We spent days scouring the web for unique things to do in Madrid well before we landed in Spain’s largest city and capital. Madrid has stood for over 1,100 years, so you know there have to be plenty of things worth checking out.

Turns out there are hundreds of quirky and weird things to do in Madrid! Once you’ve seen the touristy hotspots, like checking out the sprawling Parque del Retiro or the amazing Royal Palace of Spain, you might be crave some more hidden things to do in Madrid.

The first time we visited Madrid, we knew there were several must see and do activities in this still growing city, however even back then we didn’t realize how many fun things there were to do in this vibrant city.

Whether you’re just stopping in Madrid as a starting point for a long road trip in Spain and Portugal or taking a Madrid to Barcelona train trip, know that Madrid has plenty of things to see and do.

Unique Things to do in Madrid

Join us for 15 unique things to do in Madrid.

Eat Churros con Chocolat at San Ginés

While churros con chocolat (churros with a mug of thick chocolate) definitely isn’t unique in Spain, we’ve yet to see another Spanish city that does this combination so well.

First opening in 1894, San Ginés has been serving churros and chocolate 24 hours a day to the masses.

A favorite late night stop (especially common with after the bar patrons), the chocolate is so thick that even though it’s served in a mug, good luck drinking it. Made mostly for dipping the delicious fried churros (yummy deep-fried batter sticks covered in cinnamon and sugar), it’s not something to be missed, and was a highlight on our first trip to Madrid.

Explore a piece of Egypt at The Templo de Debod

What can be more unique than having a real, 2200 year old Egyptian temple in your city?

The Templo de Debod was an Egyptian gift as thanks for helping Egypt deal with preserving artifacts and monuments when they built the Aswan Dam. Rather than having the temple destroyed, it was torn down brick by brick and then rebuilt to exacting detail in Madrid.

The Templo de Debod was originally built to honor both the god Amun and the goddess Isis, and sits in the center of Madrid, Spain, in Parque de la Montaña, close to the Royal Palace. You can walk the grounds anytime for free, however there is a cost to enter the main building.

Get surreal at The Reina Sofia Museum

What makes the Reina Sofia Museum unique has more to do with what’s in it rather than what it is.

Get tickets here.

Filled with unique paintings and sculptures, including surrealist paintings by artists like Picasso and Dali, you can spend hours walking from one chamber to another surrounded by unique works of art.

The Reina Sofia Museum is also well known for how they group their collections.

From their avant-garde collection, to eclecticism, all to way to their apparatus collection, each room holds a narrative that blends paintings, sculptures, posters, videos and music together in a way that leaves you thinking long after you’ve left the museum.

If you’re going, make sure to check out Pablo Picasso’s ‘Guernica’, considered one of the most powerful anti-war paintings in history, and one you don’t want to miss while you’re there.

Enjoy the space at Sala Equis

Housed in the last X-rated cinema in Madrid, the famed Alba Cinema, Sala Equis is converted into a popular cocktail bar and cultural center. Divided into three zones and housed in a former mansion, it has space for you to explore and plenty to do.

The main area, the Sala Plaza, with its big screen and bar, offers a variety of different foods. You can relax on wooden benches, lounge chairs and even swings as you chat with friends and locals alike.

Finally, the cozy 55-seat cinema offers everything from horror and sci-fi classics, to modern blockbusters. They have a huge rotating schedule posted every month (no movies on Mondays though). Check out their site to see what’s playing.

Eat dirty at La Pollería and La Coñería

Unique and tasty ice cream treats? Count me in.

“Wait, what am I looking at?” is a commonly heard sentence as people arrive at either La Polleria ice cream shop or its nearby sister ice cream shop, La Coñería.

La Polleria is a racy ice cream shop in Madrid that was so successful its first year that it had to move to a bigger location and then spawned a “sister” version just down the street just has to be good.

With both male (polofres – a play on slang male genitalia and waffles) and female (coñofre – a play on slang female genitalia and waffles), they’re both a huge hit and there are lineups at both places every day. With the polofres on a stick and the conofres split with an ice cream in the middle, you’ll not only get a chuckle but a tasty ice cream treat as well.

Explore your senses at Ikono

Ever feel like you can’t touch this or play with that?

While museums are great places to expand the mind, most just let you use your eyes to take it all in. Five different senses means five different spaces at Ikono that push your senses into the next realm.

From rooms filled with balls to rooms filled with scents, Ikono takes about an hour to walk through and is chock full of photographic moments, so bring your phone or a camera.

Walk through the Prado Museum

The Prado Museum in Madrid is not only the biggest museum in Madrid, it’s also considered one of the premiere museums of the world.

Get tickets here.

The Prado Museum is housed in a gigantic neo-classical building built in 1785 and is something to see on its own.

Whether you’re an inspiring art student or just enjoy paintings you can see some of the best collections of Goya, Bosch, El Greco and Velazquez here, as well as Spanish Romanesque murals and Gothic altarpieces. You can even find works from the Italian Renaissance with masterpieces by Titia, Botticelli, Rafa and Caravaggio.

Take in Madrid’s Street Art

Madrid isn’t unique in its street art. What sets Madrid’s street art apart from the rest is the quality and sheer size of many of these large art pieces. From a wall of 150 painted CCTV cameras symbolizing Big Brother is watching, to the charming (and functional) Sombrerete sundial, there are murals and street art found all across Madrid.

Get tickets to a street art tour.

For a quick roundup of some the most well known street art in Madrid, check out this article.

Go to a Flamenco Show

While southern Spain lays claim to the Flamenco origin, Madrid is often considered the capital city of Flamenco. The largest and most theatrical flamenco shows in the country call the city home, and there are several flamenco shows happening around the city on any given night.

With the hypnotic dance, haunting vocals, Spanish guitar and rhythmic beat of the castanets, flamenco dancing is fascinating to watch and a unique experience to enjoy.

Whether you catch it in a tablao (a flamenco bar) like the ever popular Corral de la Morería (opened in 1956) or Villa Rosa (first opened in 1911) or even happen to be in the city during one of the many Flamenco festivals such as Flamenco Real, Flamenco Madrid or the end of the year Suma Flamenca, you’re in for a real treat if you’ve never experienced flamenco firsthand.

