Spain

 

Spain is a storied country of stone castles, snowcapped mountains, vast monuments, and sophisticated cities, all of which have made it a favored travel destination. The country is geographically and culturally diverse. Its heartland is the Meseta, a broad central plateau half a mile above sea level. Much of the region is traditionally given over to cattle ranching and grain production; it was in this rural setting that Miguel de Cervantes’s Don Quixote tilted at the tall windmills that still dot the landscape in several places. Spain is bordered to the west by Portugal; to the northeast, it borders France, from which it is separated by the tiny principality of Andorra and by the great wall of the Pyrenees Mountains.

 

The many and varied cultures that have gone into the making of Spain—those of the Castilians, Catalonians, Lusitanians, Galicians, Basques, Romans, Arabs, Jews, and Roma (Gypsies), among other peoples—are renowned for their varied cuisines, customs, and prolific contributions to the world’s artistic heritage. Spain’s countryside is quaint, speckled with castles, aqueducts, and ancient ruins, but its cities are resoundingly modern. The Andalusian capital of Sevilla (Seville) is famed for its musical culture and traditional folkways; the Catalonian capital of Barcelona for its secular architecture and maritime industry; and the national capital of Madrid for its winding streets, its museums, and bookstores, and its around-the-clock lifestyle. Madrid is Spain’s largest city and is also its financial and cultural center, as it has been for hundreds of years. Source, Brittanica.com.

 

 

 

 

Out of the top 10 restaurants in The World’s 50 Best Restaurant list, three are Spanish. Created in 2002 by the London-based Restaurant Magazine, this famous ranking is known as the Oscars of the food world, and for years it has bestowed the honor upon honor on Spain’s cuisine. El País.

Spain today is "an international stage for architectural innovation and experimentation," says Terence Riley of the Museum of Modern Art. The variety and ambition of civic projects throughout Spain, in city and suburb alike, is genuinely impressive: athletic stadiums, contemporary art museums, city halls, convention centers, low-income housing, theaters, health clinics, public markets, and parks. The Washington Post.

 

La Sagrada Familia - Top choice basilica in L'Eixample. If you have time for only one sightseeing outing, this should be it. Gaudí's unparalleled, Unesco-listed La Sagrada Família inspires awe by its sheer verticality, and in the manner of the medieval cathedrals it emulates, it’s still under construction. Work began in 1882 and is hoped (perhaps optimistically) to be completed in 2026, a century after the architect's death. Unfinished it may be, but the cathedral attracts more than 4.5 million visitors a year and is the most visited monument in Spain. The Lonely Planet.

 

Madrid, an elegant city, offers many luxury properties in desirable areas such as around the Gran Via, in the neighborhoods of Salamanca and Retiro, and in the exclusive zones of La Finca and La Moraleja. Barcelona, the city of Gaudí, is also highly sought-after by discerning buyers, particularly the upscale district of Sarrià-Sant Gervasi. LuxuryEstate.com.