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Think you know Spain? A destination this popular – and varied – can always surprise you. Here are some refreshingly different ways to look at it, including plenty that’s new for 2023
Sun, sea and sangria – perhaps still the stereotypical view of a Spanish holiday to some, but there’s so much more to this amazingly diverse country. We round up alternative ways of enjoying España, from rambling breaks and train tours to volcano-hopping cruises.
Spain is home to some of Europe’s most enticing city break destinations – and we don’t just mean Madrid and Barcelona. In the south, Malaga is all too often seen as just a gateway to the Costa del Sol, but with a lively restaurant scene, numerous world-leading art museums and its hip Soho art district, the city that gave the world Picasso now offers a superb cultural break. Jet2 has packages featuring a range of chic hotels here including the modern Barcelo Malaga with its rooftop pool and the beachside Soho Boutique Las Vegas in Soho.
Valencia also mixes urban flair with beachy vibes and has been named European Green Capital for 2024 thanks to its abundance of green spaces, including the 9km-long Jardin de Turia, which runs along the route the eponymous river once took. There’s also the City of Arts and Sciences complex, with its exhibition spaces, interactive science museum and Europe’s largest aquarium, Oceanografic. Tui offers city breaks here, including to the elegant Vincci Lys in the city’s old town and the NH Valencia Las Ciencias for easy access to the City of Arts and Sciences.
Away from the coast, Spain’s ancient cities can be combined with Kirker, who visit Avila, with its superbly preserved city walls, Segovia, home to a Roman aqueduct, and picture-book Salamanca with its elegant squares and spires.
Book it: Kirker Holidays has a seven-night Avila, Salamanca and Historic Castile tour from £2,649pp, based on two sharing, departing 28 September 2023, including flights; kirkerholidays.com
Contact Kirker Holidays via the TTG Travel Supplier Directory
Spain is more than just playas and Costas; the country’s rural hinterland offers everything from soaring snow-capped mountains and rolling hills to wildflower meadows and vineyards.
New for 2023 is Paradores’ focus on cycle tours. This group of historic hotels now has 26 properties catering for cyclists, including easy access to bike hire, bike storage and bespoke routes for cycle touring. Also new this year is KE Adventure’s cycle-focused Lanzarote tour, which includes three days of guided cycling around this volcanic island. The highlight, literally, is the climb up to Penas del Chache, the island’s loftiest point, and there’s also hiking to vineyards and through lava fields.
Andalusia is superb for walkers, and this year Ramblers launches a new package that blends hiking with yoga, based in the spa town of Lanjaron in the hills of the Alpujarras. The itinerary includes poolside morning and sunset yoga sessions as well as walks to picturesque white-washed villages. Perhaps Andalusia’s most beguiling hilltop town is Ronda, home to the dramatic Puente Nuevo bridge above the plunging Tajo Canyon. Pura Aventura has a self-guided walking holiday from here, taking in the surrounding white towns and goat-strewn valleys and staying in boutique accommodation.
Book it: Ramblers Walking Holidays has a seven-night Andalusian Escape from £1,530pp, based on two sharing, including meals and flights, departing 10 November 2023; ramblersholidays.co.uk
Contact Ramblers Walking Holidays via the TTG Travel Suppliers Directory
With more than 3,000 miles of coastline and countless beaches, there’s always somewhere new to stay for a Spanish beach holiday. This summer Virgin Limited Edition is relaunching Son Bunyola in Majorca as a luxury hotel. This 16th-century former finca on the island’s north-west coast previously only offered villas, but these are now joined by 26 opulent rooms in the manor house, including two striking Tower Suites, one of which dates back to the 13th century.
In the Canaries, Barcelo is opening a new property in Lanzarote’s Playa Blanca this December. The hotel is just 100 metres from Playa Dorada and will offer swim-up rooms and multiple restaurants, as well as a separate adults-only area.
On the mainland, August sees the opening of METT Hotel & Beach Resort Marbella, Estepona. This five-star property will feature 249 rooms arranged around the Azure Beach pool with views out over the Mediterranean and promises a stylish new base in one of Spain’s most popular resorts.
Book it: Elegant Resorts has seven nights half-board at Son Bunyola from £2,935pp, based on two sharing, including flights and transfers; elegantresorts.co.uk
Contact Elegant Resorts via the TTG Travel Suppliers Directory
Client keen on cruise? Spain offers eclectic itineraries for both ocean and river cruising, from volcano-hopping in the Atlantic to viewing Andalusia’s famous cities from the water.
For ocean cruising, the Canary Islands are enticing, a scattered archipelago of rugged volcanic islands that offer everything from sun-drenched beaches to mountain hikes. Fred Olsen sails from Southampton and links the Canary Islands of Tenerife, La Gomera and La Palma with the Portuguese outposts of Madeira and the Azores, while P&O Cruises offers an itinerary from Southampton that calls at Lisbon and Cadiz before time ashore in Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, Tenerife and La Palma.
