SPAIN travel advice

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?

The Prado is pretty amazing, too.

I also highly recommend this museum:

http://obrasocial.lacaixa.es/nuestroscentros/caixaforummadrid/caixaforummadrid_es.html

I ate here a couple of times:

http://www.mercadodelareina.es/ENG/index.html

ASAP for the Alhambra tickets.

Estamos practicando el espanol? Dejo este sabado.

i'm leaving friday!! beyond excited. any recommendations for 1) cheapish eats in madrid (specifically near universidad neighborhood)?

2) translator apps for iphone?

1) Underground chino (Chinese restaurant) in Plaza de España is incredibly cheap and tasty and pretty close to the Universidad. Just go down the stairs next to Calle Princesa/Gran Via. As for actual Spanish food, I'll get back to you when my friend reminds me the name of this one amazing spot.

2) Haven't tried this one, but looks pretty useful: http://lifehacker.com/5903847/sayhi-translate-turns-your-iphone-into-a-multi+lingual-universal-translator

Here's that great Spanish restaurant: El Lacón Not exactly cheap but wonderful and a good value. I would recommend going for the tablas (platters of a wide variety of fish, seafood, veggies, etc) if you'll be with several people. 2 tablas and the complimentary bread was more than enough food for 4.

Boy you werent kidding bout alhambra tix huh

I can't wait to see that thing. I've booked a ticket for next month.

Does anyone have tips on other stuff to do in Granada? I have two days. It looks like some of the Alhambra grounds don't require tickets, so maybe there'll be more than enough to see once my hours there are up.

http://dickschmitt.com/travels/spain/granada_province/granada/images/2008_09_23_Spain_Granada_Alhambra_sala-de-las-dos-hermanas-cupola-of-mocarabes.jpg

Hotel I'm staying in is pretty cool, I guess:

http://i.imgur.com/o4OmD33.jpg

Had a terrific two days in Madrid and was sorry to leave. The Prado is a delight and going early on a Monday morning meant I had the best part of an hour with a dozen Raphaels and Goya's black paintings to myself. Also really loved the Reina Sofia, which seemed like a model of how a challenging contemporary art gallery should be curated - much more engaged politically than the Punta Della Dogana or the Centre Pompidou, which are amazing in their own way but feel more like a repository of stuff most of the time.

Idk why I have been to Moldova and Venezuela but it has taken this long to come to Spain.

In May and June I will be residing in San Sebastián as a writer in residence. I'm beyond stoked, and ever since the news got out I've been given plenty of tips about what to see, what to do. According to the Lonely Planet of Bilbao/SanSeb there are 17 (SEVENTEEN!) Michelin starred restaurants in San Sebastián alone. That's just crazy, and impossible to choose between.

I won't be traveling outside of the Basque Country a lot (I need my time there to write) but please give me some tips on things outside the obvious, to see, do, or where to eat. Looking at LG and LL especially since you both know the turf. (I've been to Spain loads - Catalunia, Almeria, Costa Del Sol etc) but never to Basque Country. Hit me up!

I've only spent a few days there but they were filled with the most amazing food.

wauwauwau congrats LBI

tytyty tracer :)

That's awesome, LBI! I still haven't been to San Sebastian, despite having a friend who lives there and everything.

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?