25 Spain unique experiences

Many countries within the same country, perhaps this is how Spain can be defined. Within its borders, the variety of cultures, traditions, cities, towns, villages and nature, among other things, make it one of the most complete tourist destinations in the world. A country to live and enjoy like no other.

Before discovering it on your own, I invite you to take a virtual trip through 25 experiences that define very well what Spain is. And to make the trip more complete you can compare each place and experience with other countries in the world, as I tell you below. Let's start the journey.

For historical value, architecture and beauty, the Alhambra is one of the most important monuments in Spain. A monumental complex that includes palaces, gardens and fortresses that is considered the best example of Andalusian architecture and declared a World Heritage Site.

The picture it forms with the Sierra Nevada in the background is one of the most recognized Spanish postcards worldwide. To give you an idea of its characteristics and importance, the Alhambra can be compared to the Taj Mahal in India. An obligatory stop for anyone who wants to visit Spain.

Just as Paris has Notre Dame, Barcelona has the Sagrada Familia. Another national icon that began to be built in 1882 and is still under construction today. A fact that serves to give you an idea of the magnitude of the magnum opus of Catalan modernism and the famous architect Antoni Gaudi.

Tour the extravagant and varied shapes of its facades, dazzle with its interior and climb one of its high towers to contemplate Barcelona is a must if you travel to Barcelona. A unique building in Spain and in the world.

Goya, Velázquez, Picasso... The list of Spanish painters who have gone down in history is very long. And to see their best works it is not necessary to go all over the country. Fortunately, the greatest concentration of pictorial works is located in Madrid, in what is known as the art triangle.

An extension of a few square kilometers where you can visit the Prado Museum, the Reina Sofia Museum and the Thyssen Museum. Can you imagine having the Louvre Museum next to the Moma? Well, something like that is what you can find in the capital of Spain. A real luxury.

Gastronomy is one of the hallmarks of Spain. In any of its cities you can eat like nowhere else in the world. But it is in the city of San Sebastian where you can eat better thanks to its culture with the famous pintxos. These are the typical tapas of the Basque Country and thanks to them you can have a real feast with a lot of variety and at a good price.

Taking a gastronomic tour to taste the pintxos in the bars of San Sebastian is an experience comparable to walking through the food stalls of Tokyo or tasting the typical dishes of Italian Tuscany. Very few cities in the world conquer through the stomach, as San Sebastian does.

We can consider Teide as the Mount Fuji of Spain. However, both peaks are the highest in their respective countries, both are dormant volcanoes, both have a similar height of about 3700 meters and the views on both are incredible. And just like the Japanese Mount, climbing to the top becomes one of the must-do experiences if you visit the country.

The Teide is within a national park that is also a World Heritage Site and its natural landscape is one of the most diverse in terms of fauna and flora in the world. But not only that, Teide is one of the best places for astronomical observation on the planet. Few places are more complete as well as beautiful in Spain and in the world.

If you are a lover of architecture, going to Barcelona is like a pilgrimage. Beyond the Sagrada Familia, the city of Barcelona has many examples of unique architecture in the world. Casa Batlló, La Pedrera, Palau de la Música, Park Güell... The list of architectural gems is almost endless.

Most of them are modernist in style and with the signature of one of the most important architects in Spain, Antoni Gaudí. Taking an architectural tour of Barcelona is like admiring the works of Frank Lloyd Wright in Chicago. A gift for architecture enthusiasts.

Spain is also a country of traditions and folklore. And of these, flamenco dance is one of the most internationally recognized. A dance that exudes energy and emotion. In the culture of the country, it is as important as the Fados in Portugal.

Andalusia is the cradle of flamenco and in cities like Seville you can find the best shows. You can not live Spain without having seen live in one of the typical tablaos an authentic flamenco performance.

There are buildings like the Sydney Opera House that are admired and known all over the world for their spectacular and unique architecture. And Spain has one of those buildings that fall into this exclusive group, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. Frank Gehry was the architect who designed this iconic building that houses a museum of contemporary art.

