Highlights History
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© Lonely Planet Publications 1020 lonelyplanet.com SPAIN •• History 1021 0 200 km SPAIN 0 120 miles Spain To Plymouth To Portsmouth HIGHLIGHTS La Sagrada Familia Fanciful yet packed with serious symbolism, Gaudí’s masterpiece in Bay of F R A N C E Barcelona is one of the country’s most interesting creations ( p1047 ) Biscay Seville Soak up orange blossom scents and surrender to the party atmosphere ( p1061 ) La Coruña Picos de Segovia Amble under the aqueduct and around the Alcázar ( p1038 ) Santiago de Gijón Compostela Europa C A N T A B R I A Oviedo Best Journey Follow the pilgrims along the Camino de Santiago ( p1082 ) A Santander B A S Q U E G A L I C I A S T U Off-the-beaten track R I AS C O U N T R Y Just outside lovely San Sebastián, get inspired at the Chillida-Leku Santillana San Sebastián ( p1079 ), an outdoor sculpture garden by Eduardo Chillida Vigo del Mar Bilbao Astorga León N A V A R R A C Vitoria A Burgos A N D O R R A S Pamplona T R I L A L IO FAST FACTS L Valladolid A J A Pyrenees Y L Medina E Ó C A T A L U N Y A Area 505,000 sq km N Cadaqués Salamanca del Campo Zaragoza Figueres ATMs ATMs are widespread, and a variety Segovia Girona Pals Peratallada Palafrugell Ávila of international cards are accepted Pontevedra Tossa de Mar Guadalajara A R A G Ó N P O R T U G A L Parque Natural MADRID Barcelona R ID Budget At least €50 per day de Monfragüe MAD Tarragona Cuenca Teruel Aranjuez Morella Capital Madrid Trujillo Toledo Cáceres A A LISBON R H B A L E A R I C S E A Badajoz U C Country code %34 D N A A V A L E N C I A Mérida M M Mallorca Menorca ὈR E A T L Famous for sunshine, late nights, bull- E X C A S T I LLA- Valencia Albacete Palma de Maó fighting, gaspacho (cold tomato soup), Don Mallorca Quixote, Pedro Almodóvar films Denia Ibiza Córdoba Ibiza BALEARIC Head of State King Juan Carlos I, Prime Benidorm ISLANDS M U R C I A Alicante Formentera Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero Seville A N D A L U C Murcia Phrases hola (hello), gracias (thanks), adios A T L A N T I C Í A Languages Spanish (Castilian or Castel- (goodbye) O C E A N Ronda Granada Cádiz Málaga lano), Catalan, Basque, Galician (Gallego) S t Almería Population 43 million ra Algeciras M E D I T E R R A N E A N it Marbella of Tarifa Money euro (€); A$1 = €0.60; Gib Gibraltar (UK) Cabo de Gata Time GMT/UTC +1 winter, +2 from last Sun- raltar S E A CA$1 = €0.68; ¥100 = €0.66; NZ$1 = €0.51; Tangier Ceuta (Spain) day in March to last Sunday in September To Melilla UK£1 = €1.47; US$1 = €0.78 To Canary To Melilla Visas None required for most visitors for Islands M O R O C C O stays up to 90 days The landscape is every bit as diverse and multifaceted as the culture. Spain is both the rocky shores of the Costa Brava and the desertscapes of Almería. It’s the flat plains of Castile and the TRAVEL HINTS peaks of the Pyrenees. It’s the wet hills of Galicia and the sun-drenched beaches of Mallorca. Spanish menús (fixed-price lunches) are a godsend for the hungry. Also try getting food at local This landscape was the picturesque backdrop for a long and turbulent history that saw Spain markets. Buy train tickets a day in advance to assure a spot. rise to the height of world power and fall into the deepest poverty. The country’s history is vis- ible at every turn, from abundant Roman ruins to Moorish-influenced Mudéjar architecture ROAMING SPAIN and splendid medieval cathedrals. From Madrid, take day trips to Toledo and Segovia before heading further afield. Your best bets are a journey east to Barcelona, stopping in Zaragoza, or a trip south to Sevilla and Córdoba. HISTORY The 8th century saw the beginning of the From around 8000 to 3000 BC North African Christian Reconquista. By the mid-13th cen- pioneers known as the Iberians crossed the tury the Christians had taken most of the Just say ‘Spain’ and images of dark-haired flamenco dancers, proud bullfighters and sun-drenched Strait of Gibraltar. They were followed by peninsula. In 1469 the kingdoms of Castile SPAIN beaches immediately come to mind. Yet these clichés only scratch the surface of the country. The Celts, Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians and Aragón were united by the marriage of SPAIN SPAIN real Spain is a captivating and complex combination of the traditional and the modern. It’s the and Romans. In AD 409 Roman Hispania was Isabel, princess of Castile, and Fernando, heir passionate festivals, the historic sites and the quirky customs, but it’s also the forward-thinking overrun by Germanic tribes; 300 