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Paseo del Prado; The Museo del Prado is across the street and behind the trees.
MUSEUMS & SITES IN BARCELONA
Carrer Montcada, 15-23
(between the Barri Gotic and Parc de la Ciutadella)
Plaça del Rei
(between the rear of the cathedral and Plaça de Ramon Berenguer el Gran)
El Museu Marítim de Barcelona
Av. de les Drassanes
(where La Rambla meets the sea)
Metro line L3 (green) to Drassanes
Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya
Parc de Montjuïc
Metro lines L1 (red) or L3 (green) or L8 (pink) to Plaça d'Espanya
Parc de Montjuïc
Metro lines L1 (red) or L3 (green) or L8 (pink) to Plaça d'Espanya
Poble Espanyol (Pueblo Espanol)
Av. Francesc Ferrer i Guardia, 13
Metro lines L1 (red) or L3 (green) or L8 (pink) to Plaça d'Espanya
Carrer de Mallorca, 401
Metro lines L2 (purple) or L5 (blue) to Sagrada Familia
Carrer d'Olot
Metro line L3 to Lesseps (15 minute walk)
(The entrance off Av. del Santuari de Sant Josep de la Muntanya offers an escalator or walk to the main entrance in the middle of Carrer d'Olot.)
Metro line L3 to Vallcarca (13 minute walk)
(Walk along Baixada de la Glòria to an escalator.)
Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família in Barcelona
Image courtesy of Go Daddy
MY FAVORITE MUSEUMS IN MADRID
Paseo del Prado
(just south of the Neptune fountain at Plaza Cánovas del Castillo and north of Atocha train station)
Metro line 1 (blue) to Atocha
Paseo del Prado, 8
(just north of Neptune fountain)
Metro line 1 (blue) to Atocha
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
Calle de Santa Isabel, 52
(just north of Atocha train station)
Metro line 1 (blue) to Atocha
Calle General Martínez Campos, 37
Metro line 1 (blue) to Iglesia
Metro line 5 (light green) to Rubén Darío
Metro line 10 (navy blue) to Gregorio Marañón
Calle de Serrano, 122
Metro line 10 (navy blue) to Gregorio Marañón
Museo Nacional De Artes Decorativas
Calle de Montalbán, 12
(south of Plaza de Cibeles and north of the Prado)
Metro line 2 (red) to Banco de España or Retiro
Calle de Fuencarral, 78
Metro lines 1 (light blue) or 10 (navy blue) to Tribunal
Calle de Ventura Rodríguez, 17
Metro lines 3 (yellow line) to Ventura Rodríguez or Plaza de España; or
10 (navy blue) to Plaza de España
Barcelona hosts museums devoted to Picasso and Miró. In addition, BCN also has the Pueblo Español, which is an architectural museum featuring full-scale buildings that represent Spain's diverse regions. The Spanish Museum of Abstract Art lies in Cuenca, while Bilbao is home to The Guggenheim. Málaga, the birthplace of Picasso, hosts its own Museo Picasso celebrating the most famous of all Spanish painters. Architect Antoni Gaudí is well respresented by his Parc Güell and of course his 100+ year work-in-progress, La Sagrada Familia.
Religious structures such as cathedrals, churches, convents and monasteries are plentiful throughout Spain. The cathedrals of Burgos, Leon, Toledo and Sevilla are especially grand. The cathedral in Santiago de Compostela supposedly holds the remains of St. James, the Apostle. Toledo also has two historic synagogues, one from the 12th and one from the 14th century.
For beach-lovers, Spain has got you covered...in sun! From the Costa Brava north of Barcelona to the Costa del Sol in the south or the beaches of Ibiza or the Canary Islands, there's plenty of room for everyone. Many Spaniards prefer the quieter Costa de la Luz along the southwestern Atlantic coast, pictured at the right.
Spain is one of the original melting pots; succeeding the Neanderthals, were the Celts, Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Germanic tribes, then the Moors in 711. During the last couple of decades thousands more have emigrated from Latin America, Eastern Europe and Northern Africa, in addition to thousands of Northern Europeans who've come to retire along the country's sunny, sandy beaches.
Roman ruins are found throughout Spain, while Moorish palaces still stand in Andalucía and as far north as Zaragoza. Cádiz, is said to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in Spain, founded by the Phoenicians around 1100 BC. Toledo was the capital of Visigothic Spain during the 6th century. It's called The City of Three Cultures due to the centuries-long, peaceful co-existence of Christians, Jews and Muslims. The Basque Country is a misnomer; it has been a part of Spain since the 16th century, although it retains a high degree of autonomy.
If museums are your thing, Spain will definitely satisfy your penchant for culture and history. Madrid alone requires a week to visit its best museums and that's considering visiting two each day. The Prado, Thyssen-Bornemisza and Reina Sofía are only a few blocks apart, but combined their collections stretch from the 13th century to the 21st century. A favorite museum of mine is the (Joaquín) Sorolla Museum, which opened in 1932, and had been the artist's home that he shared with his wife and children.
Southwestern Atlantic coast at Zahara de los Atunes; Africa, faintly on the horizon / 2005
¡Madrid!
Countryside between Madrid and Zaragoza as seen from the AVE train
Ceiling in one of the salons of the Moorish Aljafería palace (11th C) in Zaragoza
From the sunny, arid, bustling, capital city of Madrid to the sun swept, mountainous coast of the south, abundant with white-washed Andalusian villages such as Salobreña to the damp, lush and verdant mountains of Asturias and Cantabria in the north, every corner of Spain is worth exploring.
Barcelona, an eclectic, beautiful and cosmopolitan city, known for its avant-garde style and rich history, lies tightly packed on the Mediterranean in the northeast of Spain. Although it's been a part of Spain for several centuries, this region, called Cataluña, has renewed its desire to be separate and distinct from the rest of Spain.