Spain culture history food and visit places

2. Spain

3. Spain
Spain officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a
sovereign state largely located on the Iberian Peninsula in
southwestern Europe, with archipelagos in the Atlantic Ocean and
Mediterranean Sea, and several small territories on and near the
North African coast.

4. Spain
Spanish territory includes two archipelagos: the Balearic Islands, in
the Mediterranean Sea, and the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean
off the African coast.
Spain is the largest country in Southern Europe, the second largest
country in Western Europe and the European Union, and the fourth
largest country in the European continent

5. Historic Places of Spain
Palacio Real
The Palacio Real (Royal Palace)
of Madrid is the official
residence of the King of Spain
although it is only used for
state ceremonies. The Royal
Palace was built between 1738
to 1755 and King Carlos III took
up residence in the palace in
1764.

6. Historic Places of Spain
Aqueduct of Segovia
The Aqueduct of Segovia is one of the
best-preserved monuments left by the
Romans in Spain. The ancient aqueduct
carries water 16 km (10 miles) from the
Frío River to Segovia and was built of
some 24,000 massive granite blocks
without the use of mortar. Probably
constructed around 50 AD it still provided
water to the city in the 20th century.

7. Historic Places of Spain
Cuenca
Situated between Madrid and
Valencia, Cuenca is a
marvelous example of a
medieval city, built on the
steep sides of a mountain. The
many “hanging houses” are
built right up to the cliff edge,
making Cuenca one of the
most striking towns in Spain, a
gem in the province of Castilla
La Mancha.

8. Historic Places of Spain
Sagrada Familia
The Sagrada Familia is a large
Roman Catholic church in
Barcelona, and one of Spain’s
most visited tourist attractions.
It’s a design by Antoni Gaudí, a
Catalan architect who worked
on this project for almost 40
years until his death in 1926.
The construction of the basilica
began in 1882 and still as yet
not finished.

9. Historic Places of Spain
El Escorial
Nestled in the foothills of the Sierra de Guadarrama, El Escorial was the political
center of the Spanish empire under King Philip II. Philip appointed Juan Bautista
de Toledo as the architect in 1559 and together they designed El Escorial as a
monument to Spain’s role as a center of the Christian world. Today it functions
as a monastery, royal palace, museum, and school.

10. Historic Places of Spain
Mezquita of Cordoba
The Mezquita (Spanish for “Mosque”) of Cordoba is a fascinating
building famous for the forest of pillars and arches inside the main
hall. The site was originally a Roman temple, then a Visigothic church,
before the Umayyad Moors built the Mezquita. After the Spanish
Reconquista a cathedral was built into the center of the large Moorish
building.

11. Historic Places of Spain
Alhambra
Part fortress, part palace and part garden the Alhambra is situated on a
plateau overlooking the city of Granada in southern Spain. The palace was
constructed in the 14th century by the Nasrid sultans. The Alhambra is now
one of Spain’s major tourist attractions and many visitors come to Granada
just to see the Alhambra.

12. Historic Places of Spain
ALCAZAR OF SEGOVIA
The Alcazar of Segovia is an imposing medieval fortress turned royal
palace

13. Historic Places of Spain
BAELO CLAUDIA
The Roman town of Baelo Claudia in Spain is a well-preserved ancient
city which sits on the Andalusian coast, providing a beautiful backdrop to
these ancient remains.

14. Historic Places of Spain
EL ESCORIAL
El Escorial is an impressive sixteenth century royal complex built
under the orders of King Philip II of Spain. UNESCO listed.

15. Historic Places of Spain
BELCHITE
Belchite contains the ghostly remains of a town destroyed during the
Spanish Civil War.

16. Historic Places of Spain
LUGO ROMAN WALLS
The Lugo Roman Walls have
been described by UNESCO as
"the finest surviving example
of late Roman military
fortifications", a title they
truly deserve.

17. Historic Places of Spain
ROYAL PALACE OF MADRID
The Royal Palace of Madrid was built in the eighteenth century and
was the home of the Spanish royal family until 1931.

18. Historic Places of Spain
ALCAZAR OF TOLEDO
The Alcazar of Toledo in
Spain is a fortress
dating back to the third
century AD.

19. Historic Places of Spain
MERIDA ROMAN THEATRE
The Merida Roman Theatre is a well-preserved first century BC
structure and a UNESCO site.

20. Historic Places of Spain
PALMA CATHEDRAL
Palma Cathedral is a vast and imposing Gothic cathedral in
the capital of Majorca.

21. Festivals in Spain

22. Festivals in Spain
Semana Santa
Semana Santa is the Spanish name for Easter. Members of local parishes carry
ornate decorated floats depicting the Passion of Christ into the city
cathedral.Though Seville and Malaga are the most famous cities for Semana
Santa, the Castilla-Leon cities of Valladolid and Leon are also important.

23. Festivals in Spain
San Fermin (Pamplona Bull Run)
The Pamplona Bull Run is a week-long bull running and bullfighting festival.
Every morning at 8am, the city's brave and the world's foolhardy run ahead of
a group of angry bulls. The rest of us look on in amazement.The San Fermin
Festival, where the Pamplona Bull Run takes place, runs for one week in early
July.

24. Festivals in Spain
Tomatina Tomato Fight
The Tomatina Tomato Fight is probably the world's biggest food fight.
Thousands of people gather in the streets of the tiny town of Buñol to
fling tomatoes at each other.
The origins of the festival are unknown and, to most people who like
throwing food at each other, largely unimportant.

