TOP DESTINATIONS TO SPAIN

Whether you're touring through Europe for the summer, or just planning a week-long getaway, travel to Spain is a must for the adventure seeker, the wine sipper, and the art connoisseur alike. Accommodations are widely available at Barcelona Hotels, Madrid Hotels and hostels. From centuries-old festivals like the running of the bulls in Pamplona, to 24-hour sun and fun on the Mediterranean island of Ibiza; from the art and architecture of the Moors and Romans, to Picasso and Joan Miro, travelers can see it all when they visit Spain. For the intrepid adventure seeker, to the laid back vacationer, the tourism Spain offers is one of a kind.



According to official tourism Spain data, 45 million tourists visit Spain each year--which means that as many people visit Spain per year, as there are Spaniards. So while the restaurants and cafes may be rustic affairs tucked away on cobble-stone streets, travel to Spain and travel within Spain is easy and affordable.



From most major cities in Europe and the eastern coast of the United States, daily non-stop flights to Madrid and Barcelona are available year round. In Spain the state run train system, Renfe, and an extensive bus system put even the smallest of villages within reach.



Spain's second largest city, Barcelona, remains relatively balmy year round and is the perfect place to take in the architecture of Antoni Gaudi's unfinished masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia, or stroll through the psychedelic Parc Guell overlooking the city.



But if you decide to travel to Spain for the beaches you're in luck, because from the Costa del Sol in the south, to the surfing areas around the town of San Sebastian in the north, Spain is circled with beautiful beaches.



If it's art and architecture that you crave, the best places to visit in Spain are Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville and Granada. Art buffs will love Madrid for its most famous Museum, the Museo del Prado. The Prado houses masterworks by Goya, Velasquez and El Greco and is a must on any traveler's itinerary.

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SPAIN TOURISM

SPAIN
Spain nightlife is a way of life, and Spaniards, perhaps more than any other people take their night life and partying to epic proportions. Spain nightlife—or la marcha—reaches a fevered pitch in Madrid and Barcelona. Foreigners, and those unaccustomed to having an early dinner at 10:30 pm, should use the afternoon siesta wisely to prepare for Spanish night clubs that stay open until dawn.

Though Spanish night clubs are legendary throughout the world, night life isn’t necessarily all booze and disco dancing. In Madrid and Barcelona, the late evening meal means that whole families are out socializing, sipping coffee or sangria at sidewalk cafes until the wee hours.

The bars in Old Town Barcelona are a mixture of tourist spots, local watering holes and trendy, yet casual, pubs. Nightlife in Old Town often means sitting at a sidewalk cafe and watching the varied characters passing in the night. In Spain the terms café and bar are nearly synonymous, though it is important to distinguish that a bodega specializes in wine; a cerverseria serves mostly beer, while those tourists with a more refined palate will want to visit Spain’s Xampanyeria or champagne bars.

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TOURIST SPOTS IN FRANCE

THE PANTHENON OF PARIS



Örebro
I've visited Örebro in the middle of August to do some shopping, but I also took the time to visit some tourist spots while I was there. All in all it was a great day!

Örebro has 125,000 inhabitants, which makes it the seventh largest town in Sweden. It is also a university city, which gives it a bit of a lively feel to it and a nice atmosphere. Örebro is located about 200 km from Stockholm and 300 km to both Gothenburg and Oslo. I've put Örebro in the region of Lake Mälaren on my webpages, although I know it is not exactly located in this region. It is actually located west of Lake Mälaren on the shores of lake Hjälmaren.

Örebro has some interesting tourist attractions and the most famous is the castle, which dates back to the 13th century. The other one that I want to write about on this page is Wadköping, the old town.



THE BEACH OF MITSMUN



Wanna visit Paris? Prepare your classiest ensemble, practice your snootiest “Bonjour!” and conquer Paris with a bang!

It’s impossible to see Paris without proper planning. Take it from me: I flew in the now defunct Air Madrid that left for Paris with a three-hour delay. Upon arriving I didn’t even have a printout of the map of the city. And, to make matters worse, I wasn’t sure about the schedule of the tourist spots so it took me six hours to get up the Eiffel Tower and go back down. The view from the top, however, made my stresses evaporate right away.



Pont du Gard, Roman aqueduct across the Gard River, Gard dept., S France. Built in 19 B.C. to supply Nîmes with water, it consists of three tiers of arches and is c.900 ft (270 m) long and c.160 ft (50 m) high. This famous construction is admired for its architectural proportions. The lowest tier is now used as a road bridge.
It was constructed entirely without the use of mortar. The aqueduct's stones – some of which weigh up to 6 tons – are held together with iron clamps. The masonry was lifted into place by block and tackle with a massive human-powered treadmill providing the power for the winch. A complex scaffold was erected to support the aqueduct as it was being built. The face of the aqueduct still bears the mark of its construction, in the form of protruding scaffolding supports and ridges on the piers which supported the semicircular wooden frames on which the arches were constructed. It is believed to have taken about three years to build, employing between 800 and 1,000 workers.

The Pont du Gard was added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1985.

The Pont du Gard is today one of France's top 5 tourist attractions, with 1.4 million visitors.

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VIRGINIA

The Flag of Virginia



It is an unbearably hot and humid day in West Virginia in 1998. We are building a small flight of stairs for a family living in a mobile home; for hours we have been pounding nails, sawing, measuring, and sweating in the heat. “We” is a group of kids from Chicago on a mission trip to this impoverished state. The family is a single mother and her son, who have lived together her for several years. The stairs need to be built because recently the mother tripped on the makeshift staircase: a pair of cement blocks.



Every hour she comes out and gives us a new container of lemonade, which we accept gratefully and greedily. This lemonade is sweeter, cooler, better than the granulated stuff that we buy at Jewel back home.



Thomas Jefferson designed Virginia's stately "Temple on the Hill" capitol building, but the years have taken their toll. The building is currently undergoing a foundation-to-roof restoration scheduled for completion by 2007.



Virginia scenic drives allow you to enjoy the state's rich history, as well as its exquisite landscape. The links at the bottom of this page will take you to articles about two such drives -- Lee's Retreat and Virginia's Skyline Drive -- that contain photos, highlights, and detailed maps.