This page gives you basic information to help you plan your trip to Spain and stories from my Spain travel blog. If you’d like to go straight to the stories, click on ‘Latest Spain Posts’ on the image below.
Sunshine, siestas, flamenco, festivals, tapas, Cava and the wild coastal scenery of rugged Costa Brava. These are just a few of many reasons why my memories of traveling in Spain are some of my happiest travel memories. It’s hard not to fall in love with the hipster vibe of Barcelona and in particular the arty neighborhood of Gracia, which is without a doubt, my favorite part of the city. There’s so much to discover and eat your way around in the city- from the best chocolate in Barcelona to traditional Catalan food in Gracia.
A few hours’ away, the beautiful Costa Brava is dotted with picture-perfect beaches, quiet culture-rich medieval towns like Girona and lovely hikes winding through vineyards and forests, and offering sweeping views of the coast. If you’re lucky, you might find yourself stumbling upon one during a festival like I did in Palafrugell during Flors i Violes. If you’re willing to get off-the-beaten-path and make your way a bit further up along the coast, the natural park of Cap De Creus rewards you with views that are nature’s way of showing off.
For the cities: Spain is easy-going when it comes to fashion and you can pretty much dress how you like. Women are in dresses, jeans, shorts… whatever really and the same goes for men. Be as casual, fashionable, bohemian, hipster or alternative as you usually are and you’ll blend right in.
For the outdoors: Carry appropriate clothing for hikes in the countrysides and cool, breezy fabrics for beach towns such as Tossa De Mar. If you plan on hiking, bring good hiking shoes, layers (jackets, wind-cheaters etc.) that you can take off or put on while hiking.
Spanish, Catalan, Valencian, Basque, Galician, Aranese, Asturian, Aragonese, Fala, Arabic and some English.
Chances are in a particular region, you’ll hear just as much, if not more of a regional language such as Catalan or Basque than Spanish. Even in Barcelona, you’ll hear plenty of Catalan so don’t be surprised when what you hear isn’t exactly what you expected. To know more about languages spoken in Spain, check out this useful post.
Popular hotels, hostels and other accommodation can get booked up quickly during high season, so it’s advisable to book in advance if you’re traveling to cities such as Barcelona or Madrid or towns such as Toledo. In the low season, it’s easy to find accommodation with little advance planning. Train and bus travel between cities and towns is easy and reliable and tickets can be purchased online in advance.
In Barcelona, you need to be careful (not paranoid) about pickpockets. They’re crafty and can pick wallets off open purses, bags and back pockets, especially if you’re engrossed in watching a street show on La Rambla or an exhibit in a museum. They’re not violent but very skilled. It’s best to keep your purse close to your body in front of you (use cross-body bags with zips) and backpacks strapped in front of you rather than behind in busy areas and the Metro.
Like everyone, I’d heard about Swiss and Belgian chocolate, often in contest for the best chocolate in the world, but not a thing about…