Get spooked at the Chamberí Ghost Station

First opened in 1919, the Estación de Chamberí was one of Madrid’s original metro stations. Situated between the Bilbao and Iglesia stops on the Blue Line, this former subway station was closed for decades, but could still be seen by passengers as they zipped by on the tracks.

With a long history, including providing shelter from the deadly bombing campaigns and artillery assaults of the Nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War, the station was eventually reopened as a museum named Andén 0 (Platform Zero in English).

It features a fully restored Chamberí station, complete with turnstiles, old ticket offices, maps and a film about how the Metro was originally built.

The highlight of the Anden 0 museum is undoubtedly the beautifully reconstructed original ads all along the metro platform. Most are composed of bright colored tiles, just as they were back when it first opened in 1919.

Admission is free, however there is often a line to get in.

Eat at the oldest restaurant in the world, the Sobrino de Botin

Marked in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest continually operated restaurant in the world, the Sobrino de Botin (Nephew of Botin – so named by the nephew of the original owner) has served food for well over two centuries.

It’s so old that when it was first opened, patrons actually brought their own food for the owners to cook up and serve.

While the most notable thing about this restaurant is obviously its age, it has kept to its Spanish roots. Whole suckling pig, faithfully prepared in an old brick oven, is still the restaurants most popular dish and the reason locals still flock to it today.

Go macabre at the Reverte Coma Forensic Museum

If you enjoy the macabre as well as grisly oddities, you will find the Reverte Coma Forensic Museum fascinating. Housing over 1,500 macabre oddities, ranging from severed heads from executions, dissected fetuses, deformed skulls of different peoples, diseased bones, mummies, 800 skeletons plus a few torture devices and a real used garrote.

It’s definitely not for the faint of heart, however if you are interested in the forensic and paleopathology sciences, or have a true fascination with the subject matter, it’s worth a look.

Most of these items are housed in the corridors of the immense Faculty of Medicine building at the Complutense University in Madrid for you to see. Mostly set up for students, you can organize a visit by phoning ahead or contacting the university directly.

Get lost in the Museum of Illusions

When is something not as it appears?

When it’s in Madrid’s Museum of Illusions. This newer museum plays on optical illusions to help fool your mind. Using tricks like forced perception and optical illusion, you’ll find upside down rooms, never ending corridors, 3D stereograms and much more.

Most rooms are set up a to trick your mind into seeing, or in some cases, not seeing what’s right in front of you. In either case, bring your camera, because some rooms at the Museum of Illusions need to be photographed to see their true potential.

Visit a real Crystal Palace

The Palacio De Cristal in Madrid’s huge Parque de Retiro is definitely something unusual. While palaces are commonplace in Europe, what makes the Palacio De Cristal special is that it’s nestled in the heart of the park, and is more large empty space rather a true palace.

Finished in 1887, the ornate glass and steel greenhouse sits on the shore of the lake in Retiro Park and was designed strictly as a space to exhibit arts and greenery in a loving baroque style. Over 130 years later, the building is still stunning and supposedly looks awesome in the fall as the foliage starts turning.

Meet your eventual overlords at The Robot Museum

Love robots? Who doesn’t?

Scared they’ll one day enslave us? Me too, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t find them fascinating. Madrid has one of the largest collections of robots around the world, and you can see and interact with some at the Robot Museum.

Founded in 2013, the museum pays homage to both the early days of robot invention, what’s happening out there today, and what may exist tomorrow. From humanoid replicas, to robotic toys and robotic animals, to replicas of the famous Star Wars androids, and the worlds smallest robot, EMROS, the Robot Museum in Madrid showcases them all.

Unique Things to do in Madrid Spain

Whether you’re heading to Madrid for a vacation, flying into Madrid as a stop to someplace else, or happen to live in the city, there’s plenty to see and do at all hours of the day and night.

Filled with restaurants, entertainment complexes, art studios, world class museums, more parks and squares than most comparably sized cities could dream of as well as enough markets and shops to make your wallet cry, Madrid is a definite world class city filled with art, music and nature. So whether you’re in Madrid with your kids, as a couple or going it solo, enjoy your trip!

Do you have anything to add to our list! Let us know in the comments!

What’s the best transportation in Spain for your trip? That really depends on your needs.

If you have plenty of time, then taking the bus may be the most affordable option. If you’re in a rush, flying may be the fastest way to see the country. If you’re looking for speed and scenery, but with a slightly bigger budget, Spain’s high speed trains may be just your ticket.

Best Options for Transportation in Spain

Spain is one of Europe’s most popular tourist and TEFL destinations, and it’s easy to see why. From the sun dappled beaches of Andalucía, to the quaintly cobbled streets of busy Madrid, to the affordable tapas and drinks in Granada there’s plenty to keep travelers occupied.

Tourists wondering how to get around Spain have plenty of options. Now that we’ve listed a few, lets compare the major modes of transportation in Spain.

Train

Traveling by train is one of the most popular types of transportation in Spain, and for good reason. Spain trains and routes are generally efficient, easily available, and affordable.

Trains travel extensively within Spain however they also connect to other countries.

The high-speed train or AVE (Alta Velocidad Española) runs between Spain’s major cities. Operated by Renfe (Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Españoles), the AVE system is the longest HSR system in Europe, and second only to China worldwide. Trains in Spain reach speeds of 300 plus kilometers per hour (186 miles per hour).

Trains offer many types of tickets, including 1st class (Preferente) and 2nd class (Turista) cabins and some offer cafe-bar facilities. You can book most train tickets via the Renfe website, Rail Europe or a 3rd party site like Rail.Ninja.

Round trip train fares are generally cheaper in Spain than getting two, separate, one-way tickets.

International connections from Spain

Spanish trains have good connections to France and Portugal.

There is no direct rail line to the country of Andorra, which doesn’t have a rail service in the country. To reach Andorra, take a train from Barcelona to L’Hospitalet-près-l’Andorre (France), and then switch to a bus from France to Andorra la Vella in Andorra.

