SPAIN travel advice

We took the train from Barcelona (coming from Toulouse) and did a stopover in Haro/Rioja. Which was kind of oddly a ghost town.

About 5 in the afternoon? I have had this experience. It gets a bit more lively on Sunday mornings.

iirc most (all?) Spanish towns are dead from 3-6

We were there almost all day. Ghost town. We were the only people to get out at that stop and even most of the big wineries were pretty empty. Except the Muga tasting room. Party going on in there.

I will be going to Bilbao and San Sebastian for about a week in March. I have time to go to a third place, and was thinking of going to Logrono, but that might be boring? What about Pamplona? Is it best to split my time between Bilbao and San Sebastian and take day trips?

We visited SS, Rioja, and Bilbao in about ten days in 2017. One of my favorite trips. You can definitely spend a week between SS and Bilbao alone, so I am not sure you need to add a third location, depending on your preferences for running around versus relaxing. But if you want to, a visit to the Rioja area is incredible.

If you have a car, I highly recommend staying in LaGuardia, a very small hill town west of Logrono. You can walk from one end to the other in ten minutes, but it is very handsome with amazing views in all directions. Very cool painted wood portico (one of only a couple in Europe) with the original paint intact).

Another amazing town is San Vicente de la Sonsierra, which has a fortress and church with commanding views. 1100 people in the commune and 21 wineries; my kind of ratio.

Let me know and I can dig out some restaurant reservations. Lunch in Rioja starts around 2pm. We finished one lunch about 5pm.

Day trips from SS: Getaria is an old fishing village 20 minutes away. Definitely worth a half day. Great restaurant for whole roasted turbot is Elkano; one of my favorite meals anywhere ever.

^^ quite possibly my favourite thing about Basque country, the 2-5pm lunches.

There's loads of recommendations itt already. I didn't really rate Logroño. Pamplona is nice, but personally I like to stay closer to the coast. Bilbao and SS will keep you busy for a week, no trouble. Beautiful places in between are Zarautz, and further west Bermeo (with the San Juan de Gaztelugatxe rock out in the sea, that you can climb up to), Mundaka (a surfer's haven), Getaria, Guernica, Zumaia etc etc

logrono has a nice little old town but pamplona is much better, fantastic square and fortress, feels very basque. it's an incredible part of the world though and you will find loads of great places.

Spent a month in andalucia a couple years ago. Completely awesome. Never even made it to the Alhambra! The Sierra directly south of Ronda are big mountains with trail systems great for running and hiking from town to town. Same goals for the hills/mts between Aracena and the PT border. Jamon is a big deal there.

Spent about 2.5 weeks in the Alameda de Hercules neighborhood in Seville. Full of hipsters and killer food and an easy walk to the touristy stuff. Highly recommended but I think any of the cities in that corner of Spain have a lot to offer. Just be careful about the heat. We were there in September and it was barely bearable.

Do we have any more general threads for Spain or any discussion of today's election that I'm missing elsewhere?

any granada tips ? going in november for a week, so have time for daytrips etc. might rent a bike...

I was there last week, it is extremely awesome.

Book up immediately to go to the Alhambra, I spent one of the greatest days of my life in that incredible place. I was honestly in tears at times, overwhelmed by emotion at the beauty of it. If you haven't booked yet, look for tickets RIGHT NOW, it sells out far in advance. If it is booked for the dates you are there then honestly, log in after midnight and keep refreshing the page every fifteen minutes or so, because that is when they release returns. I nabbed a ticket for the dates I was there around 2am the night before but don't wait until the night before, keep trying this in the period leading up to your trip. This might seem extreme advice but you will truly never regret it. You will need the full day. I was in there from 10am untl 7 pm and didn't manage to see everything within yhe walls. My one regret is that I never managed to get tickets to the night time tours of the Alhambra. I'm going back next year to do exactly that.

