Spain · Local picks
100+ Places to Visit in Spain
Our pick of tapas bars, cafés, markets, museums, beaches, festivals and stays across Spain, from the classics to quiet corners. Check opening hours before you go, as many small bars close one day a week, kitchens shut between lunch and dinner, and some places close in August.
Places to Visit in Madrid
Arts and Culture
- Museo del Prado (Paseo del Prado)
Velázquez, Goya and El Greco in one of the world's great art museums. - Museo Reina Sofía (Atocha)
Home of Picasso's Guernica and the best of Spanish modern art. - Museo Sorolla (Chamberí)
The painter's light filled house and garden, a calm escape from the crowds. - Thyssen Bornemisza Museum (Paseo del Prado)
A sweeping private collection running from old masters to pop art.
Things to Do
- Royal Palace of Madrid (Ópera)
The vast royal palace with lavish state rooms and the changing of the guard. - Santiago Bernabéu Stadium tour (Chamartín)
Walk the tunnel and trophy rooms of Real Madrid's renovated stadium. - Matadero Madrid (Arganzuela)
A former slaughterhouse turned arts centre with exhibitions, cinema and markets.
Nature and Outdoors
- Retiro Park (Retiro)
Row a boat on the lake and find the glass Palacio de Cristal among the trees. - Templo de Debod (Parque del Oeste)
An ancient Egyptian temple rebuilt on a hill, best at sunset.
Shopping and Markets
- El Rastro (La Latina)
Madrid's huge Sunday flea market spilling down the streets of La Latina. - Mercado de San Fernando (Lavapiés)
A neighbourhood market where locals shop and snack at small food stalls.
Restaurants
- Sobrino de Botín (Centro)
Roast suckling pig in a centuries old dining room near Plaza Mayor. - Casa Revuelta (Centro)
Crisp battered salt cod at a no frills bar a few steps from Plaza Mayor. - Casa Lucio (La Latina)
Famous for huevos rotos, fried eggs broken over potatoes.
Cafés
- Chocolatería San Ginés (Sol)
Churros dipped in thick hot chocolate, a Madrid ritual at any hour.
Bars and Nightlife
- Corral de la Morería (La Latina)
A historic tablao for an evening of intense flamenco with dinner. - Calle Cava Baja tapas bars (La Latina)
A street of tapas bars that fills with locals from late evening. - Azotea del Círculo de Bellas Artes (Gran Vía)
Rooftop drinks with one of the best views across the city skyline.
Events
- Fiestas de San Isidro (Pradera de San Isidro)
Madrid's May festival of chulapo costumes, street dances and open air concerts.
Places to Visit in Barcelona
Arts and Culture
- Sagrada Família (Eixample)
Gaudí's soaring basilica with forest like columns and stained glass light. - Casa Batlló (Passeig de Gràcia)
Gaudí's dragon roofed house with a bone like façade. - Picasso Museum (El Born)
Picasso's early years in a row of medieval palaces. - Palau de la Música Catalana (Sant Pere)
A modernista concert hall with a dazzling stained glass skylight. - MNAC, National Art Museum of Catalonia (Montjuïc)
Romanesque church murals in a hilltop palace with a great city view.
Nature and Outdoors
- Park Güell (Gràcia)
Mosaic terraces, gingerbread houses and views over the city. - Montjuïc and the cable car (Montjuïc)
Gardens, museums, castle views and a cable car over the port. - Bunkers del Carmel (El Carmel)
Civil war gun emplacements with a sweeping 360 degree city view.
Things to Do
- Gothic Quarter (Ciutat Vella)
Medieval lanes, the cathedral and hidden squares to wander for hours. - Barceloneta Beach (Barceloneta)
The city's busiest beach with a seafront promenade for bikes and skates. - Hospital de Sant Pau (Guinardó)
A modernista hospital complex of domes and tiles, far quieter than Gaudí's sites.
Shopping and Markets
- Mercat de la Boqueria (La Rambla)
A colourful market of fruit, jamón and seafood counters off La Rambla. - Mercat de Santa Caterina (El Born)
A local market under a wavy mosaic roof with fewer crowds.
Restaurants
- El Xampanyet (El Born)
A tiled cava bar serving anchovies and house fizz since the 1920s. - Can Solé (Barceloneta)
A classic seafood house for paella and rice dishes near the beach. - Bar Cañete (El Raval)
A lively counter for creative Catalan tapas close to La Rambla.
Events
- La Mercè festival (City wide)
Barcelona's September festival of human towers, giants and fire runs.
Stays
- Hotel Casa Fuster (Gràcia)
A modernista mansion turned hotel with a rooftop terrace.