Similarly, there is no direct train connection to Gibraltar, which has no rail service. However, you can take a train to the Spanish side of the border with Gibraltar), and then take a bus further into Gibraltar proper.

There’s talk of an undersea tunnel connecting Spain and Morocco, but for now there’s no train service from Spain to Morocco.

Local rail networks in Spain

In addition to the high speed network, there are also smaller regional train services in Spain, which operate a largely commuter services. They include FGC in Catalonia (including Barcelona), Cercanias RENFE (which operates many suburban rail networks), FEVE (Northern Spain), Euskotren (Bilbao, San Sabastian and a few smaller towns).

Like elsewhere in Europe, it takes a little thinking to figure out if a rail pass is worth it for you. There are three types of rail passes in Spain.

• Spain only. Spain only passes come as the Renfe Spain Pass, or the Eurail Spain Pass.
• Two country passes. You can use the Eurail Select Pass to pair Spain with Portugal, France, or Italy.
• Multiple country passes. The Eurail Global Pass lets you travel on four adjacent countries by train.

It always takes a bit of number crunching to figure out if a pass is more affordable than buying individual tickets, or more affordable than doing a combo like flying, renting a car, and taking the bus however if you love seeing the countryside by ground and prefer trains over buses or cars, then getting a train pass in Spain definitely makes sense.

Driving in Spain – Car

As Canadians, we’re used to driving everywhere. Canada’s an enormous country, and long distance public transportation is definitely lacking here.

Happily, the public transportation system in Spain, like most European countries, is excellent. During our time in Spain, we did rent a car for our road trip through Spain and Portugal, but most of the time we relied on public transportation to get around,

In Spain, you drive on the right hand side of the road, and the driver’s seat is on the left side of the vehicle. Coming from Canada, this was familiar to us, making driving easier, but if you come from the UK or Australia, where you drive on the left side the road, it may be more of a challenge to get adjusted.

The driving age in Spain is 18, and you’ll need both a valid driver’s license and an International Driver’s Permit (IDP).

Freeways (autovias in Spanish) are plentiful and well maintained throughout Spain. We found the highways we traveled in Southern Spain to be smoothly paved, with lines recently painted. We did find plenty of roundabouts on the roads in Spain, including large, busy roundabouts in Madrid.

As North Americans, we’re used to wide roads with plenty of parking. It was definitely a challenge to adjust to driving in Spain through the narrow, winding roads of historic city centers like Avila, Spain, where roads were originally designed for pedestrian or horse traffic.

Parking in Spain

Parking in large cities like Seville and Madrid was incredibly difficult, and even smaller centers like Avila’s city center didn’t have a lot of readily available parking. On street parking is often in small, tight spaces, which may be a challenge if your parallel parking skills aren’t on point however there are parking lots and even parking garages around some of the major tourist areas around the country.

Spain’s toll system

We found Spain’s road toll system to be much less complicated and confusing than toll roads in Portugal.

You can pay Spanish tolls with a credit card or cash manually, or electronically, via the Via-T system.

For manual tolls, you grab a ticket from a booth when you enter the motorway, and then pay the toll at another booth as you exit, in either the credit card or cash lane.

Some motorways allow electronic payments, but you’ll need a special VIA-T device. Look for the Telepeaje, VIA-T or T sign on the motorway. You must use one of the lanes with the VIA-T sign if you’re using a device and the device automatically registers the amount of the toll. These devices are available, for a small fee, from many banks in Spain however you’ll need an account at the bank to get one.

Toll costs vary depending on the road and the prices vary from region to region. You can find Spain’s toll costs on numerous sites however this one from Sixt (just click on Spain) is quick and simple.

Pros of Renting a Car in Spain

Renting a car in Spain let us visit small towns and villages in Spain and Portugal that would have been very difficult to see without a vehicle. It was also the most cost effective option for our family of four and allowed us to spend as much or as little time at each destination without worrying about tight timelines.

Cons of Renting a Car in Spain

One of the major hassles of renting a car in Spain was the renting a car hassle factor. We had to figure out insurance for the car, tolls on the motorways, and deal with sometimes confusing directions. The worst was probably having to find parking, especially in city centers, where parking was hard to find and often expensive.

Bus

While Spain has a good train system, buses pick up where trains aren’t available. Buses also run on many routes that are also served by trains, and we often found the bus fares to be more affordable than train fares. However, bus routes often took much longer than train routes.

We found bus transportation in Spain generally very affordable. Most smaller centers, like Nerja, Spain, are well served by public long distance bus routes.

In recent years, ALSA has bought out many smaller bus companies, giving it a more consistent feeling and more options when booking online.

Buses can be booked via Movelia, Alsa, or Avanza websites.

Advantages of Taking the Bus in Spain

One of the best things about taking the bus in Spain is that buses serve almost every small town in Spain. Sure, there are some remote parts without bus service, but most towns have good bus connections. Plus, buses are generally clean and comfortable, and run on a reasonable schedule.

Cons of Traveling by Bus in Spain

While buses are affordable in Spain, one of the main disadvantages of taking the bus is that it’s much slower than high speed trains, flying, or even driving by car. This is especially annoying on non-direct bus routes that have multiple stops. If time if of the essence, then definitely opt for the more expensive direct buses with minimal stops.

Ferries

Ferries aren’t the first thing most people think of when it comes to transportation in Spain.

That said, around 20 ferry companies operate in Spain. They operate to and from:

• the Canary Islands
• the Balearic Islands of Ibiza, Formentera, Mallorca and Menorca (most depart from Barcelona, but some route via Dénia and Valencia.)
• Spain to Morocco
• the UK, Italy and other countries, including North Africa and Morocco.
• between islands in Spain (for example, from Fuerteventura to Lanzarote)

We took the ferry from the extreme south of Spain in the town of Tarifa to the Moroccan city of Tangier, across the Gibraltar Strait. There are two companies that run the route, FRS and Inter Shipping.

The crossing is relatively short, at only about an hour and the ferries often have food and entertainment onboard.

