First time visitors to Spain commonly wonder how and why they have not visited this stunning country sooner. Visitors from all over the world have been enjoying the wonders of this country from the food, wine, renting dreamy villas in Spain and taking in so much architecture.
This Iberian nation dazzles with Moorish, Romanesque and Gothic architecture. The food and wine are outstanding and getting around is easy to navigate, even for first time international travelers. A lot of people take ease in choosing Spain when they are starting out on their worldwide wanderings. A large percent of the population can understand at least some English or combination of “Spanglish.”
So rest any worries you have. Whether you are an experienced traveler or newbie, here are some reasons why Spain makes an excellent vacation destination.
The Food and Wine
How can one even start thinking about Spain without first talking about its world class food and wine scene? If you are a wine lover or perhaps you are not sure if you would enjoy wine, then Spain is the place to find out. Here you can enjoy fine wine at a great price and the Spaniard’s love their wine. In the winter they drink wine to stay warm and in the summer they drink wine to stay cool. They have wine with lunch, wine with dinner and wine before they go to bed. So you can’t really go wrong sipping away on wine and trying as many as you can.
On the food scene, the restaurants range from excellent street style food to top class. In 2013 El Cellar de Can Roch won the prestigious award of best restaurant in the world. The combination of bread, cheese, wine and other tasty wonders make this reason enough to travel to Spain.
The History
It goes without saying that Spain has some history to it. In combination with having one of the best restaurants in the world it also is home to the oldest restaurant in the world. Casa Botin is the world’s oldest continuous running restaurant having been in business since 1725. Now that is impressive. Another interesting tidbit to this restaurant is that the painter Goya used to be a waiter here. If you go, definitely try the pig roast.
Some people are surprised to learn that Spain has Egyptian temples in the center of Madrid. However no, the Egyptians didn’t live there. They did however gift Spain the Temple of Debod in 1968. Then there is the Roman ruins. The Roman Theater in Merida is still used for performances to this day. Many beautiful and ornate cathedrals dot the country and the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is a place of international pilgrimage. Spain also boasts plenty of Mosques and some date back 1000 years. The Mezquita in Cordoba is unique in all of Europe and has been a world heritage site since 1984.
The Accommodation
What could be dreamier than saying you went away to Europe to stay in a luxury Spanish villa? That is exactly what plenty of blissfully contented visitors do. With all the history, architecture and culture, Spain is a destination to steer away from traditional hotel bookings and rent your own villa. You can be overlooking the ocean and listening to those crashing waves. Or you can be tucked up into the hillside nestled between grooves of ancient trees. By doing so you will still have all the amenities of home yet a touch of class to remind yourself that you are in fact on vacation. For those looking to leave home, yet still have a staycation, this is a particularly great option. Those traveling in groups or as a family can also find this as a cost effective way to stay somewhere nice that still has plenty of conveniences.
The Mediterranean Coast is Paradise
They say pictures don’t lie and that is certainly true of any of the dreamy pictures you may have seen of the Mediterranean Coast. Long, sandy beaches stretch for miles intermingled with cozy coves. Plus factor in that Spain receives about 300 days of sun a year and chances are pretty good you’ll be able to enjoy basking along those shores. In general, Spain has a very agreeable climate with pleasantly warm weather and lots of sun.
Along these coast lines stretch 5000 miles of beaches. Spain has approximately 577 beaches that have been awarded Blue Flag Status. This means not only does that guarantee a high standard of water quality, but most of have areas with access for people with disabilities. That bumps Spain to the tops of global ranking for having accessible beaches.
Art
Need we say more? Spain is home to some of the most famous painters of all time. Here you can take a tour and see Salvador Dali’s house and marvel at how he lived. You can see the birthplace of Pablo Picasso who was born in Malaga. Here there is a museum with over some 300 of his works. Also ranking as one of the best in the world, the Frank Gehry Gallery is a must see. The whole experience of experiencing the Guggenheim Bilbao is meant to help the viewers enjoy the art from both the inside and out and deepen your questioning of what you see around you. Even if you don’t step foot in a single museum, just walking around Spain will delight the artist’s senses.
As you narrow down your search of what seems to be like the next best destination to go to, make sure Spain is at the top of that list.
