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The Retiro Park – The most important park in Madrid

The Retiro Park or Buen Retiro Park, popularly known as El Retiro, is a historic garden and public park located in Madrid (Spain).
Considered one of the main tourist attractions of the city, it houses numerous architectural, sculptural and landscape ensembles from the 17th to 21st centuries, among which the Monument to Alfonso XII, the Crystal Palace, the Grande Pond, the Parterre, the Puerta de Felipe IV, the Royal Astronomical Observatory and the source of the Artichoke; and even earlier, such as the hermitage of San Pelayo and San Isidoro, of Romanesque origin.
It was built in the first half of the seventeenth century within the landscaping project developed for the Buen Retiro Palace, an old royal possession created by the Count-Duke of Olivares (1587-1645) for the enjoyment of Felipe IV (1605-1665) ,  of whom was its valid.
Its use as an urban park dates back to 1767, the year in which Carlos III (1716-1788) allowed the public to enter for recreational purposes and, definitively, from 1868, when it came under the ownership of the Madrid City Council.
It is protected as an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC), a legal figure that every declaration of a historic garden holds in Spanish regulations. Within its limits there are more than 19,000 trees, representative of 167 species, of which include six specimens included in the list of singular trees of the Community of Madrid.

The Tower of Hercules, the lighthouse in La Coruña, Spain.

The Tower of Hercules is a tower and lighthouse located on a hill in the peninsula of the city of La Coruña, in Galicia (Spain). Its total height is 55 meters, 1 2 and dates from the 1st century. It is privileged to be the only Roman lighthouse and the oldest in operation in the world. It is the third tallest lighthouse in Spain.
The origin of the tower is unknown, although it was rebuilt by the Romans in the 1st century. The Tower of Hercules was built as a navigational beacon and included the construction between the reigns of Nero and Vespasian based on the findings of fragments of terra sigillata and thin-walled glasses dating from the 40’s and 80’s of our era. The inscription at the foot of the tower and the documentary references to the city of Brigantium (La Coruña) reveal the existence of a lighthouse from Trajan’s time.
In 2009 it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Another fascinating place to add to the list of places to discover in Spain

The Alcazar of segovia in Spain

The Alcazar of Segovia, dating from the early 12th century, is one of the most characteristic medieval castles in the world and one of the most visited monuments in Spain.
It was built between 1440 and 1465 and is considered a great example of Spanish civil-Gothic architecture.
The Alcazar of Segovia is a beautiful and imposing castle steeped in history.
It is called Alcazar because kings lived in it, and it is this characteristic that made it a place of great importance in the history of Castile during the Middle Ages.
Its imposing profile rises majestically over the Eresma valley and is a symbol of the Old City of Segovia, declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1985.
A visit to the interior of the Alcazar is highly recommended, both to enjoy the architecture and decoration of its rooms, inspired by the time of the Catholic Monarchs, and to enjoy the views it offers from each of its windows and terraces.
Its location, at the top of a hill and crossed by the Eresma and Clamores rivers, served to be a practically impassable castle. Today, this situation serves to be one of the most beautiful and with the best views in Spain.

Plaza del Obradoiro in Santiago de Compostela

Plaza del Obradoiro is the main and most famous square in the Galician capital, Santiago de Compostela. It includes emblematic buildings such as the Palacio de Rajoy, the Hostal de los Reyes Católicos, the San Jerónimo school or the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela itself.

All these places are the representation of the main poles of life in the Galician capital: religion, university education, care for pilgrims and travelers, and the Administration.
The Plaza del Obradoiro is the monumental center of Santiago de Compostela.
In the center of the Plaza del Obradoiro, we must pay attention to the modest granite slab considered by the pilgrims to be the «kilometer zero», the arrival point of all the roads that lead to the Apostle. In it we read that the Council of Europe declared in 1987 the Camino de Santiago «First European Cultural Itinerary».

La Concha in San Sebastian

This beautiful and photographed bay is an emblem of the city of San Sebastián. Bathed by the waters of the Cantabrian Sea, it is guarded by the Urgull and Igueldo mountains that watch over Santa Clara Island from both sides. It is also home to one of the most beautiful urban beaches in Spain, La Concha.
La Concha Bay is a small bay located on the Spanish coast of the Cantabrian Sea, in front of the city of San Sebastián. As its name indicates, it is shaped like a shell, and houses two beaches (Ondarreta and La Concha beach) and an island, the island of Santa Clara.The bay’s beach line has an approximate length of 2000 meters, of which 1400 correspond to La Concha beach and the remaining 600 to Ondarreta beach. The approximate distance from La Concha beach to the island of Santa Clara is just over 1000 meters. Due to its peculiar configuration, the waters of the bay are usually calm, although tide changes are frequent and greatly affect the width of the beaches, which can disappear for a few hours.
The promenade that borders the bay of La Concha is made up of several sections with different names. Starting at the eastern end, on the slopes of Mount Urgull, the walk is called Paseo Nuevo. After him the walk runs through the small fishing port of the city, and later and at the height of the City Hall building begins the Paseo de la Concha, probably the most famous in Spain. Along this walk and until the end of the bay is the famous La Concha railing, designed by Juan Rafael Alday and installed in the 1910s. On the Paseo de la Concha you will find the most outstanding architectural and ornamental elements from the promenade that borders the bay: some characteristic lampposts located at the beginning of the ramp down to La Concha beach, two large clocks, the buildings of the La Perla spa and the Real Casa de Baños. Moving west, you reach the Paseo de Miraconcha, which ends at the Royal Palace of Miramar. The walk between Miramar and El Peine del Viento is called Paseo de Ondarreta, next to which there are gardens. The promenade on the edge of the bay ends, as has been said, in the sculptural complex of El Peine del Viento, designed by the Donostiarra sculptor Eduardo Chillida whose museum reopened on April 17, 2019

