Attraction
City of Arts and Sciences
Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela's futuristic complex at the eastern end of the Turia riverbed, with a science museum, IMAX cinema, aquarium and opera house.
Spain offers a wide mix of city breaks, beaches, mountains and food, and it is one of Europe's most visited countries. Barcelona is a popular starting point for its Gaudí architecture, old town and seafront. Madrid, the capital, is known for the Prado and other major art museums, as well as its food markets and late nights. In Andalusia, Seville, Granada and Córdoba have Moorish palaces, cathedrals and flamenco, while Valencia is the home of paella. The Balearic Islands, including Mallorca and Ibiza, and the Canary Islands attract beach visitors throughout the year. In the north, San Sebastián and Bilbao are known for food and the Guggenheim Museum.
Attraction
Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela's futuristic complex at the eastern end of the Turia riverbed, with a science museum, IMAX cinema, aquarium and opera house.
Attraction
Spain's national art museum, opened in 1819 on the Paseo del Prado, with masterpieces by Velázquez, Goya, El Greco, Bosch, Titian and Rubens.
Attraction
A royal palace complex with more than a thousand years of history, famous for Pedro I's Mudéjar palace, tiled courtyards and extensive walled gardens.
Attraction
Antoni Gaudí's still-unfinished basilica in the Eixample, Barcelona's defining landmark, with a forest-like nave, two sculpted façades and climbable towers.
Attraction
The largest Gothic cathedral in the world, built on the site of the Almohad great mosque, with the Giralda tower, the tomb of Columbus and a…
Attraction
Gaudí's hillside park in Gràcia, where mosaic-covered terraces, a serpentine bench and gingerbread-style lodges look out over Barcelona to the sea.
Café
Madrid's most famous chocolatería, serving thick hot chocolate with churros and porras in a lane off Calle Arenal since 1894.
Café
Seville's best-known pastry shop, founded in 1885 at the top of Calle Sierpes, with a historic shopfront, cakes, pastries and seasonal specialities such as roscón de…
Café
One of the oldest horchaterías in Valencia, beside the church of Santa Catalina, serving horchata with fartons and hot chocolate with churros every day.
Café
The original coffee bar of Nømad, the Barcelona speciality roaster founded by Jordi Mestre, tucked into a quiet passage near the Palau de la Música.
Café
A family-run bar founded in 1904 in the shopping streets of the old town, famous for breakfasts of churros with thick hot chocolate and for its…
Café
A historic café on La Rambla opposite the Liceu opera house, trading on this site since the 19th century and open from breakfast until late.
Hotel
Seville's grand hotel, built in Neo-Mudéjar style for the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition beside the Alcázar, with tiled courtyards, an outdoor pool and several restaurants.
Hotel
A Ritz-Carlton tower hotel on the Port Olímpic seafront, with two outdoor pools, a fourth-floor spa and the two-Michelin-star Enoteca Paco Pérez.
Hotel
A five-star grand luxury resort on the beach, built around the historic Las Arenas bathing establishment founded in 1898, with a spa and pools.
Hotel
Madrid's grand Belle Époque hotel, opened in 1910 at the request of King Alfonso XIII and reopened in 2021 as the Mandarin Oriental Ritz after a…
Hotel
A five-star hotel in the old town set in the Palace of the Marquis of Caro, where Roman remains and a stretch of Islamic wall run…
Hotel
A 200-room luxury hotel opened in 2020 in seven restored historic buildings at Centro Canalejas, between Puerta del Sol and the Barrio de las Letras.
Bar
A historic cocktail bar in the old town with roots in 1940, credited as the birthplace of Agua de Valencia and once a meeting point for…
Bar
The rooftop bar of the EME Catedral Mercer hotel, facing the Cathedral and the Giralda, with cocktails, cold tapas and DJs on Friday and Saturday nights.
Bar
Spain's first cocktail bar, opened on Gran Vía in 1931 by Perico Chicote, with an Art Deco interior and a guest list that once included Hemingway…
Bar
An El Born speakeasy reached through a fridge door at the back of a pastrami bar, named number one in The World's 50 Best Bars in…
Bar
A tiny Art Deco cocktail bar by La Rambla, opened in 1933 by Miguel Boadas and still devoted to expertly made classic cocktails.
Bar
A sprawling bar in a former coal yard on the edge of Santa Cruz, open every night with live music, short flamenco performances and an informal…
Restaurant
Three-Michelin-star restaurant in the Eixample run by former elBulli chefs Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch and Mateu Casañas, serving long, playful tasting menus.
Restaurant
Founded in 1670 and billed as the oldest bar in Seville, a tiled and wood-panelled tavern serving traditional Andalusian tapas at its long counter.
Restaurant
Ricard Camarena's two-Michelin-star flagship inside the Bombas Gens arts centre, serving tasting menus built around vegetables from the Valencian huerta.
Restaurant
A historic Castilian restaurant beside the Plaza Mayor, listed by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest, known for roast suckling pig and lamb.
Restaurant
A classic Cava Baja restaurant opened in 1974 by Lucio Blázquez, famous for its huevos estrellados, fried eggs broken over chips.
Restaurant
A historic shop-bar founded in 1850 near the Cathedral, with old wine vats, a wooden counter and good-value traditional tapas and montaditos.
Thing to do
Seville's former Jewish quarter, a maze of narrow lanes, whitewashed houses, orange trees and small squares beside the Alcázar walls, best explored slowly on foot.
Thing to do
Valencia's Modernista food market, completed in 1928 opposite La Lonja, where hundreds of stalls sell fish, meat, fruit, vegetables and local specialities.
Thing to do
A 1916 iron and glass market beside the Plaza Mayor, reopened in 2009 as a gourmet tapas hall with more than 20 stalls open until late.
Thing to do
Barcelona's best-known food market, entered from La Rambla under a wrought-iron arch, packed with produce stalls, fishmongers and busy counter bars.
Thing to do
A Civil War anti-aircraft battery on the Turó de la Rovira hilltop, now a free history site with one of the widest panoramas over Barcelona.
Thing to do
Madrid's historic open-air flea market, held on Sunday and public holiday mornings around Plaza de Cascorro and the Ribera de Curtidores.
Tour operator
Food and tapas tours of Madrid's historic taverns, markets and neighbourhoods in small groups, plus cooking classes and Prado tours with a meal at Botín.
Tour operator
Small-group food tours of Seville, from a morning tasting walk with jamón carving to evening tapas, tavern and flamenco tours, capped at 12 people.
Tour operator
A family-run Barcelona walking tour company founded in 2010, best known for its donation-based Gothic Quarter and Gaudí tours starting from Plaça Reial.
Tour operator
A Valencia bike tour and rental company on the Paseo de la Pechina, running guided rides through the Turia garden, the old town and the City…
Tour operator
Barcelona's historic harbour boat company, sailing since 1888 from the quay opposite the Columbus Monument on short port and coastal cruises.
Tour operator
A cooking school inside the Mercado de Triana offering market tours and hands-on Spanish and Andalusian cooking and tapas classes, morning and evening.
High-speed AVE trains link Madrid with Barcelona, Seville, Valencia and other cities. Domestic flights and ferries serve the islands, and a car helps in rural areas.
Spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons for cities, especially in the south, where summers are very hot. Summer suits the beaches and the north coast.
Popular choices include Madrid, Seville, Granada, Valencia, San Sebastián, Bilbao, Mallorca and the Canary Islands.