My mother and her lover-boy have bought a house in the Spanish Algarve, and in the fairly near present I’ll be visiting them. I’ve been to the Portugese Algarve before, which I loved, and I’ve seen most of the southern part of Portugal. I’ve also been to Cartagena and surroundings, the other extreme of the Spanish peninsula. But now I’ll have a chance to see the area around Sevilla, which I will definitely be visiting, and the national park above that city also sounds very appealing. Also new is that this will be my first holiday with a driver’s licence, so I’ll definitely be taking advantage of that.
My question here is if there are any dopers with tips on what to see in this area (say from the Spanish-Portugese border to and beyond Sevilla, and up to a few hundred km up north from the coastline). I enjoy everything from mountain biking to visiting cultural/historical sites, so just tell me what you particularly enjoyed. Kudos for mentioning something obscure, but a decent pit or euphoric description of a typical tourist trap is also warmly received. Just as warm as I hope Spain is, or hopefully … will … be once I get there (right now it’s a bit chilly).
A coworker of mine made a few glowing recommendations (she’s been there last year). Dunno if those are any help to you.
a day-trip by boat across the street of Gibraltar, to the totally Arabic atmosphere of Tanger, Morocco; according to my coworker Tanger is Spanish too so you won’t need a passport;
Grenada/Alhambra (order a ticket by Internet beforehand OR stand in line half a day)
a big mountain, the Sierra Nevada, south of Granada;
Not true - Tanger has been fully part of Morocco since about the 1960s (not sure of the date, but a long time anyway), so you do need a passport. Your co-worker may have been thinking of Ceuta, a small enclave which (along with Melilla and a few small islands) comstitues Spanish North Africa. When I crossed over to Morocco a couple of years ago I took the ferry from Algeciras to Ceuta. At this point you are still in Spain. It’s interesting from a curiosity point of view, but not really a place worth lingering. Anyway to enter Morocco proper, you take a taxi about 2 miles to the border, where you fill in an entry card, get your passport stamped and fight your way through the throng on foot.
Back in Spain, don’t miss Ronda. Sure, it gets a lot of tourist traffic, but it’s a stunning town.
If you do go to Tangiers be prepared to be hassled every inch of the way. You will get offers to take you to the souk , sell you carpets and ornaments or just to be your guide for the day. They are very persistent. Don’t loose your temper , a polite “no thank you” usually does the trick but it can be vary tiring after a time.
Arcos de la Frontera is another white hilltown, not as stunning as Ronda but closer to Seville. I thought it was very charming. I enjoyed it almost as much as Ronda because Arcos had few tourists.
In Seville itself, the Alcazar and its garden are fabulous.
Skip Gibraltar. It’s a dirty little town with nothing to see and nothing to buy. It’s not a piece of England in Spain. You’d get more English flavor in Benidorm or Torremolinos.
Should you decide to go, don’t take your car. The Spanish customs do everything to hassle people coming back and it’s not unusual to have to wait in line for half a day. They might decide to pick your whole carapart and leave you to re-assemble it.
Stay away from the coasts. Tourist infected, destroyed, over developed, teeming with sleazy characters from all over Europe and large parts of the Arab world.
Ronda was mentioned. It has the world’s oldest Bullfighting ring, and that it itself is worth a visit, even if your opposed to bullfighting.
Seville is nice, but not in the summer, with temperatures frequently up to 100F, with humidity to add insult.
Cadiz is a beautiful, very old town, arguably the oldest in mainland Europe.
If you like seafood Cadiz and its twin town Puerto de Santa Maria (guess what that’s named for) is one of the best spots around: Shameless plug for my favorite restaurant El Romerijo. You order your choice of seafood by weight and get it all in paper containers, similar to the type you get for Chinese take away, sit down at a table and gorge yourself.
I lived in the area for three years. Anything else you want to know, just ask.