Tip: If the water’s choppy, the crossing from Tarifa to Tangier by ferry can be pretty nausea inducing.

You can also take a ferry directly from Barcelona to either Tanger Med (on GNV ferries) or Nador (on Grimaldi Lines) . Ferry sailings from Barcelona to Tanger Med are operated by the ferry companies GNV and Grimaldi Lines. Both crossings take about 30 hours.

Traveling by Plane in Spain

Spain is well served by discount and regular fare airlines, and flying is often the quickest (and even cheapest) way of getting around the country. Spain is a large country (the second largest in Western Europe), so it can take a while to get from the north down to south or even from east to west.

It’s a whopping 529.5 kilometers (321 miles) from the major centers of Madrid to Seville, for example. The journey takes about two and a half hours by train, five and a half hours by car, and only one hour by plane.

If time permits, many tourists prefer to slow down and see the Spanish countryside by train, bus, or car.

Spain’s main airlines are Iberia, Iberia Express, Vueling, Air Europa, Wamos Air, and LEVEL. Plenty of other airlines operating in Spain, including Ryanair, EasyJet and Lufthansa.

Heads up! Laws banning short haul flights in Spain are under consideration in 2022, to help shrink the region’s carbon output. It’s a serious possibility, as France set a law in effect that banned short-haul domestic flights on routes where train journeys of two and a half hours or less existed as an alternative.

Walking

While most people think of major treks like the famous El Camino de Santiago, it is possible to get around most cities and towns just by walking.

So, while walking may not be feasible for long distances between cities in Spain, it’s a fantastic way to see many of the sites in town.

Walking is one of our favorite ways to see a new country, and wandering through the narrow streets of the city center showed us the best of Seville and the centro of Madrid. Walking the winding city centers is also one of the things we loved about Spain.

Taxis, Ubers and Other Ride Hailing Options

To get around locally, taxi services and Uber* (or local ride hailing services) are generally good options in Spain. While in city rates aren’t bad, long distance rates can get pretty high so other methods of transportation is advised.

*Uber is regulated in Spain and it doesn’t operate in every city, including Valencia. It just returned to Barcelona in 2021 after a two year absence.

The Best Ways to Get Around Spain

Whether you choose trains and airplanes to buses or car rentals, there’s no denying Spain is a large, beautiful country with plenty to see and lots to do. No matter which mode of transportation you choose, Spain has lots of options for you and you can’t really go wrong with any of them.

When planning a tour of the country, pay attention to not only your budget but also your timelines. Saving a few dollars can cost you hours that might be better spent visiting a beautiful destination in Spain or chomping down on some delicious tapas.

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Safe travels!

Fuerteventura, the second largest of the Canary Islands, is one of my favorite holiday destinations.

Before I had kids, I would fly out to this island to bathe in the sun (which shines all year long) and have a cheeky drink or two. Since having children, (my son, Ewan, aged nine and daughter, Caitlyn, aged six) Fuerteventura has remained one of my favorite destinations.

Of course, holidaying with your treasures can be testing and difficult, but it can also be a great joy. To experience more of the latter, you have to seriously consider your place of stay. That is why I have put my knowledge together to help you and your family have a wonderful adventure in Fuerteventura.

Corralejo

For my family, Corralejo is the best place to stay. There is a lot going on in this resort town to help entertain the young ones and mostly in walking distance too.

It has a lovely beach that is the perfect size for strolling along with kids and it is also a very short bus journey from the massive sand dunes of the National Park (Parque Natural de las Dunas de Corralejo). Ewan loves this place and he can play for hours pretending to be a pirate shipwrecked in the desert, just remember to take lots of sunscreen and water.

There is also a small but fun waterpark suitable for all ages, an extinct volcano to explore, off-road buggy excursions, and Caitlyn’s favourite mini tourist train which drives around the whole resort.

Food wise, there are plenty of restaurants to choose from with food from all over the world. We preferred eating at the old port area where you get the local cuisine, mainly fresh fish, at great prices and sometimes with a free bottle of wine thrown in. Best of all though, you can get a day trip to Lanzarote from Corralejo, which brings back the holiday excitement for the kids.

Jandia

Jandia is a somewhat quieter, more relaxing affair. It is also, in my opinion, where you will find the best beaches on the island. Beyond the beaches, there are two very good reasons as to why Jandia is a great place to go to with your children.

Firstly, it is only a 20-minute drive to Oasis Park, Fuerteventura’s brilliant zoo. Ewan and Caitlyn love this place and they can easily spend days there hand-feeding the lemurs, riding the camels and watching the various animal displays.

Secondly, Ewan’s favourite activity is the Pirate Tour on board the Pedra Sartaña. This tour sails around the coast of Jandia and includes a lot of fun and games for children while also offering the chance to see dolphins.

Caleta de Fuste

Only a 10-minute drive from the airport, Caleta de Fuste is another terrific place to take your family. Located centrally on the east coast, this resort is brilliant for those who want to explore the whole island as the journey time to do so (about 40 minutes either direction) shouldn’t be too long for children.

It has a big, man-made beach with a small but entertaining climbing frame built on it and, again, there are lots of restaurants as well. One of the things we enjoyed most was walking along the beautiful coastal path to Costa Antigua, where you can hand-feed wild but very tame chipmunks.

Costa Calma

Just north of Jandia, and closer to Oasis Park, Costa Calma’s main attraction is its beautiful, long beach which alone can entertain children for hours. Caitlyn thinks it is the best beach because you cannot see where it ends and I am inclined to agree with her. Again, there are lots of restaurants here and excursions on offer too. A note of caution, it can get windy in summer.

El Cotillo

El Cotillo offers a quieter pace and is largely, untouched by tourism. There might not be as many things to do here as compared to the bigger resorts, but it certainly gives you a taste of the real life of the island. The lagoons at El Cotillo are also a major draw and are brilliant for snorkelling and sunbathing in. In addition, it is only 30 minutes from Corralejo so you can enjoy the best of both worlds on the same day.

