Page 283 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide: Great Places to Stay in Europe

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some of Spain’s finest country
house properties. Peace and
quiet and individual rural
accommodation can also be
found in the beautiful, lesser-
known Canary Islands of La
Palma and La Gomera.
HIGHLIGHTS
OTELS ILLUSTRATED on these
Hintroductory pages are by
no means our only highlights.
Other high points include the
splendid Ritz in Madrid, page
311; the charming Castillo el
The Real at Santander, page 304, built for a king’s entourage Collado, page 300; Almud,
page 303, a stable block
visitor attractions, great bars country’s most frenetic converted into a B&B with
and a buzzing nightlife. The nightlife. In Madrid, exquisite taste; and luxurious
city’s most characterful hotels accommodation is largely Finca Buenvino, page 320.
are on or just off Spain’s most functional, with location
famous street, Las Ramblas. rating higher than character. RURAL TOURISM
Central Spain Andalucia POLICY OF AGROTURISMO or
P
Taking in the provinces of This is the Southern Spain A turismo rural (rural
Castilla Y León, Castilla-La of popular imagination – tourism) has been embraced
Mancha and Extremadura, the flamenco, bullfighting, by the Spanish government to
sun-scorched central plateau sherry, white cubist villages help convert fincas (farms or
(meseta) surrounding Madrid (pueblos blancos) and fields ss estates) into country holiday
( (
is the Spain of Cervantes’ Don of sunflowers. It is also an homes known as casas
Quixote and El Cid: epic enormously varied region, rurales. Properties vary in size
landscapes dotted with pictur- from desert in the east to the and may be in the wilds or
esque windmills and impos- vast watery Doñana National just a mile or two from a busy
ing castles. A deep sense of Park in the west, with the resort. Owners usually accept
history permeates the region, snow-topped Sierra Nevada just a few visitors at one time.
captured in the awe-inspiring mountains, the historic city Facilities and atmosphere vary
Gothic cathedrals of Burgos of Granada and long golden greatly. Most allow for self-
and León, the stunningly- beaches nearby. In the catering. What all casas
preserved medieval capital of historic Moorish-
Toledo, the perfect Renais- influenced cities of
sance architecture of Granada, Seville
Salamanca and the fairy-tale and Córdoba,
towers of Segovia’s castle. Andalusia boasts
To the west is wild and three of Spain’s
parched Extremadura, Spain’s most beautiful and
most remote area. It receives popular tourist
relatively few foreign visitors, destinations.
but Cuenca, with its famous Literally all kinds of
hanging houses, the marvel- accommodation are
lous Roman city of Mérida found in Andalucia,
and the Gothic-Renaissance with the emphasis
buildings of Cáceres make the switching in recent
trip well worthwhile. Govern- years from coastal
ment-run hotels, or paradores to rural.
(page 284), offer some of the
best places to stay in the The Islands
Central region. The Canaries and
the Balearics have
Madrid long been a
Not nearly as attractive nor as byword for cheap,
visitor-friendly as Barcelona, packaged tourism.
Madrid is a large modern There are excep-
capital, chiefly visited for its tions however, the
world-class museums and art most striking
galleries. However, it also has being the northwest
Spain’s best shopping, coast of Mallorca,
excellent bars, and the which now features Hotel El Montiboli, La Vila Joiosa, page 327