years later to Aragón’s throne. Known as the Catholic artists, cutting-edge designers and chefs who are earning Spain a reputation as one of Europe’s the Moors – Muslim Berbers and Arabs from Monarchs, they united Spain and laid the foun- most creative countries. There’s much more to Spain than its tourist-brochure image lets on. North Africa – took over the region. dations for the Spanish golden age. They also 1022 SPAIN •• The Culture lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com TRANSPORT •• Getting There & Away 1023 expelled and executed thousands of Jews and 19th centuries was Francisco Goya, whose Budget airlines have completely changed other non-Christians under the dark cloud of READING UP versatility ranged from unflattering royal por- travel to and within Spain, making short the Inquisition. In 1492 the last Muslim ruler For more on Spanish history and current traits and anguished war scenes to bullfight breaks much easier and more wallet-friendly. of Granada surrendered to them, thus marking events, pick up A Traveller’s History: Spain etchings. An Iberia-owned budget airline called Clickair the completion of the Reconquista. by Juan Lalaguna or The New Spaniards Catalonia was the powerhouse of early- was due to begin service in October 2006. Also in 1492, Columbus stumbled on by John Hooper. Good travel literature in- 20th-century Spanish art, claiming the hugely An Iberia-owned budget airline was due to the Bahamas and claimed the Americas for cludes James A Michner’s classic Iberia and prolific Pablo Picasso (born in Andalucía), the begin service at the time of research. Along Spain. This sparked a period of exploration the excellent book of essays Travellers’ Tales colourful symbolist Joan Miró and surrealist with airlines such as Iberia (code IB; %90 240 05 00; and exploitation that yielded Spain enormous Guide: Spain, edited by Lucy McCauley. Get Salvador Dalí. Important artists working today www.iberia.com), Spanair (code JK; %90 213 14 15; www wealth, while destroying the ancient American a feel for modern Spanish literature with A include Catalan abstract artist Antoni Tàpies .spanair.com) and British Airways (code BA; %90 211 13 empires. Spain’s downfall began soon after. It Traveller’s Literary Companion: Spain, edited and Basque sculptor Eduardo Chillida. 33; www.ba.com), the following are major budget would culminate with the disastrous Spanish- by Peter Bush and Lisa Dillman. airlines flying here: American War of 1898, which marked the end ENVIRONMENT Air Europa (code UX; %90 240 15 01; www.aireuropa.com) of the Spanish empire. The country covers 84% of the Iberian Penin- Air Madrid (code NM; %90 251 52 51; www.airmadrid During the Spanish Civil War (1936–39), THE CULTURE sula and spreads over some 505,000 sq km, .com) the Nationalists, led by General Francisco Spain has a population of 40 million, des- more than half of which is high tableland, the easyJet (code U2; %90 229 99 92; www.easyjet.com) Franco, received heavy military support from cended from the many peoples who have meseta. This is supported and divided by sev- Ryanair (code FR; %80 722 02 20; www.ryanair.com) Nazi Germany and fascist Italy, while the settled here over the millennia, among them eral mountain chains, making Spain Europe’s Vueling (code VY; %90 233 39 33; www.vueling.com) elected Republican government received sup- Iberians, Celts, Romans, Jews, Visigoths, second-hilliest country after Switzerland. The port only from Russia and, to a lesser degree, Berbers, Arabs and 20th-century immigrants main mountains are the Pyrenees, along the Boat from the International Brigades, made up of from across the globe. The biggest cities are border with France; the Cordillera Cantá- MOROCCO foreign leftists. By 1939 Franco had won and Madrid (3.15 million poeple), Barcelona brica, backing the northern coast; the Sistema Several companies run regular ferry services an estimated 350,000 Spaniards had died. (1.59 million), Valencia (796,550) and Se- Ibérico, from the central north towards the between Spain and Morocco. Trasmediterránea Franco’s 35-year dictatorship began with ville (702,500). middle Mediterranean coast; the Cordillera (%902 454 645; www.trasmediterranea.es) operates Spain isolated and crippled by recession. It Only about 20% of Spaniards are regular Central, from north of Madrid towards the routes including Algeciras–Tangier (€45 to wasn’t until the 1950s and ’60s that the coun- churchgoers, but Catholicism is deeply in- Portuguese border; and three east–west chains €60, up to 1½ hours) and Almería–Nador try began to recover.