Wednesday 9 March 2016

Spain

Spain

Spain is a diverse country sharing the Iberian Peninsula with Portugal at the western end of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the country with the second-largest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, after Italy, and the largest number of World Heritage Cities.Spain is considered an exotic country in Europe due to its friendly inhabitants, relaxed lifestyle, its cuisine, vibrant nightlife, and world-famous folklore and festivities.
With great beaches, fun nightlife, many cultural regions and historic cities, Spain makes a great destination for any kind of trip. A country of large geographic and cultural diversity, Spain is a surprise to those who only know its reputation for great beach holidays. There is everything from lush meadows and snowy mountains to huge marshes and deserts in the south east. While summer is the peak season because of the beaches, those who wish to avoid the crowds should consider visiting in the winter as attractions such as the Alhambra in Granada and La Gran Mezquita in Cordoba will not be overcrowded.

Tourism
While Spain's top tourist attractions are undoubtedly its beaches, beyond the beaches, Spain has litterally thousands of heritage tourist attractions, spread throughout the country. Some are well-known and much visited, others - off the beaten track - are largely ignored by tourists passing by.These are the most visited tourist cities in Spain: but they are just the icing on the cake. Some twenty Spanish cities contain or are themselves listed as UNESCO world heritage sites.

Sites in Spain
                                                      La Sagrada Familia

The Sagrada Familia is a large Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, and one of Spain’s most visited tourist attractions. It’s a design by Antoni Gaudí, a Catalan architect who worked on this project for almost 40 years until his death in 1926. The construction of the basilica began in 1882 and still as yet not finished.La Sagrada Familia is Gaudi’s masterpiece. Both ethereal and unique in design, La Sagrada looks like it has walked straight off the set of Games of Thrones. Because Gaudi died before it was completed, it is still a work in progress. And what a work in progress it is, both from the outside and in. Prepare to join the millions of annual visitors and to be seduced by what has now firmly claimed its place as one of the top ten sights in Spain.

                  The Alhambra and Generalife Gardens, Granada

Part fortress, part palace and part garden the Alhambra is situated on a plateau overlooking the city of Granada in southern Spain. The palace was constructed in the 14th century by the Nasrid sultans. The Alhambra is now one of Spain’s major tourist attractions and many visitors come to Granada just to see the Alhambra.the Alhambra is the pinnacle of Moorish art and one of the best architectural sights in the whole of Europe. Overlooking the pretty hillside city of Granada, it’s easy to spend a day exploring this remarkable monument to Spain’s Muslim past. Its sheer beauty is simply astounding and it’s no wonder it ranks as one of the most incredible visitor attractions in Spain.
The Alhambra was originally established in 1238 by the founder of the Nasrid Dynasty, Muhammad Ibn al Ahmar. The Alhambra complex includes several buildings, towers, walls, gardens, and a mosque, but it's the indescribably intricate stone carvings, the delicate filigrees, the magnificent tile-lined ceilings, the graceful arches, and serene courtyards of the Nasrid palace that will haunt your dreams.


                                Mezquita of Cordoba  

Once the principal mosque of western Islam and still known as the Mezquita, Cordoba's mosque is one of the largest in the world and the finest achievement of Moorish architecture in Spain.The Mezquita (Spanish for “Mosque”) of Cordoba is a fascinating building famous for the forest of pillars and arches inside the main hall. The site was originally a Roman temple, then a Visigothic church, before the Umayyad Moors built the Mezquita. After the Spanish Reconquista a cathedral was built into the center of the large Moorish building.Building materials from Roman and Visigothic buildings were used in the construction, which began in 785, and by 1000, it had grown to its present dimensions, its prayer hall with no fewer than nineteen aisles.


                                  San Fermin Festival

The festival of San Fermin, or the Running of the Bulls as it’s more commonly known outside Spain, officially begins at midday on 6th July every year with the ‘Chupinazo’ which takes place on the balcony of the Casa Consistorial in Pamplona. Thousands of people congregate in the square awaiting the mayor’s official announcement that the fiestas have begun, a rocket is launched and the partying begins.The Running of the Bulls (in Spanish: encierro, from the verb encerrar, "to corral, to enclose") is a practice that involves running in front of a small group of cattle, typically six, of the toro bravo breed that have been let loose on a course of a sectioned-off subset of a town's streets.
The Encierro is the event at the heart of the Sanfermines and makes the fiesta a spectacle that would be unimaginable in any other place in the world. It was born from need: getting the bulls from outside the city into the bullring. The encierro takes place from July 7th to 14th and starts at the corral in Calle Santo Domingo when the clock on the church of San Cernin strikes eight o"clock in the morning. After the launching of two rockets, the bulls charge behind the runners for 825 metres, the distance between the corral and the bullring. The run usually lasts between three and four minutes although it has sometimes taken over ten minutes, especially if one of the bulls has been isolated from his companions.

