Landscapes
Vast plains, one mountain range after another, deserts and plunging ravines, you could never get bored with the views as you travel around Spain. I love the lush emerald hills in the Valles Pasiegos in Cantabria, where you can stay in impossibly pretty village houses and try canyoning in the streams, then gorge on cheese, cakes, and ice cream made from the rich milk of the Pasiega cattle.
Whenever I need a bit of a reset, I head to the Alpujarras, the beautiful area on the southern slopes of the Sierra Nevada, between Granada and the Mediterranean. The soft light and crisp mountain air always lifts my mood as I gaze across to Africa — usually panting after yet a steep hill climb — but it is the mineral-rich water in the springs and streams that really works miracles. After a few days, my hair is shining, my skin is glowing and I feel as if I’ve been to a really fancy spa.
Beaches
The turquoise coves of Menorca, the aquamarine shallow waters around Formentera, the dramatic coastline of Galicia and the never ending stretch of golden sand of the Costa de la Luz all lay claim to having the best beaches in Spain and you can’t argue with any of them.
Somewhere I go back to whenever I can, however, is Cabo de Gata in Almería province, where unspoilt beaches of glittering white sand are framed by cliffs in layers of rust, mustard, mauve and white, each a vestige of a different volcanic eruption. Low-rise resorts, such as Las Negras and Agua Amarga, have diving centres, bars and restaurants, but not much else. My favourite is La Isleta del Moro in the village of the same name, where you can eat paella on a waterside terrace where the spray sprinkles your skin.
Islands
I realise this is selfish, but I’m a bit cross that Menorca has sprung into the spotlight in the last couple of years. With a string of gorgeous new boutique hotels, it’s hardly surprising, but I have always loved its discreet, unflashy vibe. The show offs can stay in Mallorca and Ibiza, thanks.
Lanzarote is a favourite too. Its image is annoyingly misleading, as environmental issues have always been important and there are actually only three resorts as such. I’ve been writing about the developing ecotourism scene there for 15 years and tear my hair out every time someone trots out the Lanzagrotty cliché.
There are plenty of small islands that are not so well known by international visitors, such as Arousa in the Ria de Arousa inlet in Galicia, which is linked to the town of Vilanova de Arousa by a bridge. As well as lying on the pristine beaches, I’ve been out on a boat to see how oysters and mussels are grown on ropes dangling from rafts.
Food
Where to start with all the fabulous food in Spain? Every region has a distinctive cuisine and I love trying the most traditional recipes, particularly platos de cuchara — dishes that you eat with a spoon — which usually involve local varieties of beans or lentils and all sorts of vegetables, meat, or seafood. Slow food at its best.
The area around the pretty hilltop town of Vejer de la Frontera in Cádiz on the Costade la Luz has an amazing gastronomic scene, best experienced with a glass of sherry in hand. One of the most exciting mornings I have ever had as a travel writer was spent on the deck of one of the almadraba boats to witness the ancient — and sustainable — art of catching bluefin tuna, which takes place in May. In the seaside town of Barbate and Zahara de los Atunes, bars compete to create the most elaborate tapas using different cuts of the tuna, some of the most exquisite bites you’ll ever taste.
Activities
Brown bears roam around the mountains in the Somiedo natural park in Asturias, a spectacular alpine landscape of limestone peaks and glacial lakes. Getting up before dawn to head into the hills with local experts to spot them is unforgettable. There are wolves too, as well as golden eagles and griffon vultures.
The village Pola de Somiedo is a great base for hikers and cyclists. I have done many walking holidays all over the country over the years, but the most unusual was a fundraising hike from Zafra to Cáceres in Extremadura along the Víade la Plata — both a Roman road and a pilgrimage route — with a pack of rescue dogs.
Jumping off a cliff was not in my plans the first time I was in La Palma in the Canary Islands, but the opportunity came up, there was no time to worry about it, and it was the most exhilarating experience.