Places to Visit in Seville
Things to Do
- Real Alcázar of Seville (Santa Cruz)
A royal palace of Mudéjar courtyards, tiles and fountain filled gardens. - Plaza de España (Parque de María Luisa)
A grand curved plaza with tiled alcoves for every Spanish province. - Setas de Sevilla (La Encarnación)
A giant wooden canopy with a rooftop walkway over the old town. - Barrio de Triana (Triana)
The potters' and flamenco quarter across the river, with ceramic workshops. - Itálica Roman ruins (Santiponce)
The ruins of a Roman city with a huge amphitheatre just outside Seville.
Arts and Culture
- Seville Cathedral and the Giralda (Santa Cruz)
The world's largest Gothic cathedral and its former minaret bell tower. - Casa de Pilatos (San Bartolomé)
A noble palace with tiles and gardens that rivals the Alcázar for calm. - Palacio de las Dueñas (Centro)
The Alba family palace with a lemon tree courtyard and art collection.
Nature and Outdoors
- Parque de María Luisa (El Prado)
Shady paths, ponds and pavilions to escape the afternoon heat. - Guadalquivir riverside at sunset (Torre del Oro)
Walk the river to the Torre del Oro as the light turns gold.
Shopping and Markets
- Mercado de Triana (Triana)
A market by the bridge with tapas counters built over castle ruins.
Restaurants
- El Rinconcillo (Centro)
Spinach with chickpeas and salt cod at one of the city's oldest bars. - Bodeguita Romero (Arenal)
Famous for its slow cooked pringá and pork in whisky sauce. - Eslava (San Lorenzo)
Creative tapas in a buzzing neighbourhood away from the main sights.
Bars and Nightlife
- Casa de la Memoria (Centro)
An intimate flamenco show in a courtyard house. - La Carbonería (Santa Cruz)
A rambling old coal yard where free flamenco is often played at night.
Events
- Semana Santa (City wide)
Holy Week processions with candlelit floats carried through the streets. - Feria de Abril (Los Remedios)
A week of flamenco dresses, horses, casetas and dancing sevillanas.
Cafés
- Confitería La Campana (Centro)
A historic pastry shop for sweets and coffee since the nineteenth century.
Stays
- Hotel Alfonso XIII (Centro)
A grand neo Mudéjar hotel built for the 1929 exhibition.
Places to Visit in Granada
Things to Do
- Alhambra (Alhambra hill)
The Nasrid palaces and Generalife gardens, the jewel of Moorish Spain. - Mirador de San Nicolás (Albaicín)
The classic sunset view across to the Alhambra and the Sierra Nevada. - Sacromonte caves (Sacromonte)
Whitewashed cave homes where Granada's flamenco tradition lives on. - El Bañuelo (Carrera del Darro)
Eleventh century Arab baths with star shaped skylights. - Las Alpujarras villages (Alpujarra)
White villages with flat roofs clinging to the mountains south of Granada.
Arts and Culture
- Sacromonte Caves Museum (Sacromonte)
Learn how families lived in the hillside caves above the valley. - Royal Chapel of Granada (Centro)
The tombs of Isabella and Ferdinand, the Catholic Monarchs. - Granada Cathedral (Centro)
A vast white Renaissance cathedral in the heart of the old town. - Parque de las Ciencias (Zaidín)
A big hands on science museum that children love.
Nature and Outdoors
- Carrera del Darro (Albaicín)
A riverside lane beneath the Alhambra, magical in the evening. - Sierra Nevada National Park (Sierra Nevada)
Ski in winter and hike high peaks in summer, under an hour away.
Restaurants
- Bodegas Castañeda (Centro)
An old bar where each drink comes with a free tapa, Granada style. - Bar Los Diamantes (Centro)
Fried fish tapas at a lively counter loved by locals.
Bars and Nightlife
- Calle Navas tapas bars (Centro)
A street lined with bars handing out a tapa with every drink. - Hammam Al Ándalus (Albaicín)
Candlelit Arab style baths for a slow evening. - Peña La Platería (Albaicín)
One of Spain's oldest flamenco clubs, with authentic shows.
Shopping and Markets
- Alcaicería (Centro)
A maze of stalls on the site of the old silk market.
Cafés
- Calle Calderería Nueva tea houses (Albaicín)
Moroccan style teterías serving mint tea and pastries.
Stays
- Parador de Granada (Alhambra)
A historic convent hotel inside the Alhambra grounds.