Bon Voyage

Remember, wherever you stay, drink plenty of water, put on lots of sunscreen and have yourself a whole load of fun!

There are few areas in the world that delight me as much as islands.

I’m not sure if it’s the isolation, the miles of beaches, the friendly culture or the fact that I can swim in an ocean no matter which way I turn, but islands draw me to them like a moth to a flame. Couple that with unique animals, bizarre landscapes and vegetation not found anywhere else in the world and any island will probably get on my to see list.

When I look back at all the places we’ve visited over the years, and which places I find myself daydreaming about on a cloudy day, 9 out of 10 times it’s an island setting. I don’t even care where in the world it is, as long as there are beaches close by and the temperature is nice.

Queue Lanzarote Island in the Canary Islands. Lanzarote recently caught my attention as a place I want to check out. We’ve been invited down to the Canary Islands a few times in the past few years, and had we had a little more time during our Morocco visit a few years back we would have crossed over there to see what all the fuss was about.

Short history of Lanzarote

Spanish owned, at 1000 kilometers (621 miles) south of Spain’s southernmost tip,  it’s actually Spain’s farthest territory. First colonized in the 14th century by Spain, the Canary Islands lie about 125 kilometers (78 miles) off the Atlantic coast of Northern Africa with Lanzarote being the farthest north of the volcanic archipelago.

Now don’t let that all fool you. Lanzarote and the Canary Islands are Spanish through and through. Except maybe a little sandier and in the case of Lanzarote, a little more volcanic than the rest of the country.

With the majority of the islands populated by Spanish descendants and with Spanish as the main language, it’s as close to a being in the Caribbean without actually being in the Caribbean you’re going to get on the eastern side of the Atlantic.

Why Lanzarote is special

So, what’s so special about Lanzarote? Well, never mind that there are dozens of amazing beaches found around the 60 by 25 km island, but there are also unique activities to be had there. Ever take a camel ride on a volcano? How about eating in a volcanic cave or diving into the ocean off a still warm lava field?

Got your attention? You can do all that in Lanzarote and still go out to eat some authentic Spanish tapas (or enyesques as they’re known locally) with a group of friends that night.

As you may have guessed, the island got my attention due to its volcanic landscape. When our 10 year old son went through a volcano phase this winter the place landed on our radar. You see, massive volcanic activity in the 1700’s left volcanic soil all over the island. Enough so that UNESCO awarded the island the status of UNESCO World Biosphere. How can you not want to check out a place that some compare to the surface of the moon for its rocky surface?

If you’re more interested in just relaxing on golden sand beaches by clear warm water and having a nice resort style vacation, Lanzarote has that too. With miles of untouched beaches featuring golden, black and even red sand surrounded by clear blue water, there’s also some great surfing, kiteboarding and wind surfing to be had on the island. You can also go kayaking, paddle boarding and there are some great dive sites around the island as well.

Some of the most popular beach towns and resorts are in Puerto del Carmen, Costa Teguise, Playa Blanca and Puerto Calero. Most of these places offer world class resorts that rival anything you’ll find on the mainland and all have gorgeous beaches and tons of restaurants, bars and local things to do around them.

With the island only 60 km from top to bottom, most tours and activities can also be done starting from any location, so it doesn’t really matter where you’re staying if you’re planning on checking out all the island’s sights.

Food on Lanzarote

There are numerous landmarks and wineries across Lanzarote and though the food tends to be Spanish in flavor and design, it definitely has its own island charm.

Fish and potatoes are staples on the island and like all of Spain, cheese, fruit and variations of ham are common everywhere. However, there are some unique foods you’ll only find on the island like black potatoes, Cactus, gofio (a flour comprising toasted grains like wheat or maize),  green or red mojo (a Portuguese style sauce for fish or meats) as well as tons of local fruit such as bananas, mangoes, avocados, yams, and persimmons.

Popular dishes on the island include Papas Arrugadas (wrinkled potatoes) with mojo sauce, Potajes (chunky vegetable soups with potatoes), Caldo de pescado (fish soup), Sancocho canario (dried and cooked wreckfish, potatoes, sweet potatoes, mojo and gofio) and you’ll often find bienmesabe for dessert. Bienmesabe literally means tastes good to me) in Spanish and comprises of a paste made of almonds, honey and sugar often served with ice cream.

Things to see on Lanzarote

If you want to see all that the island can offer you can take one of the many day tours, such as a Lanzarote buggy tour, available around the island. However, they say that one of the best ways to see Lanzarote is to rent a car for the day and see where it can take you. There are car rental locations in all the bigger centers on the island.

Arrecife

The main capital city of Arrecife is on the east side of the island and makes a great place to begin exploring Lanzarote. There’s a good chance you’ll be arriving here anyway since it includes the main airport on the island. You can check out the harbor, the marina, the small castles, the beach at Playa del Reducto as well as enjoy the many restaurants and bars that call Arrecife home.

La Geria

On the way to Timanfanya National Park, you’ll pass through the wine region of La Geria. Unique to the island, the wines of La Geria are typically made from the Malvasia grape known for its honey-colored sweet rich flavor that produces a wide variety of red, white and rose wines from very dry to very sweet. The wines can be sampled right across the island in most restaurants.

What makes the La Geria region even more special is the work the locals have put into cultivating their wines. Located on the very edge of the volcano fields, they plant each vine in semicircular pits filled with soil then top coat each one with a coarse volcanic ash called picón. The ash helps the ground hold the moisture in and protects the vine from the constant winds in the area.

Seeing a few of these vine pits up close is a cool experience however when you combine over 10,000 of them in one area you find yourself staring at man made art on a grand scale.

Timanfanya National Park and the Fire Mountains

From La Geria you can head Northwest and visit the surreal beauty of Timanfaya National Park.

This is the top tourist attraction on Lanzarote and while there you can enjoy taking a coach tour over the lava fields of Montanas del Fuego or Fire Mountain as well two guided hikes. You can also go on a camel ride that will take you up the volcano and even have a meal that’s been cooked over a live volcano.

