Toledo
I chose to visit Toledo like I visit a movie theatre -without having seen the trailer. A risky technique but you are in for either great disappointment or great excitement.
One thing that I learned just by simply walking in the city’s streets is that they make really good knives. I felt compelled to be part of a duel just to test the abundance of “Toledo steels with a heart of iron”.
And that this picturesque city is worth spending 1-2 days in. The only catch is that because it’s just 1 hour away from Madrid it can get crowded during the weekends and that it is very very difficult to have a good meal or coffee.
Toledo bears exceptional testimony of several past civilisations and maintains remarkable architectural features from the Roman, the Visigoths, the Andalusian and Jewish occupation as well as a broad spectrum of structures from the medieval period.
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Granada
To be honest Spain was never a top priority for me travel wise, except maybe Andalusia and especially Granada. Spend at least 3 days in the city instead of the 1-day excursion everyone is suggesting.
Granada is mostly known for the castle of Alhambra and its impressive Moorish (western Islamic) architecture and for a good reason.
Constructed in the 13th century as a palace-city by Nasrid sultans—the rulers of the final and longest-lasting Muslim dynasty in the Iberian Peninsula—the Alhambra, or “red fort,” stands as Europe’s jewel in Moorish architecture. The design and decoration of the Nasrid palaces (an UNESCO World Heritage site) were designed with a mathematical proportional system that gives them a harmonious visual quality.
Intricate mosaics, arabesques (a repetitive, stylised pattern based on a floral or vegetal design) and stucco-carved muqarnas (or mocárabes) (ornamental vaulting) make the Alhambra a masterpiece of geometric beauty.
My suggestion would be to skip the morning visit (or just visit the Generalife gardens) and go for the night one instead, an opportunity very rarely offered by other cultural organisations. Dusk would be the ideal time to book your visit, starting with the colours of the sunset bathing the place and end it with the open starry sky above the palace’s reflective pools.
The sound of running water -an element of the architecture itself- all through the palace makes the experience quite soothing despite the inevitable crowds.
(Alhambra, after the conclusion of the Christian Reconquista in 1492, became the Royal Court of Ferdinand and Isabella where Christopher Columbus received royal endorsement for his expedition.)
If you are not into walking take a bus from the castle straight to the Albaicín neighborhood and wander around its streets. Descending you will end up in Sacromonte, the city’s old gipsy neighbourhood where flamenco is flourishing. If you always wanted to listen to flamenco that’s the place to do it, in a small cave in the hills.
Although Catholic monarchs destructed the majority of the area’s hammams you can still find quite a few to enjoy a relaxing day in Granada.
Every corner you turn in Granada is a surprise that leaves you in awe with the city’s authenticity and beauty.
And where to eat and drink and feast one might ask in the city of tapas.
Coffee
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Calle Alcaicería for silk mantons
Madrid
For me Madrid is a great opportunity to visit really good museums and see Hieronymus Bosch’s works up close at the Prado (no photos are allowed, although I really tried to be an outlaw).
And if you are lucky enough, you will stumble upon an exhibition of -my favourite artist- Max Ernst at Círculo de Bellas Artes.
If I had to choose only one museum I would pick the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía over the Prado, despite my eternal love for Hieronymus Bosch. You can easily spend 5-6 hours wandering through its galleries.
Tip: Try to spot all of Salvador Dalí’s works in different techniques —the man truly experimented! I personally spotted 6 distinct painting styles of his.
Looking for street art? Then, a stroll at Chueca neighbourhood and you will stumble upon the masterpiece that is Longoria Palace (now the “Spanish Society of Authors and Publishers”). An Art Nouveau palace that the politician and financier Francisco Javier González Longoria ordered to be built by the Catalán architect José Grases Riera in 1902. Together with the Casa Gallardo in the Plaza de España, it is Madrid's most notable example of modernist architecture.
The suggestions are endless and quite good, but here is an edited selection:
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Casa Benigna (for the best paella)
Casa Dani (for spanish tortilla)
Shop
Casa González Y González
Maty (if you missed your Andalusian chance)
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Happy travelling!
Stella