Salamanca Cathedral

The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin, popularly called the New Cathedral, is, together with the Old Cathedral, one of the two cathedrals in the city of Salamanca, in Spain.
It is the seat of the diocese of Salamanca. It was built between the 16th and 18th centuries mixing late Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles. It is the second largest cathedral in Spain in dimensions and its bell tower, 110 meters high, is also one of the tallest in Spain.
The new cathedral was built between 1513 and 1733, preserving the old one. At first they thought of demolishing it, although the criteria of keeping it open to worship was imposed while the construction of the new one was carried out. When the works were finished in the 18th century, they reconsidered the idea of ​​destroying it and for that reason it is preserved today.
The cathedral is, along with that of Segovia, one of the last two Gothic-style cathedrals to be built in Spain. The new cathedral was built, continuing with the late Gothic of its origins, between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, although at the end of the sixteenth the head, designed with a Gothic ambulatory, was changed to a flat one and during the eighteenth two elements were added that they broke in a striking way with the predominant style of the temple: a baroque dome over the transept and the upper sections of the bell tower. This bell tower is 93 meters high.
The interior of the cathedral is very similar to that of the Seville cathedral.

The Alcazaba of Malaga

It is considered one of the most beautiful alcazabas that can be visited in Spain.
Built on the slopes of Mount Gibralfaro, where previously some Phenomenal remains would exist. This location gives it a strategic dominance in defending the city.
The Alcazaba of Malaga today has an area of 15,000 square meters, however, in Muslim times this size was much higher since part of the wall and the land of the Haza Baja have been lost.
Its construction was carried out by the Muslims who occupied the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages.
However, its construction processes are marked by a historical and topographic evolution. Going through numerous changes and circumstances that make us say that the Alcazaba is a work with a life of its own.
A must for a walk and learn part of the history of Malaga.

Paradores in Spain. Parador de Leon

The convent of San Marcos is one of the great architectural jewels of the Spanish city of León along with the cathedral, the basilica of San Isidoro and the Casa Botines. Today it is converted into a Spanish tourist parador, as well as a consecrated church and, formerly, Museum of León, being one of the most important monuments of the Spanish Renaissance.
Rooms at the Parador León are located in the original building.
After the last renovation, the hotel complex has 51 rooms and various meeting rooms.
Enjoy the possibility of spending the night in a medieval building with all the comforts …
A really beautiful place to visit during your stay in Spain

Maria Luisa Park in Sevilla

María Luisa Park is the first urban park in Seville (Andalusia, Spain) and one of its green lungs.
In 1983 it was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in the category of Historic Garden.
It was inaugurated on April 18, 1914 as the Infanta María Luisa Fernanda urban park.
These spaces, which were originally part of the private gardens of the San Telmo Palace, were donated in 1893 by the Infanta María Luisa Fernanda de Borbón, wife of the Duke of Montpensier, to the city.
The squares of Spain and America , built for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929, are integrated into the park  like a public garden and constitute one of the main attractions.
The park has an area of 34 hectares, of which has an extensive plant variety, very lush in many places, open in others, with some large areas of grass.
The park, as it can be seen today, is quite similar to that of the 1929 Exhibition.
It also contains a great variety of poultry species, among which we can highlight peacocks and songbirds, swans and ducks that sometimes wait to be fed by passers-by with bread or grains sold in places like the Plaza de América.
In the north is the Plaza de España, which, since 1992, has the Military History Museum.
In the southern part is the Plaza de América with the Museum of Popular Arts and Customs and the Archaeological Museum. In this square a large number of pigeons gather and for this reason the park in general is also known by the nickname «Parque de las Palomas».

Consuegra windmills, near Toledo

The Consuegra mills are a group of mills located in the so-called “Cerro Calderico”, in the Spanish municipality of Consuegra, in the province of Toledo.
Windmills were built in the first half of the 19th century.
Miguel de Cervantes, with the book of Don Quixote de La Mancha, made windmills one of the most universal symbols of our country. There are several places where they can be seen, but without a doubt those of Consuegra are one of the most visited.
After the different reconstructions carried out at different times, twelve of the thirteen mills that once crowned Cerro Calderico are preserved in the 21st century. Currently they have ceased to perform their function as mills and are used for tourist purposes.
In 2006 the joint declaration as Asset of Cultural Interest of the hill was initiated, including the mills and the nearby castle of La Muela; 1 in February 2008 it would be approved with the category of «Historic Site».

 

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