25. Festivals in Spain
Las Fallas
Imagine a bonfire from Guy Fawkes Night or
a Homecoming and multiply it by a factor of
one hundred: that is Las Fallas.Each
neighborhood traditionally gets together to
build giant puppets which are then later set
fire to. There is usually a satirical nature to
these puppets, though not always.The
burning of these puppets is of course
accompanied with plenty of street parties
throughout the city

26. Festivals in Spain
Feria de Sevilla
After all the piety of Easter (even if this piety is done in Seville's usual
extravagant style), the Feria de Sevilla is that holiday everyone needs to get
over the previous one!

27. Festivals in Spain
Carnival
The Carnival in Spain varies in nature across the country but in Tenerife and
(to a lesser extent in Cadiz) is second only to Rio de Janeiro in terms of
extravagance.

28. Festivals in Spain
Christmas & New Year
Christmas in Spain is
what you'd expect of a
Catholic country. It is a
family event, with
much eating and
drinking, visiting
relatives and going to
mass.

29. Festivals in Spain
Cristianos y Moros
The Cristianos y Moros celebration (Moors & Christians in English) is a
slightly tongue-in-cheek commemoration of the Moorish control of
Spain and a celebration of the sebsequent return to Christian rule.

30. Festivals in Spain
Semana Grande, Bilbao
Semana Grande (Spanish for 'Big Week', Aste Nagusia in Basque) is
another 'general' festival, much like the Feria de Sevilla but a little
less traditional. A big attraction of Semana Grande is the large
number of concerts, from rock to pop and classical to jazz.

31. Festivals in Spain
Tamborrada, San Sebastian
A mass participation drum festival. Hugh parades take to the streets
bashing drums throughout the night and for most of the following
day.There are two sides to this festival - the organized processions
and the free-for-all drum bashing that anyone can be a part of.

32. Spanish Food
It would be impossible to list all the tasty foods from Spain's rich food
culture – but here are at least 10 top Spanish foods you have to try.

33. Spanish Food
Croquettes
You can find Spanish a plate of croquetas in
almost any restaurant or bar, each made to the
establishment's own – sometimes secret – recipe,
combining ingredients such as jamon (cured ham)
or bacalao (Atlantic cod fish) with béchamel
sauce, which is then breaded and fried. The
creamy cheese (queso) croquettes pack a smooth
flavour, or try the croquettes of local sweet-spiced
black sausage (morcilla) or Spanish blue cheese
(queso de Cabrales) for unique Spanish flavours.

34. Spanish Food
Tortilla Espanola
The Spanish omlette is another beloved top
Spanish food – and everyone has an opinion
on how to cook it. It's a great starter (or
meal) for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and no
doubt you'll come across many Spanish
potato omelettes during your time in Spain.
Like croquetas, you can find them in almost
any bar and to varying degrees of quality and
flavor.

35. Spanish Food
Gazpacho or salmorejo
This zesty, chilled tomato soup has
claimed space in supermarkets and
on menus around the world, but
few compare to refreshing Spanish
gazpacho made with full-flavoured
Spanish tomatoes. Usually eaten as
an appetizer

36. Spanish Food
Pisto – Spanish ratatouille
This vegetarian top Spanish dish is for all
ages, eaten in Spain as a tapa, appetiser, a
side dish to meats, or even as a meal with
a fried egg on top or chorizo.

37. Spanish Food
Cured meats – jamon, chorizo,
salchichón
Jamon is ubiquitous in Spain,
carved thinly off cured legs of
pork that you will see hanging in
most bars and restaurants. Jamon
is a serious business and an art in
Spain, with many factors in place
to determine quality, such as
what the pigs are fed, the type of
pig and the curing process.

38. Spanish Food
Pulpo a la gallega
This boiled octopus dish gets its unique flavours from
maceration in three simple ingredients: paprika
(pimenton), crusty rock salt and a drizzle of olive oil.
It's a signature Galician dish and you'll find it on the
menu in many Galician restaurants around Spain, and
especially in the many polbeiras (octopus restaurants)
dotting the Galician region.

39. Spanish Food
Spain's famous bean stews – and salads
Spain is home to a wide variety of unique beans and legumes, and
certain regions are famous for particular types and dishes, for example
the large white kidney beans from the Asturias region (Faba Asturiana),
where these tender, creamy beans are key in the local bean stew
Fabada Asturiana.

40. Spanish Food
Paella
This rice-based dish is well known internationally, although in Valencia
you will find many authentic variations that equally vie for attention.
Some consider this a national dish of Spain, but many consider it a
Valencia dish, from where it originated and you can typically find the
best paella.

41. Spanish Food
Fried milk
You might not find ‘leche frita'
on every menu, but it is a
classic Spanish dessert to try
for something unique. Its firm,
cool, milk-pudding center
contrasts with a warm,
crunchy encasing of flour and
egg, dusted with sugar and
cinnamon.

42. Spanish Food
Prawns in fried garlic
As in many top Spanish foods, simplicity
and drawing out natural flavours of fresh
ingredients are key, and this is easily seen
in this tantalising yet simple dish gambas
al ajillo. Small Spanish prawns are
typically lightly cooked in a small clay dish
of hot olive oil, roasted garlic and usually
a small chilli that gives this dish a little
kick. It's hard not to want this sizzling
dish when the fried garlic smell hits your
nostrils.

43. Spanish Sports
Traditional and Regional Sports of
Spain

44. Spanish Sports
Basque Pelota—
a variety of court sports
which involves hitting a ball
against a wall using the
hand, a racket, a wooden
bat or a basket

45. Spanish Sports
Valencian Pilota — is a
traditional handball sport
played in the Valencian
Community of Spain. The
ball is usually struck with a
bare hand in a game
involving two teams.

46. Spanish Sports
• Bull Fighting - involves one or more bulls which are being fought in a
bullring

47. Spanish Sports
Calva
a traditional Spanish
sport in which you throw
a piece of metal to knock
down bull's horn shaped
piece of wood.