Best Spain Holidays

Majorca’s capital, Palma, is far more enthralling than meets the eye. Millions pass through its airport every year on the way to the mainstream touristy destinations – for Germans it’s the long beachfront strip at Arenal, and for the Brits, Magaluf.

Most of these visitors disregard the city altogether, while the few who do decide to spend some time in Palma tend to be drawn to tourist honey-pots and neglect an opportunity to get to know the real Mediterranean. Palma has a good selection of discount hotels, resorts, and accommodation to pick from.

It takes a little initiative, but a wander around the old-town and the medieval Arabic quarter behind the cathedral can be richly rewarding. Once you’ve made your way down a few atmospheric alleyways the beaten track will seem a million miles away. The 11^th Century Banys Àrabs (Moorish baths), and the convent of the cathedral sum the kind of architecture you can expect to find in this quarter.

Even on a bright summer’s day there isn’t much light to be found here.  This part of the city borrows from Arab-style town planning, with high buildings and narrow streets creating maximum shade. It’s noticeably cooler and you’ll feel almost like you’re in a cathedral; there’s a touch of moisture in the air and you know you’re in the presence of history; it pervades the stonework.

You’ll be able to peek into half-lit interior courtyards with intricate fountains; outdoor steps wind up through the floors; luxury sports cars sit menacingly in half-darkness, caged behind iron gates.

Food-wise, Palma, like any city, has a number of secrets known only to the cosmopolitan local community and a few clued-up tourists. Among these are El Barito, a jazz bar on Plaza de los Patines, the owner of which caters for the King of Spain during his summer residence on Majorca. In one of the alleys tucked away from Calle San Miguel sits Fosh food, an ultra-modern Swedish-owned new wave eaterie housed in the kitchens of a medieval mission, where a three-course lunch costs as little as 15 Euros. A travel directory can help you find more hidden spots around the city.

If you find yourself with in Palma with time to spare, you could do a lot worse than ducking down some old city streets.

It’s not for the faint-hearted, but a great way to cut down on your food bill in Spain is to visit the sheltered municipal food market at the centre of every major town. You’re guaranteed to find better quality produce by joining the locals and shopping in this bustling environment.

The markets are broken down into small, privately owned stalls, each one specialising in fruit, vegetables, dairy, spices, baked goods or meat. It’s a way of getting up close and personal with your groceries, and getting a taste of daily Spanish life.

When it comes to meat, be prepared for some rather gory sights. Spanish shoppers tend not to shy away from scenes that in England would be hidden in the backrooms of butchers shops and meatpacking warehouses. What better way to guarantee freshness and authenticity if you can see exactly what you’re getting!

Food here is completely fresh, and seasonal. This means that you won’t be able to find watermelons in winter, or pomegranate in summer – at least not a reasonable price.

Discriminating Spanish customers are wary of supermarket produce; they like to feel, smell and even taste items before they buy. So feel free to ask for samples; however, transactions will need to be done in Spanish, and this can be a problem for beginners because you’ll be testing your skills in noisy, high-pressure situations. Stall-keepers are perfectly friendly and will do their best to help, but they won’t be able to meet you halfway when it comes to language.

What’s more, items have a set price, and, as opposed to Eastern bazaars, you no amount of haggling will get this price down.

Markets open well before the crack of dawn, and wind-down by midday. Sometimes it’s good to get there later on because unsold produce needs to be shifted, and you can often find special offers if you keep your eyes open. You’ll be glad you took the effort.

Travel links

• World Wide Travel Directory

photo credit: Secret Tenerife
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, in Spain’s Canary Islands, is the setting for the second biggest party on Earth: El Carnaval. Other than the Rio equivalent, no street party anywhere in the world could claim to be as loud, as fun or as extravagant as the one that descends on this small city ever year.

Historically, carnival marked the beginning of Lent – the forty days of fasting that preceded Easter. A populace governed by strict social boundaries could throw off their inhibitions and cut loose before clearing up and preparing for a period of abstinence and austerity.

During carnival people are encouraged to invert everyday rules, and try something they’d never normally dare. You could say that this short period of chaos helped reinforce the suppressed way of life that people had to endure for centuries in medieval hierarchies. Tenerife’s disapproving, straight-laced reputation is discarded over 14 wild days at the end of February and beginning of March.

The first written reference to the Tenerife carnival dates back to the 18th Century, yet informal celebrations are likely to have taken place long before. Today, you can expect to find scantily clad women, outrageous costumes, satirical street musicians (Murgas), traditional singers playing stringed-instruments (Rondallas), and dance troupes with themed floats (Comparsas). Parties go on long into the night on an Island that enjoys year-round warm temperatures.

Raucous it may be, but carnival in Tenerife is serious business for its organisers and local government. As with other Spanish celebrations like Holy Week, small associations take responsibility for most aspects of carnival. Dedicated members toil year-round designing costumes, rehearsing in bands and raising money to make each year’s celebration as vibrant and colourful as the last.

