Getaways around Spain
Cities for a weekend, white villages, castles, World Heritage cities, rural hideaways and the settings of Game of Thrones.
From the team
Spain, slowly
You don’t need to cross the world for a trip to remember. This special brings together our favourite getaways around Spain, for any time of year: cities to enjoy in a weekend, white villages clinging to crags, castles, World Heritage cities and corners to unwind in.
And for series fans, the places where Game of Thrones was filmed, which are closer than you think.
Every destination comes with its full guide. When you choose, we plan your trip in under a minute. We travel together.
The Bagintravel team
Weekend
Cities for two or three days
Historic centres, good food and, sometimes, a beach: cities that fit into a weekend and make you want to come back.
Cities to enjoy in two or three days: historic centres to stroll, good food, a museum or two and, sometimes, a beach. A selection for every kind of break, with the guide to each place so you know what to see and when to go.
-
01 Spain
Seville
The cathedral and the Giralda, the Royal Alcázar, Triana and the Plaza de España: a must at least once.
Read the guide -
02 Spain
Granada
The Alhambra, the Albaicín and the Sacromonte, with tapas in every bar. Alhambra tickets must be booked well in advance.
Read the guide -
03 Spain
San Sebastián
La Concha, the old town and its pintxos and Mount Igueldo: one of the most beautiful cities in Spain.
Read the guide -
04 Spain
Cádiz
A city surrounded by the sea, with La Caleta, the La Viña quarter and sunsets over the Atlantic.
Read the guide -
05 Spain
Salamanca
The Plaza Mayor, the university and the two cathedrals, in a golden, student city.
Read the guide -
06 Spain
Bilbao
The Guggenheim, the Casco Viejo and its pintxos, and the estuary from end to end.
Read the guide
Andalusia
White villages
Whitewashed houses clinging to crags and hilltop castles: the most photogenic route in the south.
Whitewashed houses clinging to crags, steep streets lined with flowerpots and hilltop castles: the white villages are one of the best-known images of Andalusia. Most are in the Sierra de Cádiz and the Serranía de Ronda, with more in Málaga’s Axarquía and in Almería.
From afar they look like snow on the mountain; up close, flowerpots and whitewash.
-
01 Spain
Arcos de la Frontera
A white village on the edge of a crag above the Guadalete, with dizzying viewpoints and the gateway to the route.
Read the guide -
02 Spain
Zahara de la Sierra
White houses at the foot of a castle and a turquoise reservoir, in the heart of the Sierra de Grazalema.
Read the guide -
03 Spain
Grazalema
Red roofs, white walls and mountains of Spanish firs in one of the prettiest villages in the hills.
Read the guide -
04 Spain
Setenil de las Bodegas
Houses built under huge rocks that serve as their roofs, beside the Trejo river.
Read the guide -
05 Spain
Ronda
The capital of the Serranía, split by the gorge and joined by the Puente Nuevo, with houses hanging on the edge of the cliff.
Read the guide -
06 Spain
Frigiliana
A Moorish white village in the Axarquía, with cobbled streets and sea views.
Read the guide
Castles
Fairy-tale castles
Alcázars, fortresses above the sea and Templar castles: centuries of history on top of a hill.
Spain has thousands of castles, the legacy of centuries of borders between kingdoms. These are some of the most beautiful and easiest to visit: fairy-tale alcázars, fortresses above the sea, Templar castles and towers above white villages.
-
01 Spain
Segovia
The Alcázar, above the meeting of two rivers, with its slate-roofed towers: one of the most photographed castles in Europe.
Read the guide -
02 Spain
Olite
The Royal Palace of the kings of Navarre, a Gothic maze of towers, courtyards and battlements.
Read the guide -
03 Spain
Peñíscola
Pope Luna’s castle at the top of a walled peninsula jutting into the sea.
Read the guide -
04 Spain
Ponferrada
The Templar castle, with its walls and towers beside the Sil river, on the Camino de Santiago.
Read the guide -
05 Spain
Manzanares el Real
The Mendoza castle, from the 15th century, beside the Santillana reservoir and at the foot of La Pedriza.
Read the guide -
06 Spain
Consuegra
The Castillo de la Muela on a hilltop, next to the most famous row of windmills in La Mancha.
Read the guide
World Heritage
World Heritage cities
Fifteen Spanish cities form a group of their own for their historic centres. These are some of the most beautiful.
Spain is one of the countries with the most World Heritage Sites in the world, and fifteen of its cities form a group of their own for their historic centres. Here they are, with what earned them the title, plus other cities with monuments that are World Heritage too.
-
01 Spain
Toledo
The city of three cultures, with the cathedral, the Jewish quarter and synagogues and mosques inside a medieval centre wrapped by the Tagus.
Read the guide -
02 Spain
Cáceres
A walled old town of palaces, towers and coats of arms, one of the best-preserved medieval ensembles in Europe.
Read the guide -
03 Spain
Cuenca
A fortified medieval city above the gorges of the Júcar and the Huécar, with its famous hanging houses.
Read the guide -
04 Spain
Córdoba
The Mosque-Cathedral, the Jewish quarter and, on the outskirts, the caliphal city of Medina Azahara, also World Heritage.
Read the guide -
05 Spain
Úbeda
Renaissance squares, churches and palaces, such as the Sacra Capilla del Salvador, recognised together with Baeza.
Read the guide -
06 Spain
Santiago de Compostela
The cathedral and the Praza do Obradoiro, the end of the Camino, in an old town of stone and arcades.
Read the guide
Countryside
Slowing down
Green valleys, mountain ranges and stone villages to walk, eat well and unwind for a few days.
