Savvy Sightseer - tips and insights for seasoned travelers!
One of innovative architect Antoni Gaudí's most fanciful structures is Casa Mila in Barcelona.
The second largest country in the European Union, Spain (officially the Kingdom of Spain) is a parliamentary monarchy.
Seville's Metropol Parasol, aka Setas or Mushrooms, is the world's largest wooden structure in Europe.
Ultra modern buildings comprise a complex devoted to the Arts and Sciences, including the largest marine park in Europe.
Spain: Passionate and Playful
Although Spain is a land that takes siesta very seriously, it would be a mistake to think a penchant for an afternoon break is indicative of a laid-back lifestyle. Passion erupts in the Mediterranean country in many forms – the energetic flamenco, the artistic drive of Antoni Gaudí’s inimitable architecture, Don Quixote’s yearning as he roamed La Mancha and massive Moorish strongholds.
Many cultures have left their mark on Spain, including the Basques, Celts, Greeks, Romans and Moors. A visit to Spain beyond its capital city of Madrid is a must to explore how the many disparate influences, like its signature dish of paella, come together to create an eclectic and dramatic feast for all the senses. Enjoy vast fields of olive and almond groves along the way!
Spanish Olive Groves
Madrid
Spain’s capital is located at just about the exact center of the Iberian Peninsula, which Spain shares with Portugal. It is a bustling city with a relatively modern “old town” center. In the mid-1500s, royals decided to move their capital from Toledo to Madrid, where they razed existing buildings to create a new – and for the era – modern city near King Philip II’s favorite hunting grounds. Today’s Royal Palace is considered to be one of the finest in Europe. With nearly 3,000 rooms, it rivals France’s Versailles, on which it was modeled by King Philip V. He had been born at the famous Paris palace, and when it came time to replace an earlier fortress, he was determined to do so in style. One of the most stunning rooms is the dining salon and its seemingly endless table. And then there’s the royal kitchens – the oldest, best preserved of a European royal residence. There are a total of 8,600 square feet of ovens, gleaming copper molds and pans, and vast well-worn preparation tables.
A popular meeting place in Madrid is Puerta del Sol, the busy pedestrian square and transportation hub with the city’s mascot Bear and Berry Tree. Locals rub his tail for luck leaving a shiny spot in his black coat. At the town’s 308-acre Retiro Park, there is something for everyone, including a grand Crystal Palace, manmade lakes and spectacular monuments – one for a king of Spain … and another for the king of the Underworld!
Click on the each picture below for slideshow visits to Spain's capital city, Madrid, and see some of its iconic sights.
The current palace, started by King Philip V, took 17 years to build on the site of a burned out royal fortress in 1734. The current king, Felipe VI, uses the castle for state occasions, but lives in a modest palace just outside of Madrid. In addition to its nearly 3000 rooms, the palace has 150 clocks, 870 windows, 240 balconies and 44 staircases!
Designed by Francesco Sabatini, the elaborate entryway has 70 steps, each one made from a single piece of San Agustin Marble. The ceiling fresco by Corrado Giaquinto depicts "The Triumph of Religion and the Church Protected by the Spanish Monarchy."
An extensive kitchen was needed to fill the table for royal receptions.
The current palace, started by King Philip V, took 17 years to build on the site of a burned out royal fortress in 1734. The current king, Felipe VI, uses the castle for state occasions, but lives in a modest palace just outside of Madrid. In addition to its nearly 3000 rooms, the palace has 150 clocks, 870 windows, 240 balconies and 44 staircases!
The Royal Palace
Madrid's more than 300-acre Retiro Park is a welcome oasis in the city. Originally a private royal respite, the park has been open to the public since the late 18th century.
One of the most visited places in the park, is a tribute to King Alfonso XII. In 1902, a national contest was held to design a monument for the king. The winning design consisted of a semicircular 282 foot-long colonnade surrounding a tower on which the monarch rides his horse nearly 100 feet up.
Madrid has one of the few statues in the world devoted to the Prince of Darkness. Sculpted by Ricardo Bellver for the Paris World Fair in 1878, the Devil in his fall from grace was subsequently acquired by the Madrid City Council. The Fallen Angel coincidentally sits 666 meters above sea level!
Madrid's more than 300-acre Retiro Park is a welcome oasis in the city. Originally a private royal respite, the park has been open to the public since the late 18th century.
Retiro Park
The Bear and the Berry Tree" in Madrid's Puerta del Sol, a gateway square and popular meeting point in the old town is the symbol for Spain's capital city. Puerta del Sol is the symbolic center of Spain.
Two bronze sculptures outside Madrid's Atocha station depict the passage of time. Both are modeled after the artist's granddaughter. This one is her daytime, alert look.
