Visiting Spain.

[nothumb]

Thinking I might take a trip to Spain late summmer / early fall. Just been musing on things to do, places to go etc. Where should I go, how can I go CHEAP, what should I see, etc?

I'm pretty poor, but willing to spend some money to enjoy some things, especially good food. Will sleep anywhere.

I saw a lot of people on this board have been to Spain and loved it. So any help appreciated. FWIW I speak decent Spanish but I sound like a Mexican.

NT

[jesusarenque]

I am going to be in Madrid this summer. I have lived in Spain before, mostly in Madrid and Segovia (a small city about an hour from Madrid). You could easily spend all of your time in and around Madrid and have a great time and not spend much money. Segovia, Toledo, Salamanca, and Cuenca are all short distances from Madrid. If you want to travel a little more, I recommend heading south to Andalucia and seeing Granada, Cordoba, and Sevilla. If you have any specific questions let me know. I will be there from at least May 12-June 27, possibly longer.

[nothumb]

Thanks, I was looking at that area along with others... I'd like to see a few parts of the country but probably spend most of my time in one place, meeting people and absorbing things. Probably going for about 1.5-2 weeks.

I was most interested in resources for hostels, places to stay and eat cheap, etc. Also any particular things I should see, old stuff, new stuff, whatever.

NT

[Boris]

It won't matter if you sound like a Mexican. They will think you're cool as hell if you make even a modest attempt at speaking Spanish. Since you know the language I would get off the beaten path and try to hang with the locals. Your dollar will also go alot farther outside the big city. I had a blast in Madrid and Salamanca, just not with anybody that lived there.

[jesusarenque]

Just going by what you have said so far, Segovia is a must. You can eat/drink there for relatively nothing, and there are an abundance of hostals right in the middle of everything that aren't very expensive. I don't know what price range you are talking about, but I usually stay in the Hostal Gonzalo in Madrid when I visit and don't stay with friends. It is about two blocks from the Prado and a short walk from the plaza mayor. It runs about 25 euros a night for a single. It's a really nice, family-run place. I know the owners and they are great.

[Boris]

The Reigne Sofia (Sp?) museum in Madrid is cool. It's the modern art museum and you can see Geurnica, which by itself is worth the price of admission. The Prado is OK but after the 100th oil painting of a bleeding Jesus it starts to get old. Toledo is a good daytrip.

[jesusarenque]

[ QUOTE ]
The Reigne Sofia (Sp?) museum in Madrid is cool. It's the modern art museum and you can see Geurnica, which by itself is worth the price of admission. The Prado is OK but after the 100th oil painting of a bleeding Jesus it starts to get old. Toledo is a good daytrip.

[/ QUOTE ]

The Prado is the finest art museum in the world.

[jdl22]

Spain is an amazing country. What are you looking to do? If you want museums go to Madrid. The Reina Sofia is excellent as is of course the Prado. Also Barcelona has some good museums like the Picasso museum, the Dali museum just out of town. The Gaudi stuff in Barcelona is unbelievable, especially the parc guell. The park itself is incredible and you get an excellent view of the city.

I prefer the South. It's older and more Spanish (ie when you think of Spain the things you tend to think of are bigger in Andalucia than elsewhere). My favorite city in the world is Sevilla. Other great cities/towns to check out in the south are Jaen, Jerez de la frontera (there are loads of sherry bodegas, sherry is named from this town much like champagne comes frmo whatever region in france), Cordoba which features an unbelievable old mosque and of course Granada where the Alhambra is located.

man, I gotta get back there.

[jdl22]

Here are some pics I googled:
parc guell
http://economads.com/evolulog/20010306-20010402/18_4_parc-guell.jpg
Jaen cathedral with olive groves in backround
http://www.design-up.ch/andaluz/img/provinzen/jaen/photos/jaen.jpg
Alhambra in Granada
http://www.lib.umd.edu/PAL/YALE/alhambra.jpg
Cathedral in Sevilla
http://www.sol.com/images/Sevilla/Monumentos/Sevilla-La%20Catedral01.jpg
plaza de espana in Sevilla
http://www.supertramp.at/photos/DonQuijoteSevilla1.JPG
inside mosque in cordoba
http://www.andalusien-individuell.de/Cordoba%20Mezquita.jpg

[nothumb]

Wow, thanks for the replies. Those are some awesome pics.

I'm really more interested myself in some daytime walks/tours of interesting places, and food/nightlife. I would definitely go to museums and the like as well, but my main interests are being in the places with everyone else, just kind of being immersed.

So I will be studying some maps and getting back with more questions. This is sort of a bump as well for any who might have missed this - and one other question: what is my best bet on getting place to place? I was figuring on train or bus, then mostly by foot or public transport within the cities.

NT

[sfer]

Crap. I had to cancel a trip to Majorca and Barcelona with friends in May because of a family obligation. Reading this reminded me of that.

[jesusarenque]

[ QUOTE ]
Wow, thanks for the replies. Those are some awesome pics.

I'm really more interested myself in some daytime walks/tours of interesting places, and food/nightlife. I would definitely go to museums and the like as well, but my main interests are being in the places with everyone else, just kind of being immersed.

So I will be studying some maps and getting back with more questions. This is sort of a bump as well for any who might have missed this - and one other question: what is my best bet on getting place to place? I was figuring on train or bus, then mostly by foot or public transport within the cities.

NT

[/ QUOTE ]

Buses are much cheaper than trains for most destinations, and sometimes even faster getting from place to place. Getting around in Spain is not difficult.

[daveymck]

If you want to Party/Beach and have the culture option then Ibiza is the place to be. Huge mix of clubs/nightlife (but mainly dance type stuff) but away from the resorts inland a lot of culture.