You will find a very similar photo gallery at Andrea's site.

Barcelona

We started our Spain tour in Barcelona, a great, lively city with many sights and places to enjoy. This is a small and fairly unrepresentative selection of pictures, as we had already been to Barcelona in 1996 and this time only visited selected places, mainly the famous Gaudí building which we had not seen in detail last time. Of course, we had to see how the Sagrada Familia church had evolved, too.

Andorra La Vella

Only a few hours drive from Barcelona, passing by Montserrat and La Seu d'Urgell, is the small state of Andorra, with its capital Andorra La Vella, in the heart of the Pyrenees, on which you get a pretty impressive view from the main road just before you enter the Túnel del Cadí. Andorra is best known for winter tourism and tax-free shopping, and you can tell that from the appearance of the capital, with many hotels and shops.

Around La Seu D'Urgell

Back in Spain, we were heading towards Zaragoza and passed by some quaint towns like this one, which might have been Adrall but we cannot remember for sure.

Lleida (Lérida)

We took a quick break in Lleida, chewed some cheese sandwiches and watched the storks, which had occupied every possible place on the roof of the cathedral.

Zaragoza

Zaragoza's Roman heritage can be seen from the remains of the Roman fortifications and other historic sights, including the amphitheatre and the baths, all in walking distance from the center. The most impressive place, though is the wide open Plaza de Pilar with the Basílica and the Cathedral, as well as secular buildings.

Bardenas Reales

The Bardenas Reales National Park, a desert with peculiar formations, offers great panoramic views. Watch our for the small sign if you don't want to miss the small road to the Bardenas Reals, or ask for a map and instructions at the friendly tourist office in Tudela, which is worth a visit by itself. There are several routes, some only accessible by bike or horse, the most popular being a round-trip around the military airbase so expect some low-flying aircrafts.

Pamplona (Iruña)

Pamplona is most famous for the Fiesta Feria de San Fermin, the annual celebrations with bull runs and other activities. At this time of the year it was rather quiet, except for the main square, Plaza de Castillo, which was undergoing major construction work for new underground parking facilities. There are lots of lively cafés, bars and restaurants, though. We did spot quite a few pilgrims, easily identified by the walking stick and the Santiago shell, reminding us that we were now more or less following the Camino de Santiago, although not exactly as pilgrims. From Pamplona we also made an afternoon excursion to some places further South, including the Monasterio de Leyre, the Embalse de Yesa, Santa María de Eunate and Puenta La Reina.

Leyre

Around Pamplona

Donostia (San Sebastián)

Combine white sandy beaches, blue sky, blue sea and incredible views from Monte Igueldo and Monte Urgull with the best tapas, or pixtos, and a glass of cidre - that's San Sebastián.

Bilbao

Bilbao has become most famous for the Guggenheim museum in recent years, and indeed this stunning piece of architecture is an impressive sight with fascinating views from every angle. Like many other places the Guggenheim museum does not permit photography inside the building, so we can only share the exterior with you. The visit to the museum was somewhat disappointing, both for the lack of a decent permantent exhibition - most of the available space was dedicated to two interesting exhibitions, one about the work of Alexander Calder, "Gravity and Grace" and one entitled"Jasper Johns to Jeff Koons: Four Decades of Art" - and for the uninviting atmosphere in the museum itself, mostly the result of over-active personnel watching and documenting every step, every move you make.

Burgos

Vega de Pas

Santander

Santillana del Mar

Santillana del Mar is a quaint little town that has mostly preserved its historic appearance, with buildings dating back to the 12th century, and souvenir shops selling local cakes, cheese and other products. The most famous sight of the area, however, is the Cueva de Altamira. While the original cave cannot be visited any longer, the Neocueva de Altamira, a precise reproduction of the famous prehistoric paintings, and the Altamira museum offer insights into early history of humans, with historic exhibits, well-designed and informative multilingual panels, and video and audio installations.

Comillas

Ribadasella

High mountains and beaches, and a dripstone cave with prehistoric paintaings, Ribadasella has it all. Altamira may be more famous, the Cueva de Tito Bustillo was a totally different experience though: a limited number of visitors can access the original cave here, feel the high humidity and low temperature while getting deeper into the mountain on a path surrounded by huge, impressive stalagtites and stalagmites, and eventually get to the hall with prehistoric paintings showing horses, deer and other hunted animals, painted by our ancestors some 14000 years ago. Photography was not permitted so you have to take our word for it.

Cangas de Onís

We were lucky to visit Cangas de Onis during Gran Fiesta de San Antonio, a week of celebrations and events.

Covadonga

Picos de Europa

If you think Spain is all about beaches, join us for a day trip to the Picos de Europa, with high mountains, beatiful lakes, and lazy cows taking a rest in the middle of the narrow road.

Lugo

Betanzos

La Coruña (A Coruña)

Fisterra (Finisterre)

Rías Bajas

Serres

Carnota

Lira

Santiago de Compostela

Ponferrada

Astorga

Camino de Santiago (St. James Way)

Léon

San Miguel de Escalada

Salamanca

Ávila

On the way to Madrid on our last day, we spent a few hours in Ávila, the highest city in Spain.

Links

If you want to know more about some of the places we have been to in Spain, check out the links below:

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank our colleagues and friends, who have greatly helped us with planning the trip and have contributed invaluable tips where to go and what to see, in alphabetic order: Albert Brunet, Alejandro Valiño, Alex Caballero, Almudena Sanz, Carlos Fernández, Eduardo Casas, Fernando Sendra-Gomez, Francisco J. Bellido, Jacint Sistare, Javier del Río Bocio, Julio Gomez, Monica P Arjona Reichard, Ramon P. Serna.





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