I will be studying in Valencia for 2 months (June and July) and then have a month to backpack, etc. I am spending that first free week with a friend who has never traveled abroad before. We are heading to Andalucia and the surrounding area (Sevilla, granada, malaga and MAYBE toledo if we feel up to it). Reading another post, it seems that Andalucia is gonna be swamped! Since I have only a week there, where should I ABSOLUTELY go? I am becoming overwhelmed with various travelguides!!! We are looking for something tranquil and more laid back, as we are NOT clubbing/meat market aficionados. I would be grateful for any suggestions.

Hi again, mamacita!

Congratulations on your upcoming adventure studying in Valencia! I'm sure you'll have an experience of a lifetime.

First, realize that Toledo is not in Andalucia, but in Castilla-La Mancha. Still, GO TO TOLEDO if you can! It will be worth it!

Even as HOT as it WILL BE and busy with tourist activity (i.e. summer break, school tours, beach/sunbathers, etc.), I think it's still worth a visit.

If you'd like to visit some more laid-back and less busy tourist places in Andalucia, why not visit Córdoba, Medina Azahara (serious spelling errors here, I'm sure), and Ronda. However, no matter how hot and tourist-busy it is you should still visit Sevilla. This is someplace you and your travel friend should really see for at least a couple of days.

There really isn't much to see in Málaga to be honest. They do have a nice central plaza, lots of palm trees, and a nice parador up on the mountain overlooking the city, bullring, and coastline where you can have lunch or just take a coffe with a wonderful view.

If you want tranquil, by not visit the small town of Estepona. It's also on the coast and west of the city of Málaga. They have a small bullring and a nice harbor as well as some very very very nice old, sloped, hillside streets and neighborhoods. It's one of those "White Villages of Andalucia" and their open market is pretty cool too. They have a LONG boardwalk that stretches for about a mile along the beach and under the palm trees. You can see The Rock of Gibraltar from there too!

Have a great time in Spain and good luck with your studies in Valencia!

Saludos,

MadridMan


[Note: This message has been edited by Admin5]

Shame on you saying there's not much to see in Málaga!! It's one of Andalucía's great cities, and has a magnificent cathedral and bullring, apart from much else - including some of the best fish restaurants on the coast (go out of town to the eastern suburbs which were once fishing villages). And travel east from Málaga where the coast is far less commercialised - places like Nerja where I live are well worth a visit! Nearby at Maro, are the Caves of Nerja - spectacular ... and the 3rd most visited tourist site in the country, I'm told (after The Prado and The Alhambra). I'd be happy to provide more info - just ask!

dave

Hi davej! Welcome to the group!

True, shame on me. 8-) After I listed 5 or 6 things to see/do in Málaga it's clear that there IS MUCH to see/do in this wonderful, coastal city.

Michelle Chaplow (see Michelle's website @ http://www.michellechaplow.com !), famed british photographer of beautiful Spanish scenes and living in this beautiful province, picked me up at the bus terminal in the city of Málaga last spring when I went down for a 3-day visit.

She took me up the Gibralfaro mountain to the Parador de Gibralfaro-Málaga (see their website @ http://www.parador.es/cgi-bin/tes?en&magibralfaro ) for a coffee and sandwich. The view of the city and coastline was spectacular not to mention being able to look RIGHT down into the bullring.

Later, Michelle drove me through the city and showed me the different sights and also took me into the shipyards. Málaga really is a pretty nice town.

After the afternoon tour she took me to her home in little Estepona, west of Málaga and also on the coast. There, I met her husband Chris who operates Andalucia.com (@ http://www.andalucia.com of course). Michelle and Chris live on the marina and have a wonderful view of The Rock of Gibraltar. I thank them both for giving me their hospitality and for showing me a part of Spain which I had not previously known.

So in short, (or long - as it has turned out), VISIT MALAGA! You won't be sorry. I hope to return someday soon!

Saludos,

MadridMan, lover of all things Spanish

I agree that Sevilla is great and you really shouldn't miss it if you have time. I don't envy your going there in the Summertime; it was almost too hot for me in March. Still, it's got a beautiful, vibrant city center with lots to see and do. There are tons of young people, and I enjoyed the restaurants there more than any other place I went to in Spain.

In 1998 when I was there for Semana Santa (Holy Week), we took a break from the processions one night and went into one of the many bars for a coffee.

They had the stereo/radio on and one particular song came on, I believe it was Corazón Partío by Alejandro Sanz (found on the "Más" CD -- part of MadridMan's collection), VERY popular at the time, and the entire bar broke into song until the end. I'd never seen anything like it before, but would suppose this happens in many places in Europe. You'd NEVER see this ANYPLACE in the USA!

[For those of you who are curious about the song, here it is the chorus:

"¿Quién me va a entregar sus emociones?
¿Quién me va a pedir que nunca le abandone?
¿Quién me tapará esta noche si hace frío?
¿Quién me va a curar el corazón partío?
¿Quién llenará de primaveras este enero,
y bajará la luna para que juguemos?
Dime, si tú te vas, dime cariño mío,
¿quién me va a curar el corazón partío?"

Oh, and listen to it at http://members.aol.com/MinnieM1/minnie6.html
]

This easter was UNUSUALLY COLD in Sevilla, record lows I think. We were wearing almost all the clothes we brought and were still freezing the last, cold night of the Semana Santa processions. We could see our breath until the sun came up. Still, what a wonderful experience!

Saludos,

MadridMan

[This message has been edited by Antonio (edited 05-16-2000).]

Seville is beautiful. Go to the small towns in the province. Villamartin, Las Cabezas de San Juan, Carmona. Then go south to the province of Cadiz. Arcos, Espera, El Puerto, Jerez de la F. are all in Cadiz, and well away from the tourist mob.
And, enexpensive. And incredible food and cold Cruzcampo.

Summer is definately the best time to visit.

Andalucia won't be swamped - it's a massive and mostly empty place. The only places that get swamped are the big Costa del Sol resorts in July and August (mostly August when the Spanish are on holiday). A bigger problem is that inland it can get VERY hot in the afternoon (Siesta!). The nights though can be fantastic, and the people stay up very late (this is not clubbing/meat market. I mean whole families out in the streets, enjoying the relative cool). Also, note the Spanish holiday thing - the inland cities empty out in August. A lot of bars, shops etc are shut. I went to Granada a few years ago, and Cordoba last year (both in August)and they were very quiet (apart from the Alhambra in Granada - it gets packed with tourists coming on day trips from the coast).

In short, don't worry about the cities being swamped! If it gets too hot, I'd head for the coast east of Malaga, Nerja and beyond
(even to Almeria, around Cabo de Gata).

I think I'd better stop. I love Andalucia!