Places to Visit in Valencia
Things to Do
- City of Arts and Sciences (Camins al Grau)
Futuristic white buildings housing a science museum, opera house and aquarium. - Oceanogràfic (Camins al Grau)
Europe's largest aquarium, with dolphins, sharks and beluga whales. - Malvarrosa Beach (Malvarrosa)
A wide city beach with a long promenade of rice restaurants. - El Carmen street art (El Carmen)
Wander the old quarter for murals and medieval towers. - Torres de Serranos (Ciutat Vella)
Climb the medieval city gate for views over the old town.
Nature and Outdoors
- Turia Gardens (City wide)
A former riverbed turned long green park for cycling and picnics. - Albufera Natural Park (El Palmar)
Lagoon boat rides at sunset and rice fields where paella was born.
Shopping and Markets
- Mercado Central (Ciutat Vella)
A modernista market hall full of local produce and tapas stalls. - Mercado de Colón (Eixample)
A modernista market hall now full of cafés and bars.
Arts and Culture
- Valencia Cathedral (Ciutat Vella)
Home to a chalice said to be the Holy Grail and the Miguelete tower. - La Lonja de la Seda (Ciutat Vella)
A Gothic silk exchange with twisting stone columns. - Bioparc Valencia (Parque de Cabecera)
A zoo designed as immersive African habitats. - Museo Fallero (Montolivet)
The sculptures saved from the Fallas flames each year.
Restaurants
- Casa Carmela (Malvarrosa)
Paella cooked over orange wood fires near the beach. - Casa Montaña (El Cabanyal)
A historic bodega for tapas and wine in the old fishermen's quarter.
Cafés
- Horchatería Santa Catalina (Ciutat Vella)
Tiger nut horchata with fartons in a tiled old café.
Bars and Nightlife
- Café de las Horas (Ciutat Vella)
A baroque cocktail bar known for Agua de Valencia. - Ruzafa bars (Ruzafa)
The trendiest district for bars, small restaurants and late nights.
Events
- Las Fallas (City wide)
March festival of giant satirical sculptures, fireworks and bonfires.
Stays
- Caro Hotel (Ciutat Vella)
A boutique hotel in a palace with Roman and Arab walls inside.
Places to Visit in San Sebastián
Nature and Outdoors
- La Concha Beach (Centro)
A perfect shell shaped city beach framed by green hills. - Monte Igueldo (Igueldo)
A funicular to an old fashioned fairground with bay views. - Monte Urgull (Parte Vieja)
Forest paths to a hilltop castle above the harbour. - Flysch coast of Zumaia (Zumaia)
Dramatic layered cliffs along a coastal geopark.
Bars and Nightlife
- Parte Vieja pintxos bars (Parte Vieja)
Hop between bars stacked with pintxos on every counter. - Gros district bars (Gros)
Fewer tourists and creative pintxos across the river.
Restaurants
- La Cuchara de San Telmo (Parte Vieja)
Small hot pintxos cooked to order in a tiny old town bar. - Bar Nestor (Parte Vieja)
Famous for its tomato salad, steak and a limited tortilla each sitting. - Gandarias (Parte Vieja)
A reliable bar with a long counter of classic pintxos. - Bar Antonio (Centro)
A tiny bar loved for its tortilla and seafood pintxos.
Cafés
- La Viña (Parte Vieja)
Home of the burnt Basque cheesecake that went around the world.
Things to Do
- Zurriola Beach (Gros)
The surfers' beach, with lessons for beginners. - Peine del Viento (Ondarreta)
Steel sculptures anchored to rocks where the waves crash. - Pasaia and Pasai Donibane (Pasaia)
A short boat ride across a fishing port to a one street village. - Aquarium Donostia (Puerto)
A seafront aquarium with a walk through ocean tunnel.
Arts and Culture
- San Telmo Museoa (Parte Vieja)
A museum of Basque society in a former convent.
Shopping and Markets
- Mercado de la Bretxa (Parte Vieja)
A local market for Basque cheese, fish and peppers.
Events
- San Sebastián International Film Festival (Centro)
Stars and premieres every September. - Jazzaldia (Centro)
A July jazz festival with free beach concerts.
Stays
- Hotel de Londres y de Inglaterra (La Concha)
A belle époque hotel overlooking the bay.
More to Explore
We are still checking these with fresh sources, so confirm opening times before you go.
- Hotel Urban (Barrio de las Letras, Madrid)
A design hotel with a rooftop pool close to the big three museums. - Bobby Gin (Gràcia, Barcelona)
A cosy neighbourhood bar devoted to the city's gin and tonic craze. - Bodega 1900 (Sant Antoni, Barcelona)
A vermouth bar with playful small plates, ideal for a Sunday aperitivo. - Carmen de Aben Humeya (Albaicín, Granada)
Dinner on a garden terrace facing the Alhambra.