One of the city’s most famous landmarks, this massive 105-foot wide fountain depicts the Roman goddess of fertility, Cybele. She holds a sceptre and a keys to the city as her chariot is pulled along by two powerful lions.
The Bear and the Berry Tree" in Madrid's Puerta del Sol, a gateway square and popular meeting point in the old town is the symbol for Spain's capital city. Puerta del Sol is the symbolic center of Spain.
Around Town
Barcelona
A mecca for food lovers of all kinds is the Rambla, a ¾-mile-long, wide boulevard in the center of Barcelona. Shops of all kinds welcome tourists. Tucked into one side is the Boqueria Market (aka Sant Josep) that is perhaps the biggest draw.
Outdoor, temporary stalls began offering meat to locals in this area in 1217. At the time, they were just outside the city walls – letting peddlers save the taxes charged to vendors within the city walls. Iberian ham is one of the most expensive meats in the world. A leg of it can cost as much as $4,500!
Whether the white windmills of La Mancha or chocolate ones at Barcelona, Don Quixote is still raging at his giants.
A mecca for food lovers of all kinds is the Rambla, a ¾-mile-long, wide boulevard in the center of Barcelona. Shops of all kinds welcome tourists. Tucked into one side is the Boqueria Market (aka Sant Josep) that is perhaps the biggest draw.
Barcelona: Old and New
A second capital region in Spain, Barcelona is the largest city and authoritative center of autonomous Catalunya in the country’s northeastern corner. Here, contrast is the word of the day. From the largest, most extensive Roman ruins outside of Italy to the soaring, wildly unique Basilica de la Sagrada Familia, Barcelona lays claim to some of the country’s most interesting architecture.
One of Spain’s, more specifically, Catalonia’s, most famous sons is Antoni Gaudí, who quite literally left his mark on the region. Seven of his works are classified as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including this one, Casa Batlló in Barcelona.
According to UNESCO, these buildings "testify to Gaudí’s exceptional creative contribution to the development of architecture and building technology in the late 19th and early 20th centuries."
The Sagrada Familia became Gaudi’s passion, and by 1914 he'd let all other projects go. He moved into this house next to it. His obsession led him to neglect his health, finances and appearance. When he was hit by a tram and killed on a street near his greatest achievement in 1926, he was unrecognized and initially taken to be a homeless man. He is buried in the crypt of the Sagrada Familia. Workers are facing a deadline to finally finish the mammoth project by 2026 - 100 years after his death.
One of Spain’s, more specifically, Catalonia’s, most famous sons is Antoni Gaudí, who quite literally left his mark on the region. Seven of his works are classified as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including this one, Casa Batlló in Barcelona.
Antoni Gaudi's Architecture
Granada
After the emperor and his wife, Isabella of Portugal, honeymooned at the Alhambra in 1526, he ordered construction of a palace next to the complex so they could enjoy its wonders. It wasn't meant to be, though, and they never lived in the palace.
Designed as a circle within a square, the palace's open-air central court is valued today for its excellent acoustics and hosts the Granada International Festival Music and Dance annually.
When life got tough for sultans and emirs, they could escape to their garden complex where there is long canal that irrigated a lush ornamental and agricultural gardens. The splashing fountains, disrupting the calm water, were added by Christian inhabitants.
After the emperor and his wife, Isabella of Portugal, honeymooned at the Alhambra in 1526, he ordered construction of a palace next to the complex so they could enjoy its wonders. It wasn't meant to be, though, and they never lived in the palace.
Click on the picture above for a visit to the mighty Alhambra; click the one below for some of Granada's other sights.
These cheery guys greet visitors at Granada's main train station. Inscribed on one side are the words of Alexander Dumas, the 19th century French author of "The Three Musketeers": "There is no place in the world with such grace distributed in such a small space, with such freshness and with so many windows open to Paradise."
Once a bustling Great Bazaar with hundreds of vendors hawking fine silks, spices other high-demand goods sultans craved, today the market is far more modest but nonetheless a colorful and robust shopper's paradise.
The convergence of two of Granada's main roads is graced by a grand fountain and elaborate statue. It represents Queen Isabel giving Columbus her permission on April 17, 1492, to make his journey to find a new trade route via the Atlantic Ocean. Marble for the base was quarried nearby. The sculpture was unveiled for the fourth centennial of the Discovery of America in 1892.
These cheery guys greet visitors at Granada's main train station. Inscribed on one side are the words of Alexander Dumas, the 19th century French author of "The Three Musketeers": "There is no place in the world with such grace distributed in such a small space, with such freshness and with so many windows open to Paradise."
