About.com Spain Travel

Train Now Most Popular Way to Get from Madrid to Barcelona

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:30:04 +0000

Spain's high-speed train service, the AVE, continues to go from strength to strength, with the announcement that it is now the most popular means of getting between Madrid and Barcelona, according to The Olive Press.

The achievement is particularly impressive considering this route is one of the most popular in the world. The Olive Press says it is the fifth busiest in the world, though I've seen several conflicting reports on this.

Why has the AVE become so popular? Because it is (usually) cheaper than flying (especially on short notice), always quicker (when taking into account check-in times), more convenient (train stations are more central than airports), affords a better view and is much more environmentally friendly. Need any more reasons?

New Guggenheim in the Basque Country?

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:19:51 +0000

There are rumors that developers in the Basque Country are planning to open a new branch of the famous Guggenheim museum, to complement the existing one in Bilbao.

Plans are afoot to build a new museum in Guernica, the former capital of the Basque country (and still seen as the cradle of the Basque culture). According to The Art Newspaper, "The concept is to create a modest-sized venue for temporary exhibitions and to commission artists' interventions in the landscape."

Guernica already receives a moderate amount of tourism, due to its painful place in European history as the site of a massive aerial bombardment from Hitler (on behalf of Spain's General Franco). It also has a very good peace museum to commemorate the atrocities. See Pictures from Guernica.

But politicians clearly hope the new museum could have the same effect it had on Bilbao, turning what was always referred to as an 'industrial backwater' into the vibrant center of tourism it is today.

If plans go ahead, would a case be made to return Picasso's famous painting to the town that inspired it? The artist's depiction of the bombing of Guernica is currently housed in the Reina Sofia in Madrid, but the Basques could make a good case for it to be moved.

See pictures of the Guggenheim in Bilbao.

New Guggenheim in the Basque Country? originally appeared on About.com Spain Travel on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 08:19:51.

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Best Things to Do in Seville

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:50:41 +0000

For visitors to Andalusia, Spain's most southerly region, Seville is an essential stop (along with Granada). Unfortunately, as everyone else has the same idea as you, the city can easily feel like a tourist trap.

But if you can get away from the cathedral and the Barrio de Santa Cruz, you'll find the city has a lot more to offer than just these sights. I've made this list of the 50 best things to do in and around Seville to help you get the most out of your trip:

50 Things to Do in and Around Seville

Best Things to Do in Seville originally appeared on About.com Spain Travel on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 09:50:41.

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Halloween in Madrid

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:11:30 +0000

For a country that so famously likes to party, the Spanish do not have a great tradition of celebrating Halloween. Trick or Treat hasn't caught on yet (thankfully, in my opinion) and most children will only be drawing pictures of witches and pumpkins if they study English at a language academy.

But one group of Spaniards that has embraced Halloween is Spain's student population. Because everybody likes to dress up, right? Out of these costume parties Halloween is slowly entering the Spanish consciousness.

A couple of Spanish-language blogs I read, Todo Madrid and Madrid Me Mata, have written about what to do this year for Halloween. The highlights include:

Semana Gotica de Madrid From October 24 to November 1 there is magic, concerts and other spectacles from the dark side.
Dark Hole Where better for Halloween night itself than a Gothic club? Dark Hole, (on c/Mesonero Romanos, near Gran Via) is the place to be if you want the real deal this Halloween.
Special Meal at the Amusement Parks The Warner Brothers' Park and the imaginatively Parque de los Atracciones are putting on a bit of a show to go with the feast.
Scary Monsters Visit Faunia and the Zoo Aquarium for some less-than-human scary goings-on.

Madrid Card or Madrid Cultura Card?

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:28:47 +0000

If you plan on visiting a lot of Madrid's sights, the Madrid Card is a well established discount scheme that will get you into most of the city's attractions free of charge. It can be a little expensive, so for the past couple of years I've had a page on my site explaining if it was really worth it. And was it? Sometimes, but you had to cram in a lot of activities to make it worthwhile.

