Sol Square. It's a big old retrofitted pile of a building, but good enough if you're going to be there for a few days and just need a place to crash while you're sightseeing.

those floods looks absolutely apocalyptic

pretty bad - talking to people in our seville office today (obv far from the affected areas), most of them know people in that region and area, and there's been a lot of concerned phoning around. understandably preoccupied. it's just not set up for this sort of inundation afaict.

yeah, just heard a spanish weather guy and he was pointing to how well-prepared the U.S. was for that last hurricane, and that maybe they should start paying attention

Huge power outage throughout Spain and Portugal ...

Thanks for the recommendation, will check it out

^^^Presumably not addressed to JiC

I would presume the opposite

Lol
Thanks Josh i checked it out. Apart from a bit of absolute chaos crossing roads to get back to the apartment (what the fuck is happening and why are the lights out?) it was a nice simple afternoon reading and sleeping. Came back in time for cooked food at 830.

Others not so lucky obv.

But ... Two whole large countries without power is crazy.

Yeah was just joking about the power outage as a must-do

Most people see Spain with the power on, it's a rare opportunity to see it with the power off!

They are blaming a "rare atmospheric phenomenon." Zombies can't be far off.

sunspots?

swamp gas

My friends in Portugal mostly reacted by grilling up some sardines and opening up the wine, no electricity meant no work to go to.

But there have been more dramatic situations - hospitals obv, but also on a more mundane level old ppl who couldn't get back home because all the lifts were turned off.

Daniel, are the Azores affected?

Thankfully no, so my mum's all right. Dunno about Madeira and Spain's islands but would assume the same.

Not traveling abroad this year (and maybe not next) but went down a rabbit hole of looking at some pretty great paradores that are not really that expensive. Our one parador experience in Hondarribia was excellent.

Can anyone recommend good jazz and classical record stores in Barcelona?

Jazz Messengers (their distribution arm, Distrijazz, handles my releases in Europe).

Also https://www.jazzrecordsbarcelona.com/

I didn’t know they had a brick and mortar—are they the fresh sound guys too?