If someone would ask me the reasons to visit Spain, then I would reply that the diversity of landscapes and culture. Each region of Spain has a different accent, different personal character, different kinds of music, food, and even other languages.
Do you want to explore some possibilities? Perhaps you will find some inspiring ideas in the following lines!
Firstly we should start with the mountains. Even though when foreigners visualize Spain they imagine hot weather and sunny landscapes, the true is that the country is full of mountains. There are more than forty peaks over 3000 meters.
The highest is Teide (1), in the Canary Islands (Íslas canarias), with 3718 meters tall.
The second one is Mulhacén (2). This peak with an Arabian name, 3479 meters, and is located in the beautiful province of Granada.
Because a big part of Spain is in upland, and because the entire mountain rages that there are, it is possible to find snow during 9 months a year.
But, for people who may prefer the beach landscape, Spain could be but a paradise! The Peninsula is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, and there is possiblity to find shores completely full of sand (perfect to play volleyball), or also places with stones and rocks to dive.
Here it is one that maybe you couldn’t expect. No, since it isn’t actually a beach, but a cape. Cabo de Finisterre (3) was considered by the Roman Empire the end of the World, the most western point of those times. Actually, “Finisterre” is the result of “Finis” (finish) plus “terre” (Earth).
La manga del mar menor (4) (translated as “The sandbar of the Minor Sea”) is a seaside spit in Murcia. The strip which separates the Mediterranean Sea from the Minor Sea is 22km long and 100 meters wide.
On the other hand, Almería (5) is one of the most attractive regions in Spain with really beautiful beaches. There you can find crystalline water, and amazing landscapes to walk, swim, dive or just sunbath on a towel!
Finishing with the landscapes, Desert of Tabernas (6), have to be mentioned since many people from abroad is expecting scourging heat in Spain and it, actually, is. It is located in Almería, in the south of Spain, and considered as the driest region of Europe. Wikipedia states; Almería is “region of Europe, with the continent's only true desert climate where annual rainfall reaches levels as low as 156 mm in coastal areas.”
Finishing with the landscapes, Desert of Tabernas (6), have to be mentioned since many people from abroad is expecting scourging heat in Spain and it, actually, is. It is located in Almería, in the south of Spain, and considered as the driest region of Europe. Wikipedia states; Almería is “region of Europe, with the continent's only true desert climate where annual rainfall reaches levels as low as 156 mm in coastal areas.”
One trivia related to this desert is that it was the landscape selected for many Western Movies, like “The good, the bad, and the ugly”. There is even a fake “cowboy” city from those times, which you can actually visit!
Spanish parties and traditional celebrations should also be mention in this article. In Every region, there are plenty of them, and the diversity of these parties and their unique particularities are making them well known in the international level, even if they are happening just in a little town.
It is the case of “La tomatina” (7), in Buñol, a town with around 10 thousand inhabitants. In this festival the participants are throwing tomatoes and getting involved in this tomato fight just for entertainment purposes. Every year people from many different countries are going there just to participate in the infamous battle.
It is the case of “La tomatina” (7), in Buñol, a town with around 10 thousand inhabitants. In this festival the participants are throwing tomatoes and getting involved in this tomato fight just for entertainment purposes. Every year people from many different countries are going there just to participate in the infamous battle.
Other traditional celebration is the “Fallas” (8), in Valencia. This one is actually huge combination of activities and parties like the following:
La Despertà: or the wake-up call, when groups of people play music in the street at 8am, while others are throwing large firecrackers, with the purpose of awake the inhabitants.
La Mascletà: it could be called by the Valencian people as the music of fire, since it is an explosive barrage of coordinated firecrackers and fireworks displays, taking place at 2pm every day during the festival (which means around three weeks daily).
La cremà: to close the whole celebration, on March 19, when constructions called “Falles” are burnt as huge bonfires. During this night the whole city seems to be on fire…
As to cities, there are for all tastes. The richness of monuments from the Roman Empire times, the Arabian times (Al-Andalus) or the Middle Ages buildings, palaces and castles, plus the modern creations, is a secure value for curious persons.
For example we can found a Roman theatre in Mérida (9) , which was built in the years 16 to 15 before Christ.
To finish this article, in Córdoba (10) it is possible to find a beautiful mosque from the eight century. It was built by the Visigoths as a catholic Basilica, but later was taken by the Muslims who conquered the Peninsula in 711 a.C.
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