Green valleys, mountain ranges with stone villages, canyons and forests: the corners of Spain for unwinding for a few days, walking and eating well. Each with its guide so you know what to see and when to go.
-
01 Spain
Picos de Europa
Limestone peaks, the Lakes of Covadonga, the Cares gorge trail and mountain villages where Cabrales cheese is made.
Read the guide -
02 Spain
Taramundi
Hamlets of stone and slate, knife-making forges and watermills in western Asturias, a pioneer of rural tourism.
Read the guide -
03 Spain
Aínsa
A walled medieval hilltop village, with an arcaded main square and the Ordesa Pyrenees close by.
Read the guide -
04 Spain
Valderrobres
A medieval bridge, a castle and stone streets in the Matarraña, the area known as Aragon’s Tuscany.
Read the guide - 05
Spain
Grazalema
A white village in a natural park of Spanish firs and trails, one of the prettiest in the Cádiz hills.
Read the guide -
06 Spain
Jerte Valley
Cherry blossom in spring, gorges with natural pools in summer and colours in autumn.
Read the guide
TV
Westeros is in Spain
Dorne, Dragonstone and King’s Landing were filmed here: the Game of Thrones settings you can visit.
Dorne, Meereen, Dragonstone or King’s Landing: many of the settings of Game of Thrones were filmed in Spain, mostly from the fifth to the seventh season. These are the places, with what they were in the series and what they are in real life.
- 01
Spain
Seville
The gardens of the Royal Alcázar were the Water Gardens of Dorne, the palace of the Martells.
Read the guide -
02 Spain
Bermeo
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, the hermitage on an islet joined to the coast by a stone stairway, was Dragonstone, the Targaryen island.
Read the guide -
03 Spain
Zumaia
The flysch of Itzurun beach, with its layers of rock, was the Dragonstone shore where Daenerys lands.
Read the guide - 04
Spain
Peñíscola
The walled old town and its streets played Meereen, the city ruled by Daenerys.
Read the guide -
05 Spain
Girona
The cathedral steps and the streets of the old town were King’s Landing and Braavos.
Read the guide - 06
Spain
Cáceres
The monumental old town was King’s Landing in the seventh season.
Read the guide
In the kitchen
Spanish cooking classics
Three dishes from our guides to take a little of Spain home with you: from Valencian paella to Santiago almond cake.
Valencia, Spain
Valencian paella
The original has chicken, rabbit, flat green beans (ferraura), garrofó beans and saffron, cooked in a wide, shallow paella pan. In Valencia it’s a Sunday dish eaten at lunchtime, never for dinner.
Ingredients
- 400 g round rice (bomba or senia variety)
- 1/2 chicken and 1/2 rabbit, cut into pieces
- 200 g flat green beans (ferraura)
- 150 g garrofó (fresh or frozen large white beans)
- 1 grated tomato
- 1 teaspoon of sweet paprika
- A few saffron threads
- 1 sprig of rosemary
- 1.2 l water
- 100 ml olive oil and salt
Method
- Heat the oil in the paella pan, salt the meat and brown it well over a medium heat for about 15 minutes.
- Add the green beans and garrofó and fry for 5 minutes. Make a space in the centre and fry the tomato; add the paprika (without letting it burn).
- Add the water and saffron and simmer for about 20 minutes to make the stock. Check the salt: it should be a little salty.
- Scatter the rice in the shape of a cross, spread it out and don’t stir again. High heat for 8 minutes and low heat for another 10.
- Add the rosemary for the last few minutes. Turn up the heat at the end to form the socarrat and leave to rest for 5 minutes covered with a cloth.
Tip: The thinner the layer of rice, the better: once the rice is in, it isn’t stirred.
Recipe in its guide
Córdoba, Spain
Salmorejo cordobés
A cold cream of tomato, bread, garlic and olive oil, thicker than gazpacho, served with hard-boiled egg and diced ham. Córdoba even has a brotherhood devoted to it.
Ingredients
- 1 kg very ripe tomatoes
- 200 g day-old telera bread (or another dense white loaf)
- 1 garlic clove
- 150 ml extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
- 2 hard-boiled eggs and chopped serrano ham to serve
Method
- Blend the tomatoes with the garlic and salt and strain to remove the skins and seeds.
- Add the bread in pieces and leave it to soak for 10 minutes.
- Blend again while drizzling in the oil, until it becomes a thick, glossy cream.
- Chill in the fridge.
- Serve with chopped hard-boiled egg, ham and a drizzle of oil.
Tip: Good salmorejo is thick: a spoon should almost stand up in it.
Recipe in its guide
Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Tarta de Santiago
An almond, egg and sugar cake, with no flour, decorated with the Cross of St James in icing sugar. It has protected geographical indication and rounds off any meal in Compostela.
Ingredients
- 250 g ground raw almonds
- 250 g sugar
- 5 eggs
- The zest of 1 lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
- Icing sugar to decorate
- Butter for the tin
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180 °C and grease a tin of about 24 cm.
- Beat the eggs with the sugar without whisking them to full volume.
- Add the almonds, zest and cinnamon and mix well.
- Pour into the tin and bake for about 35 minutes, until golden and a skewer comes out clean.
- Leave to cool, place a stencil of the Cross of St James on top and dust with icing sugar.
Tip: The cross stencil is printed or cut out of paper: it’s the cake’s signature.
Recipe in its guideDownload the app
Where are we
off to this time?
Every adventure starts with Bagintravel and your people. We help you plan it, go with you during the trip and you share it when you’re back. Your first trip of up to 4 days, free.
- Before: we plan your trip
- During: we’re in your pocket
- After: you share it with your people
Out now on the App Store. Coming soon to Google Play.
The app is currently available in Spanish.