Things to Do in Spain

At 12,198 feet (3,718 meters) above sea level, Mount Teide is the highest peak in the Canary Islands and all of Spain. The towering peak in Tenerife tempts visitors with the chance to stand atop a volcano and look out over the nearby islands of La Palma, Gran Canaria, La Gomera, and El Hierro — if the clouds cooperate. Adventurous travelers opt for an intense five-hour hike to the summit, while many other visitors prefer to ride the Teide cable car to the observation deck just shy of the mountain's highest point.

With its steep rocky cliffs, forested trails and trickling waterfalls, the wild landscape of the Masca Valley is among Tenerife’s most beautiful, and the remote gorge offers a thrilling backdrop for a hiking expedition. 

The oldest building in the city’s grand Pedralbes quarter, dating back to 1326, the church and monastery of Monestir de Pedralbes is now a museum and remains one of the city’s most stunning examples of religious architecture. Named for its characteristic white stones (pedres albes), the complex is acclaimed for its Catalan Gothic style, featuring a central courtyard garden, herb garden and fountain. The monastery, which once housed the nuns of the Franciscan Order of Saint Clare, was commissioned by the wife of James II of Aragon, Queen Elisenda, who famously took up residence in the monastery after her husband’s death.

Those interested in uncovering some of Barcelona’s rich religious history will find wandering the museum of the Monestir de Pedralbes an enlightening experience, devoted to showcasing the lives of the nuns who served in the building during the 14th century. The large 3-storey cloister is centered around an arcaded courtyard and the dormitories, refectory, kitchen, stables and an infirmary have been beautifully reconstructed to depict daily life within the convent. A selection of original furnishings and artwork, gold and silverware and a number of religious and personal artifacts are dotted throughout. Most exquisite is the small chapel, home to the Capella de Sant Miquel, with its 14th-century murals created by Catalan artist Ferrer Bassa, and the exceptional ornamental grave of Queen Elisenda herself.

Looming over Barcelona city center from the 170-meter summit of Montjuïc Mountain, the forbidding Montjuïc Castle, or Castell de Montjuïc, adds a dramatic silhouette to the city skyline. Reachable via cable car from the Montjuic Funicular station, the 17th-century fortress is most popular as a lookout point and the Cami del Mar walking track affords spectacular panoramic views over the city, the distant mountains and along the Mediterranean coast.

Behind the castle’s majestic façade lies a grim and gruesome history, used mostly during the late 19th and 20th centuries to house and execute political prisoners. Anarchists, fascists and Republicans have all met their maker within these walls, most famously Lluis Companys, the President of Catalunya who was executed here by firing squad in 1940. The somber unmarked tombstones in the castle grounds offer a reminder of the castle’s sordid past, but with plans underway to transform the building, which once housed a military history, into a museum of international peace, the fortress’s future looks set to be more positive.

Be sure to take a walk around the palace gardens while you’re there, adorned with famous sculptures like Pau Gargallo’s ‘La Pomona’ and Josep Clarà’s ‘La Fertilitat’, then walk across the ancient drawbridge and climb the stone stairs to the castle’s roof top viewing terrace.

The much-rebuilt Mondragón Palace perches on top of the El Tajo Gorge and looks north towards the Sierra de las Nieves. Although little remains of the original Moorish palace, it may once have been the home of the 14th-century Moorish King Abomelic, who built the underground Water Mine at the Casa del Rey Moro. What is more certain is that Ronda’s last Moorish governor did live there.

Following the Reconquest in the 1480s, the palace was presented to Isabella and Ferdinand, and today its appearance is largely a hybrid of architectural styles. However, in places there are original Moorish mosaics and beautifully carved wooden ceilings plus a well-restored Mudéjar courtyard, complete with tiled, tinkling fountains and views of the gorge. Other courtyards were less lucky and were clumsily restored under Franco’s regime with lashings of concrete. The palace entrance is flanked by two squat reconstructed Mudéjar towers but is now primarily ornately Baroque.

The small Museum of Ronda and the Serrania on the second floor showcases local history and archaeology – going right back to prehistory – alongside a display dedicated to Megalithic and Moorish tombstones and burial traditions.