Also, Granada is one of the few places in Andalusia where getting a fairly large tapa every time you order a glass of wine has not died out as a tradition. In the Few days I was there I didn't buy an evening meal at any time because you get to eat delicious food every time you ask for your glass to be refilled.

Have you booked your accomodation? I stayed at a good place called Pension San Jose which, bizarrely, turned out to be owned and run by a mad Scottish guy called Frank! It's cheap but stylish and really clean - you may want somewhere fancier but I was solo and it suited me perfectly. It's also right in the centre.

There's another Pension called San Jose Alhambra, it wasn't that one, it was this one here:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/San+Jos%C3%A9+Guest+House/@37.1712984,-3.6010769,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xaec0727e675464a4?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjBjuzYgaflAhWzURUIHUxIB3cQ_BIwC3oECA4QCA

You may think a week is too long for such a small city but it really isn't. If you tire of the city then there are guided walks around the Sierra Nevada montains on the doorstep of the city. I didn't manage to do this but I intend to next year.

Malaga is one hour away by bus (longer by train because the train goes inland then doubles back, the route is not direct) and Malaga is really beautiful as well (not as breathtaking at Granada) but there are less tourists. you can visit the Picasso Museum, The Gibralfaro (castle/fort on the hill, very VERY steep walk up if that is an issue) and The staggering Cathedral. You won't get free tapas there, btw! book the bus in advance on ALSA for the cheapest seats.

If you need to know anything more then post back here or send me a webmail here (goes to my gmail) I'm just crazy about this city now!

I really want to spread the word about this place but not too far, if you know what I mean!

If you're flying to/from GRX there's a 3 euro bus from the airport. It's quite far out of the city so a cab will actually cost about 30 e. depends how many of you there are, I guess.

check this oot ffs! took this on my first night feeling all sad because I'd fucked up by not booking for the Alhambra in advance but then lucked out with that returns thing I told you about.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6ws8r2n3r6ap379/72266062_10156745294591909_5657546731512922112_o.jpg?raw=1

We did nighttime Alhambra and I think we went back in the day to see the gardens. I can't really remember much else besides TAPAS!

I think Cordoba is close enough for a day trip, I recommend that. The great mosque/cathedral and the old village area are highlights.

Wow my wife and are planning a Spain trip for January and jed’s posts have got me hyped!

Glad to hear it!

The Alhambra booking period seems to be three months in advance, so I'd advise checking soon for availability for January.

(for the Alhambra)

(sorry, I'm drunk, I already said that)

Will do, thanks for the tip!

@jed_ wow - thanks ! sorry, I had completely missed this. it subsequently transpired that my boss is being really pissy about signing off on this holiday so think I had sublimated the fact I'd even posted in this thread. will bookmark now though. only hope I can actually get my annual leave signed off - not least because I have already booked flights and you make it sound amazing !

Want to hear a crazy Spain story? We have friends (a couple and their three kids) that went to Spain last year, I think Barcelona. On their last day they had to check out of their place, but decided to kill time at the beach. When they got back to their car they discover they'd been robbed, all their bags, all their belongings (save their money and passports, fortunately, which they had with them). Otherwise, it was just them and ... their swimsuits and coverups. I think most people in the family had enough to wear to fly, but our friend was only in her swimsuit and there was no way she was going to fly home in a swimsuit (assuming they would even let her). This occurred to them only after a long time at the police station, after the adrenaline wore off and they realized they had to get her some clothes. Problem was it was the end of the day, and most stores were closed or closing. She eventually found someone at a shop locking up, banged on the window and begged and pleaded her way inside, where she was fortunately able to buy some wildly overpriced designer clothes. I can't even imagine.

josh... thank,s

Nae bother, I hope you do get it signed off!

Josh if your pals were robbed I'd say it's about 95% likely that it was Barcelona.

Cordoba is fantastic and has really awesome food.