Every year the party follows a specific theme. In 2009 this was ‘Horror Movies’ and everyone taking part was required to show up in ghoulish fancy dress. In 2010 it’s all about the history of the carnival.

The most famous part of the festivities is the election of the carnival queen. This all-night ceremony, which can be described as the world’s most extravagant beauty pageant, is broadcast to a nationwide audience. The dresses designed for the hopefuls are so spectacular as to border on the absurd; tailoring costs run into the thousands of Euros and every one of these shimmering creations requires wheels to keep them steady.

Spare a thought for the wannabe queens – they have to train for months to make sure that their bodies can withstand the strain of wearing these mammoth outfits, all while retaining an air of grace and effortlessness.

photo credit: gargola87

Rural tourism is a great way to unearth the true nature of a destination. In the case of Spain’s island of Majorca, an intrepid attitude can reap vast rewards.

Ever since the tourism boom in the mid-sixties, Majorca has been known as the Mediterranean package holiday destination of choice for North Europeans. To this day, when most people think of the Balearic Islands, they picture crammed beaches, high-rise apartment blocks and the booze culture that came with mass-tourism.

While that kind of scene might still appeal to many people – and who are we to disapprove – a sub-industry has emerged in the last couple of decades. What makes this newer kind of tourism so exciting is that it is so at odds with Majorca’s reputation for either decadent high-end luxury, or homogenised sun and sand holidays.

Really, you could say that it all started as a reaction to these sprawling resorts. A number of landowners, some Majorcan, some from the UK or Germany, realised that there were likeminded travellers out there who wanted to get to grips with rural Majorca – the real Majorca. Largely unspoilt, and sometimes remarkably rustic, the inland is still largely overlooked, despite the increased efforts of the local tourism board to the spread the word.

Nestled in the countryside are independently run farmhouses and manor houses surrounded by large plots, or ‘fincas’. Many of these houses date from the 19^th century, and some as far back as the Middle Ages, when the island was under Arab control. Most have been lovingly preserved, and where conversions have taken place, the rough essence of the building has usually been kept.

Unlike Majorca’s coastal resorts, every one of these properties has its own endearing nuances. Some have been converted into plush hotels, while others are intimate guesthouses, both self-catering and half-board. A few are working farms where guests can get their hands dirty. Most have pools – a necessity in the summer – and all have been fitted with modern conveniences.

The farms are hidden in the mountains of the island’s centre and north, or stretch out over the plains to the east. Olives, almonds, and citrus fruit, are still grown in the surrounding countryside, while some fincas are active in Majorca’s unheralded, but nevertheless fantastic, wine industry.

More often than not, the produce farmed at these fincas goes straight into the guesthouses’ kitchens. There’s nothing quite like taking a morning walk through sunny orchards, before sitting down to breakfast with Ensaimadas (Majorcan sweet pastry) topped with apricots from the very same trees.

The most striking aspect of rural tourism in Majorca is that there is guaranteed, year-round life and activity; unlike the coastal resorts, the countryside doesn’t have an off-season.

photo credit: keyrel

Out and about in Tarragona, to the northeast of Spain, it can be hard to imagine that this small, unassuming port was one of the most important strategic locations in the whole of occidental Rome. 2000 years ago, Tarragona (then Tarraco) was the capital of the province of Hispania and served as a temporary home for the likes of Julius Caesar. For a brief period in 27BC it even stood as the capital of the whole empire.

At the peak of its fame Tarraco had a population of one million. Now – to the untrained eye at least – it’s a pleasant, if slightly nondescript, Catalan town 90 minutes south of Barcelona by train.

In truth, clues to Tarragona’s imperial past pervade the old-town. This makes it both a goldmine for Roman history enthusiasts and a well-kept secret for tourists of all kinds. Incredibly, the town’s officials applied for UNESCO World Heritage status only 20 years ago. Before this time, locals regarded the Roman structures around the place as more of an oddity than anything of cultural value.

To the north, traversing a valley in the middle of a forest is a well-preserved aqueduct, which was key to the water supply for a bustling ancient metropolis. Now referred to as the ‘Devil’s Bridge’, this imposing structure is 217 metres long and stands at 30 metres high.

In the centre it’s not unusual to find Latin, and even Phoenician, inscriptions on the sides of various buildings; much of the stonework was plundered from Tarraco’s most important sites. While the interior of many apartments here feature entire walls belonging to ancient Tarraco’s various amenities.

Looking out over the sea, the grand Roman amphitheatre slowly lapsed into the less glamorous role of town quarry, before being converted to a jail in the 19^th century. Despite such neglect, the basic structure is remarkably preserved, and atop its terraced seating you can admire the Mediterranean in all its glory.

Other important landmarks such as Tarraco’s massive circus were filled in centuries ago. Now, only the basic outline of this record-breaking 360metre-wide arena remains, but it is still there if you know where to look.

