Page 54 - DreamScapes Magazine | Spring/Summer 2024

Spain’s Urban
Lifestyle
GO LIKE A LOCAL IN SPAIN BY DARCY RHYNO
La Sagrada Família, Barcelona’s nearly completed cathedral, is easily Spain’s most visited tourist sight. Antoni Gaudí’s design features give the soaring structure an organic feel. In fact, three Gaudí creations—including Parc Güell and Casa Milà—in Barcelona make Spain’s top five tourist sights. While Gaudí’s works make Barcelona popular with tourists, other Spanish cities where visitors can live like a local deserve much more attention. Here are five we recommend.
MADRID
Madrid’s famous art museums, the Prado and the Reina Sofia, where works by Miró, Dalí and Picasso—including Picasso’s Guernica—are found, rank 8th and 9th on Spain’s most visited sights. Once the museum tours are over, it’s time to explore the capital’s abundant green spaces. Stroll beside Madrileños through Retiro Park, an urban oasis reputed for its formal design and crystal palace. In the much larger Casa de Campo, home of an artificial lake, follow cycling, walking and even rowing routes to terrace cafés.
GIJÓN
On the northern coast, Spain’s 15th largest city of Gijón is defined by the twin beaches that frame tiny Cimavilla Peninsula, a Gijonés favourite for rest and play situated in the city’s historic heart. Roman thermal bath ruins discovered in 1903 are now a museum beneath the city’s cathedral square. Here, open air cafés overlook San Lorenzo
FUN FACT
Founded in 1725, Madrid’s Casa Botín is the world’s oldest restaurant. It makes an appearance in Ernest Hemingway’s first major novel, The Sun Also Rises. Suckling pig and roast lamb, Castilian style, have probably been served throughout its 299- year history.
54 DREAMSCAPES SPRING/SUMMER 2024
MALLORCA CATHEDRAL, PALMA DE MALLORCA
SAGRADA FAMÍILIA, BARCELONA
REINA SOFIA MUSEUM, MADRID