El Golfo

Just south of Timanfanya lies El Golfo. El Golfo is famous for its green lagoon named Charco de los Clicos. Formed due to a rare hydro volcano, Charco de los Clicos, Charco Verde or Lago Verde as it’s also sometimes called, is a small half moon shaped lake that’s separated from the ocean by a bunch of black sand. What makes this half lake so special is the hf cone it sits in as well as the crazy color combination of lime green water, red colored rocks, ochre colored hills, black sand beach and blue ocean.

Los Hervideros

Just past La Geria on the western side of the island stands Los Hervideros. Spanish for “boiling water”, Los Hervideros was formed during the islands crazy volcanic activities in the 1700s.

This extreme collection of rocks, caves and lava tubes formed as a result of lava meeting cool ocean waves and the unusual rock formations, archways and water funnels make the coastal cliffs of Los Hervideros a sight that can’t be missed.

Mirador del Río

Located at the northernmost tip of Lanzarote, the Mirador del Río is a bunker style cafe embedded high up on the cliff side overlooking the island of La Graciosa. The panoramic views are breathtaking so make sure you have your camera with you.

Janubio Salt Pans

Salt played an important factor for Lanzarote in the early 1900’s and you can still find them harvesting it at the Janubio Salt Pans. Located on the southwest coast of the island, the Janubio Salt Pans are close to the village of Yaiza and Janubio is the largest still operational salt mine in the Canary Islands.

When to go to Lanzarote

Due to its southern location, you can visit Lanzarote any time of the year however April and May are the wettest months. That said, Lanzarote gets an amazing amount of sunshine year round so anytime is really a good time to visit.

Before we even set foot in the city, to us Seville evoked orange blossoms, flamenco and amazing architecture. And while we did find some amazing, traditional flamenco in Seville, and the architecture of the Plaza de Espana wowed us, what we loved most about the city just can’t be found in any guidebook.

For us, the pleasures of Seville were in the little things; Sevillanos enjoying a book by their local fountain, sidewalk cafes on every other street corner, parks with leafy trees, the buzz of people going about their regular lives, and the amazing little places to eat and enjoy tapas and wine throughout the city.

Seville is truly a walker’s city. Seville’s major sights (the Plaza de Espana, the Seville Cathedral and the Alcázar) are all within walking distance of downtown, and many streets in the center are so narrow that cars can barely squeeze in between the buildings.

This is a city for living; not just for existing. Take a walk with us through some of our favorite memories of Seville.

Honestly, often a lot of the biggest attractions really don’t live up to their advance billing.

But the Plaza de España in Seville, Spain was different.

In a city filled with gorgeous, historic architecture, I was expecting the Plaza de España to be a bit of a miss. After all, Seville is the city that houses the beautiful Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Sea, the largest Gothic cathedral and the third-largest church in the world. The city also houses the monumental Alcázar of Seville.

I was expecting the Plaza de Espana, built relatively recently when Seville hosted the Ibero-American Exposition in 1929, to have a hard time comparing to its famous city mates.

Turns out I was wrong.

After all, I should have expected a place that’s been used as a film backdrop multiple times to be something worth seeing. It’s absolutely worth a seeing, even on a short one day itinerary in Seville.

Iconic scenes from Lawrence of Arabia (1962) were filmed here. It was also used as the backdrop for the royal planet of Naboo in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002). The Plaza de Espana was even used as the presidential palace in Sacha Baron Cohen’s 2012 movie The Dictator.

Not only is the Plaza huge but there’s also a lot of attention to detail here. You can see this clearly in the detailed painted tiles and intricate column carvings. The sweeping scale of the place has to be experienced firsthand to truly appreciate it.

But the best part about the Plaza de Espania, I think, is the part it plays in the daily lives of the citizens of Seville. Parts of the building function as public administrative offices, while the center courtyard and large, adjacent Parque de María Luisa serve as meeting spaces for Sevillanos. It’s a peaceful place, with the clip-clop of horse-drawn carriages, the splashes of the boats in the water and the sounds of people chatting filling the air. It’s a great place to spend a few hours and let your imagination, and your kids, run free.

You know, like the fountain of youth, or a good coffee shop in small town Canada.

Sure, there are mentions of this iconic flamenco club on TripAdvisor and even the Lonely Planet, but we were having so much trouble actually finding the place that we were starting to wonder if it was just another cool, urban myth.

La Carbonería is only a 10 minute walk from the Seville Cathedral, but those 10 minutes were stretching into 20 as we contemplated the labyrinth of tiny cobbled lanes around us.

Four year old Jordan was getting heavier and heavier in my arms as we wandered the alleyways with Charles and seven year old Cole leading the way through the twisting streets. We were all astounded at how cars somehow managed to squeeze through the tiny alleys between the crammed buildings.

As we rounded a corner, suddenly there it was: the entrance to La Carboneria, with a broad red door welcoming us into what looked like an empty warehouse. Jordan’s soft little arms hugged my shoulders as we walked inside.

Inside the red door, we found a cavernous, rustic building. In a former incarnation, legend says that coal was once sold here. A huge wooden fireplace sat below a tall ceiling criss-crossed with heavy wooden beams, and a piano, a few scattered tables and a tiny stage area let us know that we were still in the smaller bar.

A kind gentleman who didn’t speak a word of English quickly ushered us into the larger, two tiered bar for the main attraction. We were a few minutes early for the 10:00 pm show and found a seat quickly on the raised second row, but the tables were packed within minutes of us entering.

We let the kids choose our seats on one of the thick benches running along the long, roughly cut wooden tables, grabbed a menu and waited for the show to begin.

The kids snacked on a plate of olives and cheese, while I tried their famous sangria (which was excellent). Charles enjoyed a pint of beer while chatting with some nearby patrons.

Being Spain, not much starts before 10:00 pm and the flamenco here was no exception. It was about 10:30 when the performers walked onstage – one guitarist, one singer and a single flamenco dancer.

By then, every available seat was filled, mostly with locals, but with a smattering of tourists as well. By the time we left La Carboneria at the end of the first show, it was so busy it was standing room only. We would have loved to stay for the next show (every 30 minutes we were told), however the kids were so tired that Charles and I didn’t feel like having to carry them home if they fell asleep.