There has also been a cheaper alternative around for some time: the Madrid Cultura Card. But it is only this week that I had a chance to have a close look at the difference. Now that I have, I have re-evaluated my position on the Madrid Card. It is actually rarely good value for money to get it - you're much better off with the Madrid Cultura Card. But before you rush out and buy it, take a look at this page on the Madrid Card to see the difference between the two cards.

World's Most Expensive Cities

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:21:59 +0000

A study to find the world's most expensive cities has come to my attention from the About.com Guide to Budget Travel. It has found that Spain fares much better than most of Western Europe in terms of cost of living.

In the study, Barcelona was the highest placed Spanish city, coming in at 22nd, with Madrid in 26th.

More expensive European metropolises included cities in Norway, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Austria, France, Dublin, Germany, Luxembourg, Sweden, Italy, Belgium, Holland and the UK. In other words, pretty much every country in Western Europe (apart from Portugal).

This study should be taken with a slight pinch of salt. The notion of 'expensive city' considers local salaries compared to local prices. The prices of things in the touristy part of town exist in their own bubble of an economy.

But what this does say is that if you can venture outside of the touristy center, Madrid and Barcelona offer you more than a lot of cities in Europe. In no other leading Western European city will you find so many locals eating and drinking in the bars and restaurants, because nowhere else can they afford it so. And locals in bars and restaurants mean 'authentic'. While your friends are in other western European capitals eating with other tourists in restaurants aimed at tourists because the locals can't afford them, you can be eating with other Spaniards, sampling the dishes they like to eat every day. You just have to venture out a little.

If you're visiting Madrid, here's five restaurants, all priced at a local-friendly 10 euros (or thereabouts): Best Restaurants in Madrid

World's Most Expensive Cities originally appeared on About.com Spain Travel on Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 at 12:21:59.

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Visiting Barcelona - on Your Bike! (Or Trike, or Segway...)

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 13:45:57 +0000

Visiting Barcelona? You'll need a way to get around. But why stick to the usual taxis and metros? There are loads of modes of transport in Barcelona - from the extremely practical to the downright bizarre.

For guided tours, you have your usual walking tours and hop-on-hop-off sightseeing buses. But what about seeing Barcelona by bike, segway, trike, electric go-cart, scooter or even penny farthing!? You can find them all here: Sightseeing Tours of Barcelona.

But these are only introductory tours. How should you get around the rest of the time? It's back to more orthodox transport now, with walking your best bet. The old town in particular is best explored on foot. After that, the metro is your best bet. Barcelona's subway system is excellent - much cheaper than taking taxis (and often quicker too). Read more about the Barcelona metro.

Alternatively, you could rent a bicycle. Unfortunately, Barcelona doesn't allow people from outside the city to use their bike sharing scheme bicing (though Seville let's us use theirs). I understand it's to stop the local bike rental companies going out of business, which is the most cynical example of protectionism I've heard from the travel industry. But there are plenty of places where you can rent a bicycle.

One form of transport I wouldn't recommend for Barcelona is the car. Barcelona's not big enough to warrant it and by the time you've found a parking space, it would have been quicker to walk.

And then what about for getting out of the city? Then a car could indeed come in handy. But even then, the train is often going to be cheaper and quicker. Just be careful to get the right train as there are a few different train companies. Read more:

Barcelona Trains
Rent a Car in Spain

Put simply, you're spoiled for choice, aren't you?

Cheap Restaurants in Madrid

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:13:30 +0000

What can you get for ten euros? Not a lot. But in Spain, ten euros can get you a very good meal. And we're not talking about cramming yourself into a spit-and-sawdust, standing-room-only bar on the outskirts of town. No, for ten euros you can have a three-course meal, with wine, in a very nice setting. And, in Madrid at least (less so in Barcelona) you don't even have to stray from the center.

