Spain sightseeing. Travel guide - attractions, sights, nature and touristic places

Spain is famous not only for its rich historic heritage, but also for great choice of entertainment and unparalleled atmosphere of hospitality. Buildings constructed yet during the Roman Empire times are considered the main architectural landmarks of the country. In big cities of Spain travelers will always find museums of history and archaeology, art galleries and exhibition halls.

Casa Mila, La Pedrera, which is located in Barcelona, might be the most famous architectural place of interest in the country. The name of the building can be literally translated as "the stone cave". The building was constructed according to the project of Gaudi and was controlled by the famous architect. It's worth mentioning that all works of Gaudi are distinguished by original and unusual design. According to initial project, Casa Mila La Pedrera was intended to be made solely from curvilinear elements and slanting partitions, but later the architect changed his original thoughts and built a unique house that has absolutely no load-bearing walls. This is the only building in the country, where even balconies have an important construction rather than decorative role.

The Royal Palace remains the main landmark of Madrid. Nowadays, the palace is used to host most important meetings and official ceremonies. An ancient Moorish castle stood on the site of the modern Royal Palace until 1755. In the middle of the 18th century the castle lost its strategic importance, and as it was built in a very beautiful place it was decided to demolish it and build a luxury palace instead. Currently, this magnificent building has more than 2,000 rooms halls that hold precious collections of old items - chandeliers, clocks, furniture, musical instruments, weapons and artworks. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

The city of Seville is a very interesting place from a historic point of view. The city is also rich in numerous historic and cultural landmarks. Santa Maria Cathedral is worth a separate mention. The cathedral is a beautiful example of architecture of the 15th century. Construction of the sanctuary started in 1402 and lasted almost a hundred years. The decoration of the facade and creation of frescoes inside the church took the majority of time. Travelers are welcome to see the result of such hard work. In the cathedral they will see beautiful statues, grandiose main altar and the Royal Chapel decorated with gilding and elegant drawings. The cathedral is built on a site of an ancient mosque, and it's still possible to see the remains of the original building. It's a small square named Orange Yard, which is surrounded by a big park and is perfect for walks on a hot day.

History and Entertainment

The first settlements on the territory of Spain date back to the 3rd century BC. According to scientists, the Tartessos civilization originated here and had been developing for several hundred years. Later, the territory was occupied by Iberian tribes and then Celts. The ancient country saw the times of the Carthaginian, Greek and Roman colonization. In the 5th century, it was raided by barbarians.

The culture of the country was seriously influenced by the Byzantium Empire and the Muslim domination that took place at the beginning of the 8th century. The 16th century is considered as “golden” for Spain. At that time, the country flourished from cultural, military, trading and political points of view. The economic decline started in the 17th century followed by a series of wars and political feuds. After undergoing several revolutions and civil wars, Spain entered the stage of the stable and effective development.

One of the main tourist directions for the country is beach tourism. In Spain, there are beaches of different types including exotic ones covered with black volcanic sand. The most popular resort areas here are Catalonia and Andalusia. There are also quite big cities, as well as tiny villages. In total, guests in Spain can have a great time on over 500 beaches, most of which were marked with the Blue Flag for high environmental indicators.

Spanish fabulous festivals are no less attractive than enchanting beaches. The most famous and most unusual festival is La Tomatina. On these days, local residents and tourists throw tomatoes to each other and streets of some cities turn into rivers of tomato paste. During the year, different religious holidays dedicated to saint patrons are celebrated in each Spanish city. Such festivals imply a lot of interesting entertainments, from festive processions in city streets to theatrical performances in the open air.

Modern Spain has a lot of unusual symbols. For example, bullfighting, an attitude towards which remains quite controversial. Or wonderful paella, which gourmets from all parts of the worlds want to taste. Also, delicious Spanish wine is now appreciated around the world. Spanish city tours will let you learn about a lot of astonishing secrets of this awesome country.