Spain: Hugh

Where am I – making a long awaited return to Spain, this time spending a few weeks in the glorious southern region of Andalusia.

Seville - what a city to begin our Spanish adventure, here in glorious Sevilla! We arrived by convenient private transfer from Evora in Portugal, a journey of only 3.5hrs or so. Given our somewhat limited time we chose to go straight from one to the other, but would have loved to have detoured via Merida or Badajoz for a quick visit - next time.

Two major highlights of the city are the Royal Alcazar (advance reservation essential): construction here began in the 10th century, when it was the Islamic-era citadel of the city, and to this day it serves as one of the official residences of the Spanish royal family. The Alcazar itself is magnificently ornate, but the real star of the show (in my mind) are the absolutely stunning gardens. There’s also the opportunity to add on a small group escorted visit to the royal apartments, which are not open to the general public - you can’t take photos here, and the rooms are much more intimate in scale - but it does offer a nice respite from the busy palace below.

Not that I’d want to disparage this UNESCO World Heritage listed site, but I am glad we experienced the Alcazar before we got to Granada…when it might suffer from comparison with the arguably more spectacular Alhambra.

And the other, the monumental Catedral de Sevilla: another UNESCO World Heritage site, and the largest Gothic Cathedral in the world - its immense! Inside you’ll find the tomb of Christopher Columbus. And would certainly recommend paying the slight additional supplement to include access to the Giralda bell tower, access to the 35 floors is via ramp (constructed to allow horses to make the climb!) so it’s not a particularly challenging experience, and the view from the top is dazzling.

We also did an absolutely perfect Tapas tour here (ask us to book this in for you - would say it was an essential inclusion!) Our host for the evening was a local professor and such a dynamic and engaging leader for our small group, sharing all her local tips so we were well equipped to venture out on the other nights in town without feeling overwhelmed or intimadated by choice.

For years we have used the hotel Las Casas de la Judeira for clients, friends and family (Sian stayed here too a few years back.) It was excellent to experience it myself - a magical collection of 27 traditional homes, strung together by hidden courtyards and inviting secret gardens. There’s a charming rooftop pool, it’s in a perfect old town location, and our room was magnificent - with a huge terrace perfect for al fresco breakfast (and an afternoon siesta!)

Arcos de la Frontera - we took the coach service to Arcos, one of the white walled ancient hilltop villages for which the Andalusia region is so well known. Such a change of pace from bustling Sevilla, but such a welcome reprieve to slow it down a bit and get a dose of fresh countryside air. Here you really get the full Spanish siesta experience, with the whole village virtually shutting up shop from 2 until 5pm (if not a little later.) Once things do liven up later in the evening, there were a number of really decent restaurants and bars to choose from including Taberna Jovenes, and Aljibe - both of which were outstanding.

The 15th century Basilica, which takes pride of place at the top of the hill in the main square, was an unexpected delight - only open limited hours, so I’d suggest working your day around a visit here. Climbing the tower gave a breathtaking (and nerve wracking) view across the valley, and inside the ornate gilt emblazoned altarpiece was a spectacle to behold.

Here we stayed at the Parador - undoubtedly the best location, right on the city square. Glad we went with an upgraded room which had a gorgeous balcony and a million dollar view.

Ronda - another coach connection took us to perhaps the most famous of Andalucia's 'pueblos blancos', an old and new town split by the dizzying El Tajo gorge. It’s inspired a whole host of luninaries including Ernest Hemingway (who set novels here) and Orson Welles, and you can certainly see why. The new town was abuzz with activity - shops, bars and restuarants (we loved the very authentic tapas at El Lechuguita - worth the wait to get inside.) Another favourite thing we did was to get up early and go for a stroll along the gorge to the Jardines De Cuenca and across the Puente Viejo bridge, so nice to explore in the dappled morning light, with just us and the local birdlife to disturb the tranquility.

Another Parador was our highlight stay, right on the side of the gorge itself - our room had french doors which swung open to reveal a balcony and a front row outlook to the main attraction in town, the Puente Nuevo bridge.

Granada - next up was my most hotly anticipated stop, Granada and its Alhambra. We got here by train to arrive just in time for a sunset stroll up to the Mirador San Nicolas - certainly no longer an undiscovered secret spot to see the sun setting on the red fortress, the place is now overrun with instagrammers (but it’s still worth your time, and would suggest you pop in to the gardens of the mosque next door - for the same view, but almost no fellow travellers.)

Of course we included a guided visit to the Alhambra during our time here - and it was everything I had hoped it would be (after wanting to come here since I first read about the fortress as a child!) The Generalife Gardens were heavenly, and the Nasrid Palaces were out of this world! Advance reservations essential, and we know the best operators for this, offering a small group / skip the line / expertly led experience - to make sure you’re getting the absolute most out of your time.

Heaps of buzzy restuarants, bars and tapas opportunities here. We loved El Mercader and La Sitarilla.

On another evening we walked along to the traditional Romany (or Gitano) community of Sacromonte (famous for its flamenco caves) where we stopped off at a little road-side bar called Pibe where we once again got a fantastic view of the Alhambra at sunset, with a beer and no crowds!

Madrid - surprised me the most, what a fantaastic city! If we had more time (or on a future visit) I’d love to check out the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum and the Reina Sofía Museum. We did make it to the Prado, where we spent 3hrs amongst the masterpieces (and barely scratched the surface!) And also toured the magnificent Royal Palace, the largest in Europe.

We did another small group tapas tour here (of the Barrio de La Latina), and got to check out a tapas institution as well as a craft brewery (a pioneer in Spain - where they mostly drink lagers) and a cocktail bar where we sampled a vermouth cocktail. We also met up with a friend who has just moved to the city, so we got a fab local perspective as well, of the Chueca district - we were aiming for a table on the Plaza (but so was every Madrilenos) so we ended up at the magical Taberna de Angel Sierra for a couple of glasses of vermouth on tap - super atmospheric bar, with a starring role in several Pedro Almodóvar films.

I loved the location of our hotel here, the Totem Madrid, member of the independent Small Luxury Hotels of the World. Situated in leafy Salamanca, which reminded me of South Yarra (for those of us based in Melbourne.) Beautiful high end shops and restaurants, sophisticated 19th century buildings - and easy walkable proximity to Retiro Park and the Golden Triangle of Art (where all the big name museums are situated.)