The secret to a well-priced meal in Spain is to eat at lunch time. Most Spanish restaurants offer a 'menu del dia', a lunchtime menu that works out a lot cheaper than buying 'de la carta'. Read more about what to expect with a menu del dia.

Most menus del dia in Madrid cost between 8 euros and 13 euros - but the price usually has nothing to do with the quality of the food. When it comes to selecting your restaurant, it pays to have a recommendation or two.

On my recent trip to Madrid I sampled about 15 of these menus del dia and selected five restaurants you mustn't miss. Each of these restaurants serves a three course meal with a drink for approximately 10 euros. When you see what you get for your money, you'll be surprised you didn't pay double:

Best Restaurants in Madrid

Prefer to find your own hidden gems? These pages will help you find your own little favorite:

How to Spot a Good Restaurant in Spain A checklist to help you find a good restaurant in Spain.
Madrid Restaurants Madrid restaurants tend to congregate on a few main streets. Find out where they are.

Cheap Restaurants in Madrid originally appeared on About.com Spain Travel on Thursday, October 15th, 2009 at 09:13:30.

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Why Hate Ryanair?

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:07:42 +0000

Last night the BBC broadcast 'Why Hate Ryanair?', a special report from their respected Panorama current affairs show that was intended to be a hard-hitting expose on the practices of Ryanair. The ensuing farcical showdown between Britain's national broadcaster and the self-styled world's favorite airline was even worse than the absurd confrontation between Ryanair and British Airways a few months back. In each case, both sides came off badly.

Support for Ryanair was actually quite high after Panorama's amateurish report. But rather than ride this wave, Ryanair responded in its usual antagonistic manner, implying the BBC had used false witnesses. (While it is true that the BBC used actors, they were to protect the identities of the interviewees; Ryanair implies something else.) I'd like to see the BBC sue Ryanair for such a libelous comment. Other ridiculous comments include the claim that "three times more passengers prefer Ryanair [to British Airways]" (a stat that can only be supported by customer satisfaction surveys, not ticket sales) and calling Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary "saintly".

I agree that the expos� was wide of the mark with many of its accusations. But just because the program was weak, doesn't mean Ryanair's critics are wrong.

So, as the Panorama program was so inadequate, I have written ten answers to the question "Why Hate Ryanair?" (link at the end of the article)

Now, we know Ryanair staff read this blog. If you remember, they were the ones who got in touch with me and kindly offered to answer my Questions to Ryanair, which I printed in their entirely, a luxury few media outlets would afford the airline. So, considering Ryanair found 11 lies in the BBC documentary, I invite Ryanair to similarly pick holes in the ten points I raise here:

Why Hate Ryanair? - What the BBC forgot to tell you.

Why Hate Ryanair? originally appeared on About.com Spain Travel on Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 at 15:07:42.

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Exploring Spain from Madrid

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 16:01:02 +0000

Visiting Madrid? Wondering which other cities you can visit from the capital? Well, how much time do you have? Madrid's central location and good transport connections means no city or region is off limits when visiting Spain's biggest city.

Whether you want to take a train to a particular city you've always been interested in, feel like exploring a region all by yourself or would like the comfort and expert guidance that only a guided tour can offer, there'll be something for you in the following links.

If you have a few days to spare, you could consider one of these Spain Tours from Madrid. Organized in order of duration (one to five days), one of them should suit you.

If you'd prefer to prepare your own trip, you might want to take a look at these Madrid Day Trips, which include details of where to go, what to do and how to get there under your own steam.

For trips a bit further away, this page on How to Get from Madrid to... has detailed transport information on many cities in Spain.

Finally, these Suggested Itineraries are a good starting point if you plan on a bit of a road trip around the country.

So regardless of your time, budget and preferred method of travel, there should be something here for any visitor to Madrid.

Exploring Spain from Madrid originally appeared on About.com Spain Travel on Friday, October 9th, 2009 at 16:01:02.

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