The video here isn’t the best quality – it was shot on our point and shoot in low light, but I think it shows what all the fuss is about. The dancer is Rocío la Turronera, the daughter of famed singer El Turronero. The guitarist is Antonio Heredia, but we weren’t able to identify the singer. When we contacted the folks at La Carboneria to find out, they kindly emailed us back to let us know the singer was a last minute substitution and not their regular performer.

You Should Know

La Carboneria is hidden away on a windy side street at Calle Levíes, 18, in Seville, Spain, where the cobbled lanes are so narrow a single car sometimes has trouble fitting between the buildings.

This place isn’t to be missed. The drinks were affordable and the tapas simple but decent. The highlight was definitely the flamenco and the easygoing atmosphere.

If you’re on your way here for the 10 o’clock show, budget some extra time to find the building. You will need one (or all) of the following:

• a smartphone with Google Maps
• a good, detailed local map
• a local
• a bit of luck

Smoking is banned in all public places in Spain, so La Carboneria is smoke free. Children are also welcome to attend.

Entrance to La Carboneria and the flamenco show are free, but you’re expected to buy something to drink. Their house blended sangria is fruity, light and delicious.

La Carboneria’s website.

The squat apartment buildings driving into Torrevieja, Spain gave us our first hint that the town might not live up to what the brochures advertised. We were making our way to Torrevieja from the small Andalusian city of Nerja.

Nerja, Spain

Nerja had done a pretty good job of living up to all of the great hype about sun-drenched Southern Spain. We’d spent a month in the little village, in a cute villa overlooking a gorgeous mountain valley with peekaboo views of the sea on the other side.

In Nerja, we went to our corner grocer every day for fresh bread, bartered in broken Spanish at the local markets, and wandered through cobblestone streets and neighborhoods filled with lemon trees and flowers.

First Impressions of Torrevieja

We were expecting the same from Torrevieja. We were almost immediately disappointed.

As we drove into flat Torrevieja, rows of squat apartment buildings gave us a hint of what was to come. The photo shows the apartment buildings on one of Torrevieja’s beaches (more on that later). The beach is pretty enough, but away from the beach in Torrevieja, you’re just left with the buildings. Not so pretty.

(Very) adult oriented

As we pulled up to the flat we’d booked for the first night, we saw that it was right beside an adult superstore. We decided to persevere anyway (we can’t always choose our neighbors), and the little apartment was affordable and serviceable, though there were quite a few single women walking alone back and forth along the streets nearby. Watching the local news later, we gathered (though our halting Spanish) that prostitution is an ongoing problem in the city.

Umm… right. Not the best fit for a family trip. But we were there to meet up with some great friends we hadn’t seen in a couple of years, so we were committed to staying for a while.

After a little searching, we found a nice condo apartment in a more residential area and got a chance to explore the rest of the city. It was definitely nicer being out of the core area, but we did miss having all the amenities around us.

The beaches

They’re pretty enough and long, but don’t expect white sand and pristine conditions.

Our first trip to our closest beach, Playa de La Mata, was late in the day, and it was littered with garbage, cigarette butts and debris. We were a little disgusted, but we had better luck on our second trip, as the beach must be cleaned up in the mornings before everyone arrives. The water was nice enough, however it was still a little cooler than we like so spent the majority of the time racing up and down the long beach and building sandcastles with the kids.

Spanish charm

We’d come from lovely Andalusia, where whitewashed houses perch on the hillsides overlooking the ocean. In Torrevieja, the terrain is flat, making it a lot less picturesque. On top of that, most of the housing is in boxy rows of apartment buildings painted a fleshy beige. The place reminded us more of Florida (minus the nicer beaches and warmer weather) than the Spain we had grown to love.

The locals

Only 47,870 of the city’s 103,154 residents are Spanish.

There’s a large British population, but we also met quite a few Dutch, German, Swedish and Russian people on the streets. There were a few scattered families, however most of the residents seemed to be older, retired expats. Nearly all of the condos and rentals we looked at were owned by people from other countries that rented them out when they weren’t vacationing.

If you’re looking for a place to practice your Spanish, you might want to look elsewhere, because even a lot of the workers we met weren’t originally from Spain.

Not everything was a disappointment in Torrevieja

We found a fantastic park – the Jardín de las Naciones – with gardens shaped like Europe if seen from above. The park was huge and shady, with fountains, trees, flowers, swans, peacocks and even a few stray roosters strolling around. Parts of the park seemed to be unfinished or abandoned, especially the East side opposite the playground. We loved it because of the huge, life size dragon slide, however be warned that it’s not the smoothest ride around.

Great Friends

Without a doubt the highlight of our trip to Torrevieja was spending time with our friends. We hadn’t seen them in a long while and got to see their gorgeous baby for the first time. I also got a chance to get my fill of Strongbow cider, thanks to all the British pubs in town.

Final Thoughts

While we’re not in a hurry to go back to Torrevieja, it wasn’t the worst place we’ve visited, by far.

Maybe we didn’t give Torrevieja a fair shake from the beginning: we had high expectations from our time in Andalusia, and Torrevella (how the name is spelled in much of Spain) is a very different type of town. If we’d come straight to Torrevieja from a cold winter in Britain or North America, the sunshine alone would have made it a great place to be.

And La Mata beach? It had its beautiful side as well. We took the photo below on the walk to La Mata,  just North of the main beach.

Recommendations

Would we recommend visiting? Maybe, depending on what you’re looking for in a holiday and the cost was right.

But you probably won’t find us there again anytime soon.

Ibiza is many things to many people, but the one constant is that it is a beautiful and tranquil island with year round sun. It just has a little bit of a wild side that comes out at night too! If you’re planning to head to Ibiza any time soon, take a look at this ultimate guide to a week on the island. There are always new sights and sounds on such a lively island, but here are a few things you really shouldn’t miss.