Andalusia is top pick for river cruising. The Guadalquivir runs from sultry Seville to the ancient port of Cadiz; CroisiEurope has a cruise from Seville to Cadiz and on to Puerto de Santa Maria, which focuses on the region’s delicious ham and famous sherry, while Newmarket Holidays mixes things up by using small boats to explore the river as well as Atlantic harbours including Marbella’s glitzy Puerto Banus.
Spain is also easily reached over water. Brittany Ferries sails overnight to Bilbao from Portsmouth, and to Santander from Portsmouth and Plymouth, and offers spacious cabins with windows, plus live entertainment and spa treatments.
Book it: Fred Olsen offers a 15-night Volcanic Islands of the Canaries, Azores and Madeira cruise from £1,499pp, based on two sharing, including meals, departing 14 October 2023; fredolsencruises.com
Contact Fred Olsen Cruise Lines via the TTG Travel Suppliers Directory
There’s romance on the rails in Spain, especially on the country’s oldest tourist route, El Transcantabrico, bookable with Great Rail Journeys. The train itself is five-star all the way, its 1920s Pullman carriages featuring a fine-dining restaurant and luxurious lounges with panoramic windows, and the route through the country’s verdant north links two historic cities, San Sebastian and Santiago de Compostela.
This is wayfaring country, with the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route finishing at the 13th-century cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, and for 2023 Inntravel has a new itinerary taking it in by rail. The tour begins in Bilbao and calls at Burgos and Leon, with time to explore Gothic cathedrals and mingle with pilgrims en route.
Also in Spain’s green north, Inntravel offers a charming slow train tour along the coast of Asturias, travelling through lush pastureland and calling at fishing villages for fresh seafood washed down with local cider.
The Pyrenees also lend themselves to travel by rail, their towering peaks reached most easily by letting the train take the strain. Newmarket Holidays links the region’s small trains on its Little Trains of the Pyrenees tour, including the dramatic Nuria Rack Railway, which climbs more than 1,000 metres in 40 minutes, and the Petit Train Jaune just across the French border.
Book it: Newmarket Holidays has a fully escorted seven-night Little Trains of the Pyrenees tour from £974pp, based on two sharing, including meals and return flights; newmarketholidays.co.uk
Contact Newmarket Holidays via the TTG Travel Suppliers Directory
Consult TTG’s directory for a list of all suppliers selling Spain.
Fifty years after Pablo Picasso’s death, his legacy in Spain is strong. Robyn Quick rounds up key sites associated with the celebrated artist
Very few artists can compete with the prodigious talent and productivity of Pablo Picasso. In his lifetime, he produced more than 20,000 paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures and ceramics. Much of his work had a political edge, such as the haunting Guernica, widely acknowledged as the most important anti-war painting in history.
Manuel Butler, director of the Spanish Tourist Office, says: “This year we are proud to be hosting an extensive programme of events across Spain to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Pablo Picasso (8 April 1973). Spain’s artistic and cultural scenes today would not be the same without Picasso’s innovations within Cubism and collage, making 2023 a very special year.”
Picasso spent most of his life in France but he was born in Malaga, and Spain never left his heart. Key sites in Malaga include the Picasso Birthplace Museum, the Museo Picasso Malaga and the Church of Santiago, where he was christened.
A Coruna in northern Spain, where he moved in 1891, is also crucial, and a glimpse into his family life is provided by the Picasso House Museum.
The artist relocated to Barcelona, aged 13, attending the School of Fine Arts. Point clients in the direction of the Picasso Birthplace Museum followed by tapas and drinks at Els Quatre Gats, a favourite haunt of Picasso’s.
Madrid also offers Picasso riches – he enrolled in the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts there, while finding inspiration in the Prado Museum. Several works, including Guernica, can be seen at the Reina Sofia National Art Museum.
More rural spots for a dose of Picasso include Horta de Sant Joan, about 125 miles from Barcelona. The hilltop village had a profound impact on the artist – the Picasso Centre houses works he created while staying there on two separate occasions including a six-month spell to recover from scarlet fever.
Also, Majorca-bound clients will find both Picasso and Joan Miro works at the Tren del Arte Foundation, the final stop on the historic and beautifully scenic Palma-Soller train journey.
This year, to mark the anniversary, there are 15 temporary exhibitions around Spain, current or upcoming, celebrating Picasso’s creativity and influence: eight in Madrid, three each in Malaga and Barcelona, and one in Bilbao. Find out more at spain.info/en/discover-spain/picasso-sites-spain
The brand new festival running online 11-15 September is designed to help travel agents and tour operators improve their knowledge of the destination, curate inspiring itineraries and boost their sales for Spain.
Join us for expert panel discussions, educational masterclasses and fact-filled training sessions. Plus, there will be a selection of prizes up for grabs, including a holiday to Spain!
