The Reality of Bilbao: The City That Bet Everything on One Building and Won
In October 1997, on a derelict riverfront bend previously occupied by rusting port warehouses, rail sidings, and decaying timber yards, the city…
Regional Guide
Spain
Spain travel ideas and guides: top destinations, things to do and insider tips, with cheap flight deals to make your Spain adventure easy.
Cheap flights to Bilbao: the airport with no train, the coach that goes to San Sebastián instead, and the four doors into the Basque Country
Most travelers flying into northern Spain for the first time arrive with assumptions shaped by Madrid and Barcelona. They expect Mediterranean warmth,…
The Reality of Valencia: The City That Took Its River Out of the Middle
Stand on one of the old bridges in the middle of Valencia and look over the parapet. There is a river under…
Cheap flights to Valencia: the metro inside the terminal, the supplement that runs both ways, and the Sunday morning with no bus
Valencia's airport does the thing almost no airport does. The train station is not a shuttle ride away, not at the far…
Cheap flights to Madrid: one airport, two worlds inside it, and the month the city walks away
On one of my early transcontinental trips, I booked a self-transfer connection through Madrid-Barajas Airport, arriving on a legacy carrier from North…
The Reality of Granada: The Last Emirate of Europe
In January 1492, the keys to the city of Granada were handed over on a hill outside the walls, bringing the final…
Cheap flights to Barcelona: the T1/T2 split, the “Barcelona” airports that aren’t in Barcelona, and the train that beats the taxi queue
On a return trip from Barcelona, I took a taxi to the airport and asked the driver to head to Terminal 1,…
The Rhythm of Seville: Flamenco, Heat, and Andalusian History
Walk down a narrow, whitewashed lane in the Barrio Santa Cruz at dusk in early spring, and two things will hit you:…
The Best Beaches in Spain: A Guide to the Costas
With thousands of kilometres of Mediterranean and Atlantic coast, warm summer seas and a laid-back beach culture, Spain is one of Europe's…
Mallorca: A Guide to the Balearic Island
The largest of the Balearic Islands, Mallorca is far more than a package-holiday beach: think dramatic mountains, honey-stone hill towns, hidden coves…
Granada: A Guide to the Alhambra and the Heart of Andalusia
At the foot of the Sierra Nevada in southern Spain, Granada is Andalusia at its most intoxicating — a city of Moorish…
Barcelona: A Guide to Gaudi, the Old Town and the Sea
Barcelona has it all: Gaudí's dreamlike architecture, a medieval old town, buzzing markets and city beaches on the Mediterranean. Capital of Catalonia…