Day One is the best part of your week! Step off that plane and feel the sun against your face with a calm Mediterranean breeze keeping you cool and collected. Once you’ve dropped your bags at your hotel, head straight to the beach or down to the pool and enjoy some sun! Add a couple of refreshing cocktails into the mix and you just might have the perfect day.

Day Two should hopefully not start with too much of a hangover, but either way, head to  Ibiza Town, one of the island’s most popular attractions. The capital of the island, Ibiza Town is chock full of intimate boutique shops, authentic Spanish tapas bars and restaurants. The best part of any visit is, without doubt, a slow wander up to the fort built at the very top of the hill that dominates the town. Look up and you can’t get lost! There are a couple of great bars and cafes on the way up to keep you refreshed and the viewing spot at the top provides countless photo opportunities.

Day Three is when you can let your hair down a little more after yesterday’s cultural outing. Bora Bora beach is one of Ibiza’s most famous (or perhaps infamous?) strips of beach, where nightclubs and bars spill out onto the beachfront, many open all day long. Anyone for a cocktail on a sun-lounger and a spot of dancing on the beach?

Day Four could be your chance to explore the more active side of Ibiza. The tourism industry on the island works hard to keep visitors entertained when they’re not tied up at the beach, so you have the chance to try your hand at anything. Snorkeling, zip-lining, parachuting and cave walking, all these things and more are typical offerings of the major resorts and towns. Just make sure to take your camera!

Day Five is another day to work on your tan and explore more of your resort. Ibiza is the proud owner of some of Europe’s most spectacular sandy beaches. They don’t call it the white island for nothing! If you’re not the party animal you used to be, or if you’re travelling with your family, take the time to explore Ibiza’s more cultural, tranquil side. Most family hotels in Ibiza are conveniently located right by the sea, with the whole host of activities and amenities that come with being in such fantastic resorts. Whether it is family friendly restaurants or adventure parks, water parks or boat trips you’re after, Ibiza will not disappoint.

Day Six is your last chance to have some fun before heading back home, so if you’re looking for a party, head to one of Ibiza’s famed super clubs, such as Amnesia, DC10 or Pacha, where internationally famous DJs and acts perform all year round. However, if you’d like to wind down, sip a glass of wine by the marina in Ibiza town for a truly wonderful view, or maybe head up to a more remote restaurant in the hills to celebrate the final evening of your holiday in style.

Day Seven is when you have to head home. Pack up your bathing suits and sun lotion and head to the airport. Remember, there’s always next year!

Not only was it our first time in Spain, it’s also the first chance we had to get in a vehicle and get off the well beaten path of Spain’s bus and train service. We were all looking forward to seeing more of what we love about Spain. The kids were up for nearly anything and we had no fixed itinerary. This is one of our favorite ways to travel. The open road was calling.

Avila, Spain was set to be our first stop. After we spent a day to look for a car rental, we quietly left the busy hubbub of Madrid behind us and headed North. The temperature seemed to drop with every kilometer we drove. As long as it stayed above freezing, I was going to be happy. As we crested another snow capped hill, my happiness evaporated. Just over a week previous we were all basking in the warmth of Mexico’s Mayan Peninsula. Looking at the temperature gauge, we started to question the logic of coming to Spain so early in the season.

The question answered itself as we neared old Avila. The city of stones and saints has everything a newcomer to Spain could want to see. A plethora of Roman architecture, grand palaces, old lumbering convents and Gothic cathedrals all encircled by the formidably giant Walls of Avila.

This imposing, medieval wall encircling the entire old city was completed in the 12th century and stands just as grand and imposing today as it did back then. Setting the record as the largest fully illuminated monument in the world, it seems you can’t go anywhere at any time in Avila without being struck by the magnificence of Avila’s walls. At over 2.5 kilometers in length with average heights of 12 meters (36 feet), it’s impossible to not be amazed at the amount of work that has gone into it.

With 9 large gates and 88 semi circular towers the Walls of Avila are some of the most complete fortifications in Spain. At over 3 meters (9 feet) thick, you get the feeling that they’re not going anywhere soon.

Probably one of the strangest realizations for us as we entered through the main gate Puerta del Alcazar (Gate of the Fortress) was that life still went on inside the fortified remains of this town. With shops and restaurants everywhere you look, the fact that this ruin, this monument, this living testament of human engineering is still alive after a thousand years of continual use awed us.

Perhaps it’s the fact that in North America some of our oldest buildings are only a few centuries old that made us appreciate the walls and town of Avila so much. With the wind freezing our ears and the near zero temperatures painting our nose and cheeks varying colors of red we wandered the small cobblestone streets and alleyways and stumbled into the larger buildings like the imposing Cathedral of Avila and the Romanesque Basílica de San Vicente.

In fact, besides for the walls, it was the smaller places with a history that intrigued us the most. The shops, palaces, churches and convents helped give us an idea of life in Avila centuries before. With its tiny streets and winding pathways it was amusing to us (and a little scary) every time a car sped past. The juxtaposition of old and new have never been so vivid as watching a car pass under one of Avila’s arches.

We were so enamored with the place that we stayed an extra night just so we could stare out at the gorgeous views of the wall and the hills beyond. Avila is over 1100 meters (3714 feet) above ground level and is the highest provincial capital in Spain. Situated in the mountainous region of Castile and León, it was only after reading up on Avila from a geographic point of view did we realize how cold the city could be in winter. Even in summer Avila is known as a cool place compared to the rest of Spain.

Whether walking on the walls and dodging the cranes or walking through the squares, we also noticed there was a grim look to the locals that passed us by. Perhaps it was the cold or perhaps it was the fact that Avila has the highest church to resident ratio however one thing we discovered was that it wasn’t until you got them inside that the people started to open up and greet you with the Spanish hospitality we have gotten to know as the norm for this country.

Perhaps it was just the looming of the walls or the history that radiates from every cobblestone alleyway but walking into Avila one almost feels pious. With its long list of famous religious personages and their century old traditions still haunting the buildings they left behind, it’s easy to understand why.

In any case, I think Avila has rightfully earned its nickname as the city of stones and saints and it was a great first stop on our road trip through Spain.