Today the local authorities take a far more conservational stance; a full archaeological survey must be conducted before any building in the city centre is built – even if a modern structure undergoes external renovation, historians will need to run the rule over it. There’s always a dig going on somewhere in the city centre, with periodic news of important discoveries in the layers beneath the surface of modern Tarragona.

Tarraco Viva is a festival that takes place every May to celebrate the town’s ancient past; families are encouraged to come along, admire artefacts, watch re-enactments and generally get in touch with a Roman heritage that, until 20 years ago, was widely ignored.

photo credit: madcowk

Las Fallas is a 5-day celebration in the Spanish city of Valencia to mark St. Joseph’s day. Even in a country with pyromaniac tendencies – fireworks are a mainstay of many traditional holidays here – the mayhem that unfolds on the streets of Valencia between the 15th and 19th of March every year has to be seen, and heard, to be believed. More than a million people visit the city to witness this gunpowder-fuelled eruption of fire and noise.

During the festivities’ climactic event at midnight on the final day, giant figures (Ninots) made from papier-mâché, and packed with fireworks are incinerated in front of hundreds of thousands of excited onlookers. This night is called la Cremá (the burning). The Ninots are created by special pyro clubs (Casals Fallers) within particular Valencian neighbourhoods.

As happens at many Spanish celebrations, these clubs work for months raising funds and working behind the scenes preparing for the 5 short days of explosive celebrations. The massive, ornate Ninots they create display an astonishing degree of detail and craftsmanship, and take a whole year to finish, with a cost of as much as 100,000 Euros. For all this work only one – the best of each year’s crop – is saved from the citywide puppet-burning ceremony. The winner is kept for posterity and exhibited at the Museo Fallero.

The Ninots can reach heights of 30 metres, and are mercilessly satirical in style. After a number of high-profile corruption cases in the news, various crooked politicians and businessmen have become popular candidates for parody during las Fallas.

The puppets are paraded around the streets, before being manoeuvred to specially designated areas to be burned without harming surrounding buildings. The Ninots are lit at midnight in 350 different locations around the city. Whole communities show up to watch the fruits of their labours destroyed in a matter of seconds, which leads to some pretty emotional scenes.

Elsewhere, la Mascletá is a daily dose of ear-splitting noise originating from town squares in different neighbourhoods at 2pm each day for the duration of the festival. Firecrackers are detonated in sequence, resulting in thundering staccato bursts that echo around the city. This event is led from Plaza Ayuntamiento, where the largest crowd gathers. As is the custom, a Fallera Mayor (a kind of darling of the fire-starters) dressed in traditional regional garb orders the fuses to be lit in the Valencian dialect, “Mr. Pyrotechnician, you may commence the Mascletá”.

Over the four days there are many other celebrations and parades that go on into the night, and most involve noisy and colourful fireworks somewhere along the way. If you’re staying in the town be prepared for a rude awakening each morning; marching bands joined by firecracker-throwing ‘Fallers’ tour their districts performing a daily wake up call at 8am.

photo credit: John Pavelka

El Camino de Santiago, or Way of St. James, is a legendary pilgrimage to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, northwest Spain. For well over a millennium, travellers from all over Europe have made this epic foot-journey to visit the declared final resting place of the apostle St. James.

Although the first pilgrims made the trip right back in 900AD, today’s travellers follow an itinerary first laid out in 1140 by the French monk, Aymeric Picaud. Nine centuries later, approximately 150,000 travellers a year can expect to match his journey almost step for step.

The world heritage site in Galicia is the final destination for a vast network of hiking routes, spanning the entire European continent; however, the most popular starting-point for modern pilgrims is the French commune of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, 8km from the Spanish border.

Here begins the trail, ‘El Camino Francés’, which takes in almost the entire breadth of northern Spain – over the hills of the Basque country, across warm, dry plains via the city of León, and on to the temperate climes of Galicia. Pilgrims can expect to spend a month or more tackling this route.

El Camino Francés is well supported by the Spanish tourism board; hostels are dotted along the route, staffed mostly by volunteers intent on supporting the pilgrimage and welcoming a new generation of travellers. Pilgrims are issued with a passport, and get this stamped along the way to record their journey and ensure that they are eventually eligible for the compostela – a certificate issued in Santiago to confirm they have completed 100km or more on foot, and, if Christian, halve the amount of time that the pilgrim’s soul will eventually spend in purgatory.

The year 2010 has a special significance for the Way, as it is a Holy Compostellan year because St James’s Day – the 25th of July – falls on a Sunday. This means that Christian pilgrims who complete the route in 2010 can expect to have all of their time in purgatory written off.

Though still largely a Christian undertaking, el Camino is now quite open to all people of all religious persuasions, ages and backgrounds. These days it’s best thought of as a rigorous test of staying power, and a way of escaping hectic modern lifestyles and slowing down – if only for a few weeks. The long road to Santiago is said to offer travellers a great deal of perspective.