Granada is all about the Alhambra - def try to book in advance, if you don't get a place then you can either queue up early morning *or* you can try to get tickets through your hotel. The receptionist at our hotel went into her super secret booking system and got us tickets for the next day even though it was sold out on the public site. One cool food thing was http://www.laoliva.eu - it's an almost domestic set up ("WE ARE NOT A RESTAURANT") where the host guides you through different kinds of local olive oil, local wine and local dishes.

fuck, that looks great thanks for the tip (for next year!)

My hotel was obv. too low on the pecking list to have a secret-system!

sean, Is Cordova the same as Granada with regard to free tapas? (priorities!)

i"m using too many exclamation marks.

Barcelona is basically now just an almost disney-level tourist destination with a major sideline in robbery/theft/ pickpocketing/scams.

I'm sure there's an actual real Barcelona where people live and work but it's hard to find. My friends (and their boys) got their bag stolen while they were eating lunch. The bag had a macbook and all of their passports. story/short it cost them a few grand and long delays which, I dare say, they got most of back through insurance but it doesn't make it any better at the time.

Another friend had his phone stolen out of his hand WHILE I WAS TALKING TO HIM.

I don't want to put people off Barcelona, if that's your dream, but I've really heard too many bad experiences now.

i was just in barcelona for 4 days and had heard the stories but never felt remotely at risk of that shit. idk, i don't think we were doing anything special but it didn't strike me as a place where you needed to be more vigilant than you do in any big city that you're not familiar with.

i also wasn't on la rambla at 2 a.m. or anything so i'm sure that matters in anyone's personal calculation

I'm sure it works out well for most people. I honestly don't want to put people off - Catalonia Solidairty.

I love Barcelona so much and would live there. Although it has gotten a shitload more crowded. I went to the nudist beach last year. It was kind of gross. But at least you aren't stuck with a wet bathing suit.

you can fly home in the nood.

it is definitely a great city, for whatever reason i was expecting more of a mediterranean glam vibe but the places i spent time in were much more grimy medieval winding road neighborhoods. despite the appreciable number of tourists it is very much itself and i came away with a lot of respect for the city and the people.

posted my adventure getting out on the first day of protests on a different thread but that wouldn't stop me from going back.

People have tried to pickpocket me multiple times in Barcelona and I've seen people be pickpocketed there. Just awareness and like put your wallet in your front pocket. Most of the stories of victimhood ive heard are pretty silly tbh. Like, you're an obvious guiri, dont leave a bag or phone sitting out on a table,pay attention to your surroundings on the metro,it's not hard.

oh yeah. I am always way careful at the beach about people stealing stuff. And in general. The only time I have ever gotten something stolen was when I used to work in a record store in brooklyn. Someone took my laptop that I always brought right off the counter ( I got too comfortable). Although I was standing with a friend in Lima when someone took her huge ass backpack. There were three of us (irish, swedish and american) standing there that didn't even see it happen. I even get paranoid when anyone approaches us to ask for directions or something. I step away and stare down the person to make sure they aren't attempting a diversion.

dont leave a bag or phone sitting out on a table,pay attention to your surroundings on the metro,it's not hard.

but that's not holiday-times-vibe either and it's impossible to always do that. the friends i mentioned who had a bag with computer and passports stolen are seasoned travellers, not innocents.

It's not easy either. you are on holiday living your life and enjoying yourself.

saying you're in a notorious city for crime and therefore you should just know and it's silly if you don't is quite a privileged take. tbh.

besides, the people I'm referring to aren't daft and it doesn't even matter if they were daft!

idk if it's privileged to say that you should have a general understanding of your surroundings

oh, jesus christ.

privileged was a stupid word for me to use

it's not "not hard" - how's that? people are on holiday with their kids. it's pretty fucking hard.

and of course, it's not hard to not have your phone stolen from your ear while you're talking to someone (me)

Sometimes when people talk about going to a tapas bar I think they are saying topless bar and I have to mull it over why they would suggest it.

Taps Aff Bar.