Spain Travel

The traditional hospitality of the Spanish people, their capacity of making visitors welcome, and the improvement of communications draw an increasing stream of tourists to Spain every year. These visitors are attracted by the innumerable natural beauties and works of art of this great country.

The sea resorts of the Cantabrian and Basque coasts, the subtropical coasts of the Costa Brava and the Levant, the green, fertile vegas and the deep Pyrenean valleys are examples of contrasting natural attractions.There are also the artistic attractions of ancient Roman monuments and outstanding examples of Moorish and Baroque art.

Seville, Cordoba and Toledo are among the classic examples, but other beautiful towns suddenly come into view as one travels along the roads of Spain. Religious festivals and, bullfights form another great tourist attraction.

The influx of foreign tourists to Spain rose to over 50 millions in 2005. The majority were from France, Great Britain, the United States, Portugal, Germany, Belgium,Italy,India and Japan. It is in the summer months, particularly July and August, that the greatest influx occurs.

Spain’s landlocked capital spreads over a high windswept plateau like wine spilled on aged linen. To the north and west are mountains tall enough to carry snow on their peaks until spring, and rivers rise among them to curl around the city to the west and south.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

Americans, Canadian, and New Zealand citizens require only a valid passport for stays up to three months. Citizens of the EU require only an identify card. Australians must have a visa.

TIMING YOUR TRIP

A hoary goes that MADRILEFIOS SUFFER nine months of winter and three months of hell. The reality is less extreme. Humidity is usually low, and the hot weeks are form mid-June through August. The most agreeable conditions are during May and early June and the September into October. From November to April the weather is changeable but can be quite acceptable, with high temperatures in the 50s, blue skies, and warm sun. Snow and frost are rare in the city.

ARRIVING

Marble floors give Madrid Barajas international airport a grand air, but the best thing about it is its closeness to the city: 16 kilometers (10 miles), The nearby national terminal serves flights to and from such cities as Barcelona, Seville, and Malaga. Buses to Madrid are fast and cheap; taxis a little faster, and not nearly as cheap. Duty free shops at Barajas are soso. For anything except liquor and cigarettes, you'll do better in Madrid.Trains from France and points in the north east arrive at Chamfrains station. The south of Spain is served by the Chamasrtin and Arch stations and the Principe pio (also called Norte) station.All these stations are on the metro for easy across to anywhere in the city. Non Spanish speakers however will probably prefer to have a travel agency make reservation and obtain tickets.

Many first time visitors are surprised by Madrid’s energy and sophistication. Yet scratch the high-tech surface and the core of tradition runs deep and strong. Tapas, zaruela, flamenco and churros continue to be enduring passions among a populace that mange to enjoy the best the new order and an old world still recalled.

RESTAURANTS

There’s no shortage of hotels in Madrid, and it’s possible to eat fairly well for relatively low cost. In the old part of the city around the Puerto del sol and plaza Mayor the selection of cafeterias offering decent food is enormous. A title to the east, in the area bounded by Calle de las Huertas, Carr era de San Jeronimo, Calle de Leon, Calle de Echegaray, and Ventura de la Vega, are dozens lively bars and cafeterias. Head north to Calle de Hartzenbusch and Cardinals Cisneros and the surrounding few blocks for scads of inexpensive restaurant and bars serving everything from tortillas and tapas to Italian and German cuisine. In sprain, by the way, a cafeteria is an informal, inexpensive sit-down restaurant with table service. What Americans call a cafeteria is known as an autoservicio here.

During recent years a number of foreign restaurants have open in Madrid. Moroccan, French, German, Chinese, Greek, Japanese, and American foods are seen with ever-greater regularly. Spaniards are slow to accept other cuisines however, partly because their own or so varied and extensive. And, apart from a few of their tapas, they don’t like spicy-hot dishes. That puts a serious crimp in the efforts of chefs trying for authority in Szechjuan, human, Tex-Mex, Indian, and Mexican dishes who find they must tone down their recipes more than they had like. Of the various foreign cuisines, the one best reproduced is Italian. Pastas and pizzas are nearly as common in Madrid as in Chicago and New York and Spanish cooks have started to learn the meaning of al dente. This is why the relatively few foreign restaurants suggested below are primarily Italian.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Madrid’s Festival of San Isodro is celebrated during the middle weeks of May with concerts, neighborhood fairs, craft shows, and daily bullfights. Summer and fall have their seasonal festivals, Los Veranos de la Villa and Festival de Otono with myriad concerts and shows to suit all tastes. The international Jazz Festival in November attracts some of the world’s best players.

Religious festivals are celebrated with parades and pageantry, particularly the procession of the Three kings on January 5, Carnivals before Lent, and the solemn procession of the penitents during Holy Week.

Spain is one of the world's greatest producers of wines and they remain one of the world's great bargains, given their quality. They are usually stronger and fuller bodied than wines from other countries, because Spain enjoys more sun and heat than, say, its rival French producers in Bor deaux and Burgundy. Spain invented sherry Uerez), now imitated by other wine producing countries. It makes a good, palate clearing aperitif, and in Spain is usually served chilled. Again, though, be aware that sherry is high in alcoholic content.

Many Spanish cities trace their origin to the early peoples that dominated the Mediterranean basin. Many were founded in the roman period and others have characteristics derived from the period of Moorish. Some no less remarkable cities have resulted from the Recon quest that began in the north and lid the basis for the unification is commemorated in the typically Spanish gander of Madrid.

Industrial development during the last century caused certain cities to grow very quickly and to take on the typical appearance of great modern commercial and industrial centers (for instance, Bilbo and Barcelona). Other cities have derived new life and functions from newly developed means of communications.