Strolling along the estuary of Bilbao after eating some pintxos, discovering the shapes of the facade of the Guggenheim and seeing the sculptures that are exposed around it before entering the museum is one of the most recommended experiences in Bilbao and the whole country.

There are many ways to travel through Spain, but there is one that is more special than the rest, combining hiking along routes of extraordinary beauty with emotion and spirituality. We are talking about the Camino de Santiago. A pilgrimage to the city of Santiago and its cathedral where the remains of the apostle St. James rest.

The Camino de Santiago is actually made up of different routes through the north of Spain and those who have done it say that it is a unique experience that marks you as a person. You can walk it for the beauty of its surroundings or for its spiritual component. The Spanish version of the Inca trail that goes to the Machu Picchu ruins in Peru.

Valencia is home to one of the most amazing combinations of culture and architecture, the City of Arts and Sciences. A complex of modern buildings designed by the famous Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, it houses a science museum, a screening room, a large theater, the largest oceanographic aquarium in Europe and much more.

Few places offer so much cultural variety and do so in such a unique space. We can therefore consider the City of Arts and Sciences of Valencia as the Spanish Pompidou Center. Although it has nothing to envy.

Paris has Versailles, London has Buckingham Palace and Madrid has the Royal Palace. And it is the latter that stands out the most in terms of size. Almost twice as big as the other two, the Royal Palace of Madrid is the largest in Western Europe and one of the largest in the world. And in terms of historical and artistic heritage is not far behind.

Located in the heart of Madrid, no longer reside the kings as in the past, but instead you can visit and enjoy its magnitude and all the heritage that protect their rooms. A must on your list, no doubt.

Seville is a city of movies, literally. And is that its streets have been the scene of many renowned film shoots. Its beautiful Plaza de España, for example, has been the scene of mythical films such as Star Wars or Lawrence of Arabia. But beyond the cinematographic, walking around the city and seeing monuments such as the Giralda or its cathedral is a luxury.

From Seville itself you can make excursions of those that mark. One of them is to the Roman city of Italica, whose ruins are considered the Spanish Pompeii. And, in addition, here they also have their history with the cinema, since in these ruins several scenes of the mythical series Game of Thrones were filmed.

Did you know that a Spanish city holds the record for being the city with the most monuments declared World Heritage Sites? Well, it is Cordoba, which has its historic center, the Caliphate City of Medina Azahara, the Fiesta de los Patios Cordobeses and, of course, the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba within this recognition.

There are not many letters of introduction that are better than this to go to know a city that although smaller, by heritage, is comparable to cities like Istanbul.

Nature and mountain plans are also one of the most recommended experiences in Spain. Spain is one of the highest countries in Europe and has many mountain ranges. Sierra Nevada in Andalusia is one of the most important. After the Alps, it is the highest mountain massif in Western Europe and it is home to the Mulhacen peak , the highest in the Iberian Peninsula.

In Sierra Nevada you have a thousand routes to travel, ski resorts and an incredible biodiversity. A perfect place to enjoy nature in the heart of Andalusia and very easy to reach from the city of Granada.

Wine is one of Spain's great gastronomic treasures and the national wineries are acclaimed all over the world. It is in La Rioja where more and better quality wine is produced and, therefore, where more prestigious wineries can be visited.

If you want to get to know Spain through its gastronomy, making stops in the wineries of La Rioja for a tasting is a must.

Spain has hundreds of kilometers of beaches and some of them are considered among the best in the world. Of all of them, perhaps the most spectacular and unique are those of Ibiza. An island known worldwide for its atmosphere and its beaches, its coasts also have hidden coves of dreams.

To give you an idea, for the atmosphere and beauty of its beaches, it is compared to places like Mykonos or Bali. There is a lot to see in Ibiza. What are you waiting to visit it?

