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Estación de Chamberí
Estación de Chamberí, the long-lost ghost station of Madrids metro, is now a museum piece that recreates the era of the station’s inauguration in 1919 with advertisements from the time (including Madrid’s then-four-digit phone numbers), ticket offices and other memorabilia almost a
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Museu Memorial de lExili
Anyone familiar with Picasso’s Guernica already has a tiny insight into the horror of civilian suffering during Spain’s Civil War. This museum traces the experiences of Catalonian people exiled and persecuted during this era. This thought-provoking museum is aptly located in the to
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Monasterio de San Miguel de Escalada
Rising from Castillas northern plains, this is a typically remote Castilian church rich in history. It was built in the 9th century by refugee monks from Córdoba on the remains of a Visigoth church and various orders of monks and nuns lived here from the 9th to 19th century. Its be
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Monasterio de las Huelgas
A 30-minute walk west of the city centre on the southern river bank, this monastery was once among the most prominent monasteries in Spain. Founded in 1187 by Eleanor of Aquitaine, daughter of Henry II of England and wife of Alfonso VIII of Castilla, its still home to 35 Cistercian
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Real Fábrica de Tapices
If a wealthy Madrid nobleman wanted to impress, he came here to the Real Fábrica de Tapices (Royal Tapestry Workshop) where royalty commissioned the pieces that adorned their palaces and private residences. The Spanish government, Spanish royal family and the Vatican were the bigge
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Teatro Real
Backing onto the Plaza de Oriente, Madrid’s signature opera house took on its present neoclassical form in 1997 and, viewed from Plaza de Isabel II, it’s a fine addition to the central Madrid cityscape; in Plaza de Oriente, however, it’s somewhat overshadowed by the splendour of it
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Museo de San Isidro
This engaging museum occupies the spot where San Isidro Labrador ended his days around 1172. A particular highlight is the large model based on Pedro Teixeira’s famous 1656 map of Madrid. Of great historical interest (though not much to look at) is the ‘miraculous well’, where the
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Museu d’Història de Catalunya
Inside the Palau de Mar , this worthwhile museum takes you from the Stone Age through to the early 1980s. It is a busy hotchpotch of dioramas, artefacts, videos, models, documents and interactive bits: all up, an entertaining exploration of 2000 years of Catalan history. See how th
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Església de Sants Just i Pastor
This somewhat neglected, single-nave church, with chapels on either side of the buttressing, was built in 1342 in Catalan Gothic style on what is reputedly the site of the oldest parish church in Barcelona. Inside, you can admire some fine stained-glass windows. In front of it, in
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Monasterio de Santo Tomás
Commissioned by the Reyes Católicos (Catholic Monarchs), Fernando and Isabel, and completed in 1492, this monastery is an exquisite example of Isabelline architecture, rich in historical resonance. Three interconnected cloisters lead to the church that contains the alabaster tomb o
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Loro Parque
Travelling around Tenerife, the Loro Parque flag is so ubiquitous that you could be forgiven for thinking they sponsor Tenerife. But we’ll give them their dues because where else can you see over 350 species of parrots (the world’s largest collection) at once? Today its animal port
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Castillo de Almodóvar
Almodóvar’s monumental and sinister-looking castle dominates the view from far and wide, rising almost sheer above the Río Guadalquivir with just enough room for the AVE high-speed train line to squeeze in between. It was founded in the 8th century but owes most of its present appe
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Jameos del Agua
The first cavern you reach at Jameos del Agua resembles the nave of a vast marine basilica. Molten lava seethed through here en route to the sea, but in this case the ocean leaked in a bit, forming the startling azure lake at the heart of the Jameos. Manrique’s idea of installing b
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CaixaForum
This exhibition centre is run by one of Spains biggest building societies, the Barcelona-based La Caixa. CaixaForum is housed in the wonderful Modernista building (the islands first) that was once home to the Grand Hotel. Pick up a free program at reception and flick through it at
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Recópolis
Thirteen kilometres south of Pastrana, signposted off the Tarancón road (turn right just after passing the nuclear power plant), Recópolis is an intriguing ruin in a lovely situation above Río Tajo. The word Visigoth usually calls up images of horned-helmeted lager louts urinating
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Jardins del Palau de Pedralbes
A few steps from busy Avinguda Diagonal lies this small enchanting green space. Sculptures, fountains, citrus trees, bamboo groves, fragrant eucalyptus, towering cypresses and bougainvillea-covered nooks lie scattered along the paths criss-crossing these peaceful gardens. Among the
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La Granja de San Ildefonso
These magnificent gardens date from 1720 when French architects and gardeners, together with some Italian help, began laying out these elaborate baroque gardens, famous for their 28 extravagant fountains that depict ancient myths. There is also a maze. The 300-room Palacio Real , o
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Baños Árabes
The Palacio de Villardompardo complex houses one of the most intriguing collections of artefacts and archaeological remains found under one roof in Andalucía. The 11th-century Baños Árabes, beneath the current ground level, are in a remarkably good state of preservation: of their t
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Plaza de Toros
Ronda’s Plaza de Toros is a mecca for bullfighting aficionados. In existence for more than 200 years, it is one of the oldest and most revered bullrings in Spain and has been the site of some of the most important events in bullfighting history.The on-site Museo Taurino is crammed
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Casa de la Moneda
The national mint (literally the ‘house of coin’) is a collectors’ treasure trove of coins from ancient Greece and Roman Spain, proceeding through the Byzantine, Visigothic and Islamic periods. The last period is particularly well represented. Coins from the days of the Catholic Mo
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