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Tourist information for central Spain
Central Spain contains some of the last great unexplored areas in
Western Europe, as well as some of its most glorious architectural and historic
treasures. It's a paradise for motorists, as long as you're armed with a good
and up-to-date map. Mile upon mile of empty road through spectacular scenery and
forgotten villages, leads you from one to another of the great cities. This
Spanish heartland is a mountainous and often wild region, where wild-life
flourishes and the mid-summer sun bakes the land. Drive-Alive only has hotels
currently in Madrid and Seville, a situation we hope to remedy soon.
Towns and places of interest in central Spain:
Cordoba has inherited some astonishing monuments from its time as the
largest city in Roman Spain, heart and capital of the Western Islamic Empire.
The Mezquita is the greatest of the Spanish mosques, and is grandly situated
right in the centre of the town. The mosque is breathtaking in its splendour,
and is somewhere you'll want to visit again and again.
Madrid, capital city of Spain, is situated in the very heart of the
country. It is one of the great storehouses of European art, with the famous
Prado museum being now joined by two galleries of modern art, the Reina Sofia
and the Thyssen-Bornemisza. Although much of modern Madrid is functional and
uninspiring, the town's centre is a pleasant area of old streets and quirky
buildings. Madrid's nightlife is world famous, with a multitude of bars, clubs
and restaurants starting late in the evening and staying open pretty much till
dawn. Other sights of note in the centre are the Palacio Real, the gardens of El
Retiro and the beautiful arcades of Plaza Mayor.
Seville is a vibrant city, very hot in mid-summer, and best visited
outside this period, especially if you can make it in April. This is when the
city's two great festivals take place, the Semana Santa and the Feria de Abril,
both extremely lively events with many parades and carnivals. The remarkable
Moorish Giralda, or bell tower, is alone worth the visit. Add to this the great
Gothic cathedral, the Alcazar Palace, and the ancient streets of the Barrio
Santa Cruz, and it's easy to understand why this city is one of Spain's major
attractions.
Toledo sits astride a craggy landscape in a loop of the river Tagus.
These inhospitable surroundings have forced the city to build upon every
available piece of land and give it a twisted, bewildering, almost fairy-tale
appearance. They also make it a most spectacular setting for astonishing
buildings from every phase of Spain's long and complex past. This is a city to
wander in and get lost, until you suddenly chance on one of its architectural
marvels; its magnificent cathedral, its palaces, the mosque-like synagogue, the
Alcazar fortress, or one of the El Greco masterpieces housed in the place where
he spent most of his life.
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