                                           La Concha

Protected from strong winds by steep cliffs and islands, La Concha in San Sebastian is said by many to be one of the best city beaches in Europe, let alone Spain. Here you can go surfing, walk along the promenade in search of good restaurants and enjoy the beautiful views of the beach.
La Concha Renaissance San Juan Resort is a luxury resort located at the Condado oceanfront within the district of Santurce in San Juan, Puerto Rico.The hotel was first opened in 1958 during the Tropical Modernism Movement. The building was designed by Osvaldo Toro and Miguel Ferrer.In the summer of 2010, the hotel opened a $100 million addition called The Suites Tower which features an atrium style building with one and two bedroom suites featuring panoramic balconies with ocean views, kitchens, architectural lighting, and high-tech amenities. The Suite Tower also offers the Ocean Lounge, which features an adults-only pool and a dedicated concierge.[1] The hotel's Casino del Mar is located on the street level of the new tower.

                                          El Escariol

El Escorial is the ultimate symbol of Spain’s former royal glory. Lying 50 kilometres outside Madrid, this UNESCO-listed sixteenth century royal complex was built under the orders of King Philip II of Spain between 1563 and 1567.
El Escorial was the political center of the Spanish empire under King Philip II. Philip appointed Juan Bautista de Toledo as the architect in 1559 and together they designed El Escorial as a monument to Spain’s role as a center of the Christian world. Today it functions as a monastery, royal palace, museum, and school.Along with the vaulted and frescoed ceilings by Tibaldi in the rooms off the lower cloister, highlights of the monastery are the Panteón de los Reyes (the Baroque burial vault of the Spanish kings) and the library, a grand room also decorated by Tibaldi frescoes. In the palace, be sure to see the Bourbon Suite, where the state apartments of Charles IV are decorated with rare furnishings and 338 tapestries.

                                           Cuenca

Cuenca is a city in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha in central Spain. It is the capital of the province of Cuenca.Situated between Madrid and Valencia, Cuenca is a marvelous example of a medieval city, built on the steep sides of a mountain. The many “hanging houses” are built right up to the cliff edge, making Cuenca one of the most striking towns in Spain, a gem in the province of Castilla La Mancha.

            Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, Valencia

The City of Arts and Sciences (Valencian: Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències; Spanish: Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias) is an entertainment-based cultural and architectural complex in the city of Valencia, Spain. It is the most important modern tourist destination in the city of Valencia and one of the most relevant in Spain.
When Valencia diverted the course of the river that had repeatedly flooded the city, it was left with a broad, flat riverbed spanned by bridges. It was upon this clean palette that the brilliant Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava created a breathtaking ensemble of structures that have become a magnet for aficionados of contemporary architecture.

Climate
There are three different climate zones in Spain, due to its large size. Visitors can generally expect a Mediterranean climate, characterized by hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters. The vast central plateau, or Meseta, has a more continental influenced climate with hot, dry summers and cold winters.
There are three different climate zones in Spain, due to its large size. Visitors can generally expect a Mediterranean climate, characterized by hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters. The vast central plateau, or Meseta, has a more continental influenced climate with hot, dry summers and cold winters. Rain generally falls mostly in spring and autumn. The mountains surrounding the plateau have a higher rainfall and often experience heavy snowfalls in winter.

Transport
Spain has probably the best train network in Europe. It has a number of AVE high-speed train routes (secondly only to China in the world for high-speed rail connections) radiating out from Madrid, as well as some excellent scenic train journeys, particularly in the north of the country.
Madrid as well as Barcelona has a busy international airports, served by airlines from all over the world. Contact a travel agent for seasonal discounts and fares.
If you’re traveling from within the Union, you can get tickets for the Eurail to enter the country by land. Other international trains normally connect to Spain via France.

1 comments:

Aarya Sharma said...

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Best Places to Visit in Spain

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