Impressive. Regal. Sprawling. Powerful. Sumptuous. Pick your adjective and you’ll be describing Granada’s most famous landmark – Alhambra. Built chiefly between 1238 and 1358, but renovated, expanded, restored and rebuilt over several centuries, the last fortification of the Moorish kingdom in Spain is all of that and more. The Alhambra – or red palace for its original color – is a 75-acre fortress that includes palaces, lush gardens, fountains, decorative and detailed carvings, and even a bathhouse. An unexpected sight is the plaque devoted to American writer Washington Irving, who served as ambassador to Spain from 1842-1846. He was enamored with the Alhambra and shared his passion with readers through his bestselling book of short stories and essays: Tales of the Alhambra. His writing romanticized the Alhambra and spawned interest in restoring the complex, and drew tourists to the city.
"Granada, the one you love before you see her, and when you see her, you still love her," said British writer Lady Emmaline Stuart Wortley when she visited in 1852. Beyond the Alhambra, there is much to enjoy in the city that was once Spain's grandest. Sultans roamed through the silk market, and in 1492, Christopher Columbus received his sailing orders from Queen Isabella here.
Seville
Once considered a gateway to the New World, Seville was an important harbor during Spain’s conquest of the American continent. Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci and Ferdinand Magellan all set sail from its great river harbor to bring back a wealth of riches. The country’s fourth largest city was also a major stop on the so-called Silk Road, and had a flourishing silk production industry esteemed world-wide. Seville’s achievements extend to a long list: the popular flamenco dance is believed to have its origins here, it was a renowned tile producer from Roman times on, and it is home to the largest, oldest – and one of the few remaining active – bull fighting rings. One of its most unusual claims to fame is the Metropol Parasol, aka Las Setas or The Mushrooms of Seville. A plan to make the city a “fascinating cultural destination” in 2004 resulted in construction of the world’s largest wooden structure with a bonus of stunning views of the city from 85-feet above ground.
Click on the picture above on the right for a trip to see the many sides of Seville; click the video link below to enjoy the passion of flamenco.
Officially called the Metropol Parasol, but dubbed Las Setas (Spanish for Mushroom), this 500’x230’ undulating structure certainly fulfilled the criteria of a contest to rework a town square to demonstrate Seville’s “role as one of the world’s most fascinating cultural destination.” German architect Mayer H. won the competition in 2004 to design the innovative structure.
One intended effect, the architect said, was to create a sort-of Cathedral without walls. Mayer says he chose wood as the ultimate environmentally-friendly material: it’s renewable, avoids greenhouse emissions and locks in carbon.
Founded in 1870, this shop is crammed full of colorful ceramic pieces, each hand painted to proudly identify them coming from Triana.
Officially called the Metropol Parasol, but dubbed Las Setas (Spanish for Mushroom), this 500’x230’ undulating structure certainly fulfilled the criteria of a contest to rework a town square to demonstrate Seville’s “role as one of the world’s most fascinating cultural destination.” German architect Mayer H. won the competition in 2004 to design the innovative structure.
Cordoba
In 711, the Moors arrived in Cordoba and in time built the largest mosque in the world at the time at 260,000 square feet. Inside the mighty walls there's an orange and palm tree courtyard, a vast column hall and ... a cathedral.
Model shows the ultimate evolution of the Mezquita from the courtyard to addition of the cathedral. Image from: https://mezquita-catedraldecordoba.es/en/
Each May, the town holds the two-week festival and competition – for who has the most beautiful patio.
In 711, the Moors arrived in Cordoba and in time built the largest mosque in the world at the time at 260,000 square feet. Inside the mighty walls there's an orange and palm tree courtyard, a vast column hall and ... a cathedral.
Click on the picture above to expand a slideshow of Cordoba.
This city’s hour of greatest glory was from the 8th to 13th centuries. As the capital of the vast Moorish kingdom, Cordoba was at the time the world’s largest city, and the center of Western Islam. The Moors are long gone, but they left behind an architectural legacy that’s become the city’s most popular tourist destination – the Mezquita or Great Mosque. The 250,000-square-foot complex so impressed Christian reconquerers, led by King Fernand III in 1236 to take Spain back from the Moors, that they left the structure largely intact. Instead of tearing it all down, a cathedral was built in the middle of the mosque’s vast Column Hall, creating an extraordinary melding of culture in a “church-mosque.”
Today, Cordoba is a hub of activity in early May when it holds the annual Festival of the Patios. During a two-week period, about 70 homeowners open their enclosed patios, or courtyards, to the public as they compete for the honor of the nicest. UNESCO added the festival to its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity Sites in 2012.
Valencia
What do you do with a pesky river that keeps flooding the city? You divert the river and turn the riverbed into a five-mile greenway of orange trees, palms and pines; playing fields and walking paths; bizarre and beautiful structures – including an ultra-modern complex of art and science buildings.
Click on the pictures above to learn more about Valencia.
To enjoy the Spain experience at its fullest, attend a Savvy Sightseer - Spain: Passionate and Playful Travelogue at a library or community center near you! Check the Programs page for upcoming dates and locations.