There are cities that make history come alive when you walk through their streets and in Spain Toledo is one of them. Over the centuries, Toledo has been inhabited by several different cultures. From the Romans to the Muslims, Jews and Christians. This great historical variety is reflected in its buildings and artistic heritage.

Its rich architecture is reminiscent of the medieval city of Fez in Morocco. If you are a lover of history, art and culture, few destinations are more complete than beautiful Toledo.

Spain's national sport par excellence is soccer. Madrid or Barça are two of the most prestigious clubs in the world of soccer, along with other great teams and some of the best stadiums in the world, all of which puts Spanish soccer at the top of the game. All of this puts Spanish soccer at the top of the sport.

So if your passion is soccer, few destinations compare to Spain. Visiting any of its stadiums and attending a La Liga match is the best way to unleash your passion.

One of the best summer destinations you can find in Spain is the Costa del Sol. Hundreds of kilometers of beaches that run along the southwest of Spain and offer visitors a wide range of tourist options. Sun, gastronomy, good beaches, charming towns and cities... An experience similar to visiting the Amalfi Coast in Italy

The city of Malaga is known as the capital of the Costa del Sol and is a perfect destination to stay and from there start touring the Costa del Sol. There are few better plans if you want to enjoy a summer at the beach.

Popular festivals are a fundamental part of the culture of Spain. There are many in various regions that are worthy of highlighting in this list, but for its particular character and international prestige, the San Fermin festival in Pamplona has a special place.

A festival in honor of San Fermín de Amiens that is held every year from July 6 to July 15 and consists, among other things, of the running of the bulls in which participants run in front of 6 bulls on a course of about 850 meters. A festival so unique and representative of Spanish culture that it is unlike any other in the world.

Pablo Picasso is one of the most important figures in the history of art and one of the most recognized Spaniards in the world. The founder of cubism was born in the city of Malaga and it is there where one of the two art galleries where the painter's works are exhibited in Spain is located. The well-known Picasso Museum in Malaga

The collection that houses the museum, with about 285 works, includes many pieces of the author donated by his descendants and that make a complete review of the life and work of Picasso. More than 750,000 people visit the museum each year. Of the museums dedicated to a single author is, along with the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, one of the most important in the world.

Can you imagine sailing around the Seychelles Islands without leaving the Spanish coast? Well, it is possible in Galicia. More specifically in the Vigo estuary, where the Cies Islands are located. An archipelago formed by three islands, whose beaches and unspoiled nature give it the status of national park and one of the most important and beautiful natural sites in Spain.

It is possible to sail its waters and visit them, but always under the protection and care required by such a valuable space with so much flora, fauna and underwater life to take care of. A Spanish Seychelles that you have to visit if you are a nature lover.

By way of summary I will tell you that the National Park of Ordesa and Monte Perdido is considered as the Spanish Yellowstone. This is due to the similarity of some of its mountains and the biodiversity of the park. A natural paradise for mountain lovers.

Located in the north of Spain, in the province of Huesca and in the heart of the Pyrenees, add it to your list of must-see places if mountains and nature are your passion.

Through Spain's heritage you can take a journey through almost the entire history of mankind. And what better than to start with prehistory in the cave of Altamira. Located in the region of Cantabria, the cave houses one of the best preserved examples of cave paintings and engravings in the world.

The cave was declared a World Heritage Site and currently cannot be visited in order to preserve its value. But that is not a problem, since a museum was built next to the original cave and a faithful replica of the cave was made so that no one can miss the marvelous prehistoric art.

Continuing through the extensive list of World Heritage Sites in Spain, we come to Avila. A city whose symbol and icon is the wall that surrounds its historic center. The wall of Avila, along with the old town and several churches, are part of what Unesco recognized as a World Heritage Site.

This is because the whole is one of the best preserved of its kind and visiting it is almost like traveling back to the Middle Ages. In addition, Avila is a city located very close to Madrid, so if you visit the capital, it is always advisable to get to know it.