Museums
One of the joys of writing guidebooks, particularly ones that focus on art and culture, is that you spend entire days in museums. In Madrid, there are so many masterpieces in the Prado (museodelprado.es), Thyssen-Bornemisza (museothyssen.org) and Reina Sofia (museoreinasofia.es) museums that taking it slowly and going back again and again means you are always making new discoveries, although of course most people don’t have that luxury.
One of my favourites is the astounding Museum of Spanish Abstract Art ( march.es/en/cuenca) in Cuenca, on a limestone spur in the middle of nowhere but less than an hour by high-speed train from Madrid.
In one of the medieval Hanging Houses built into the top of the gorge, the museum was founded in the 1960s by the artists Fernando Zóbel and Gustavo Torner, who reckoned that the remote location would go unnoticed by the Franco dictatorship.
Architecture
Romanesque churches in the Vall de Boi in Catalonia, the magnificent mosque-cathedral in Cordoba, the jaw dropping Alhambra in Granada and the Mudéjar towers in Teruel in Aragón are just a handful of the architectural treasures you come across in Spain.
Gaudí’s spectacular Sagrada Familia is set to be completed in 2026, which is also the centenary of the visionary architect’s death, so that is already in my plans for next year.
When I first saw the extraordinary sculptural buildings that comprise the City of Arts and Sciences (cac.es) about 25 years ago, there was no doubt in my mind that the complex, designed by Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela, would immediately attract the same level of international attention as the Guggenheim ( guggenheim-bilbao.eus) in Bilbao. But surprisingly, it has taken a long time to make its mark. Valencia also has elegant art nouveau buildings and Gothic, Baroque, and Renaissance monuments.
My favourite part of the city is the Cabanyal, a grid of narrow streets behind the beach that is packed with tiny houses with ornately tiled façades.
Cities
When I first lived in Madrid, more than 40 years ago, I fell into the dizzying whirl of the movida madrileña, when everyone seemed to be out all night, every night and no one had a proper job. Things have changed a lot, of course, but the vibe in the city is just as energising and thrilling.
I have witnessed first hand how Malaga has transformed itself in the two decades since the Picasso museum ( museopicassomalaga.org) opened in 2003. While it is brilliant that there is now such a dynamic cultural scene, I must admit that, after trips visiting Seville, Cordoba and Granada, I always used to enjoy just kicking back in Malaga, eating sardines on the beach and trawling the tapas bars without feeling guilty about not ticking off a list of sights.
In these days of overtourism, I am hoping that people will start spending time in Spain’s many unfashionable cities, such as Valladolid, Soria, Jaén, Burgos, or Murcia.
Getting around
Spain has some fabulous driving routes, such as touring Andalucia or heading down the coast in Galicia, from the wild Costa da Morte to the crinkly coastline of the Rias Baixas. Although a car obviously gives you more scope, you can travel around perfectly well by bus or train.
The extensive — and ever expanding — high-speed train network links major cities with often very reasonable fares. I recommend getting on an Ave train in Valencia in the morning, which whizzes you across the plains of La Mancha to Andalucia with mesmeric views of vineyards, hilltop castles and orange groves, arriving in Seville in time for lunch.
I am also very fond of trundling around on the little trains that stop every five minutes. You can spend a very enjoyable couple of weeks travelling slowly along the coast of northern Spain from Bilbao to Ferrol in Galicia on the narrow-gauge network, gazing at the green hills of Cantabria, the Picos de Europa mountains, and the fabulous beaches of the Rías Altas.
Where to stay
Staying in paradors ( paradores.es) is one of my favourite ways to explore Spain, as you are soaking up history and culture even while having your breakfast. Some are former monasteries and convents, some are castles and others palaces.
Some are modern buildings but in spectacular locations, such as the Parador de Costa da Morteby overlooking a splendid beach in Muxía in Galicia, and the Parador de Molina de Aragón in Guadalajara, with dramatic views of the town’s castle — which is scheduled to open later in 2025.
I’m also hoping the parador in a 16th-century building in the Dalt Vilain Ibiza, the first in the Balearic Islands, will finally open sometime this year, after a series of fits and starts since the project was announced more than 20 years ago.
