The Way of St. James or St. James’ Way (Spanish: El Camino de Santiago) is the pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the apostle Saint James are buried. The Way of St. James has existed for over a thousand years. It was one of the most important Christian pilgrimages during medieval times, together with Rome and Jerusalem, and a pilgrimage route on which a plenary indulgence could be earned; other major pilgrimage routes include the Via Francigena to Rome and the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. read more…
Sant Sadurní d’Anoia is a municipality in the comarca of the Alt Penedès in Spain, and the centre of production of a sparkling wine known as cava. It is situated in the north-east of the Penedès Depression at the confluence of the Avernó river and the Anoia river. It is served by the A-7 autopista and the RENFE railway line (R4) that connect Barcelona with Manresa and El Vendrell. read more…
Gijón is a coastal industrial city and a municipality in the autonomous community of Asturias in Spain. Early mediaeval texts mention it as “Gigia”. The city is situated along the Asturian coast and is distinguished by the peninsula of Cimadevilla (the original settlement) which separates the beach of San Lorenzo and adjacent neighborhoods to the east from the beaches of Poniente and Arbeyal, the shipyards, and the recreational port and the Port of El Musel to the west. It is close to the other main Asturian cities, Oviedo and Avilés. read more…
The port city of Santander is the capital of the autonomous community and historical region of Cantabria situated on the north coast of Spain. Located east of Gijón and west of Bilbao, the city has a population of 183,446. read more…
“This heritage deserves to be better known, highlighted, shared and visited”. Those observations led us to create a Federation for European cities of Napoleonic history. If we look into the great man’s deeds, the French Revolution, the French Age of Enlightenment, the ideals of ‘Liberty, Equality, Fraternity’ are values which bind us together. Rehabilitating historical sites, encouraging historical research, promoting our museums and our culture through live events, opening up to our country and European citizens is a bit like travelling through the complex, contradictory and sometimes opposing tracks whereby those ideals established themselves in Europe. read more…
The Museo del Prado is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It features one of the world’s finest collections of European art, from the 12th century to the early 19th century, based on the former Spanish Royal Collection, and unquestionably the best single collection of Spanish art. Founded as a museum of paintings and sculpture, it also contains important collections of other types of works. A new, recently opened wing enlarged the display area by about 400 paintings, and it is currently used mainly for temporary expositions. El Prado is one of the most visited sites in the world, and it is considered to be among the greatest museums of art. The large numbers of works by Velázquez and Francisco de Goya (the artist more extensively represented in the collection), Titian, Rubens and Bosch are among the highlights of the collection. read more…
Melilla is a 12.3 square kilometres (4.7 sq mi) autonomous city of Spain and an exclave on the north coast of Morocco. Melilla, along with the Spanish exclave Ceuta, is one of the two Spanish territories located in mainland Africa. It was regarded as a part of Málaga province prior to 14 March 1995, when the city’s Statute of Autonomy was passed. Melilla (like Ceuta) was a free port before Spain joined the European Union. As of 2008 it has a population of 73,460. Its population consists of Christians, Muslims (mainly Riffians), and small minorities of Jews. Both Spanish and Tarifit are widely spoken. Spanish is the only official language, while there have been calls to recognise Tamazight, a standarized version of all Berber languages official in Morocco, as well. read more…
Barcelona is a shopping metropolis
Take care of your money – the temptation to spend it in Barcelona is extremely high! Barcelona has become one of the shopping capitals in Europe. In contrast to London, Paris or Berlin Barcelona is not only fashionable and setting new trends, but is also still relatively cheap. read more…
Gran Vía (literally “Great Way”) is an ornate and upscale shopping street located in central Madrid. It leads from Calle de Alcalá, close to Plaza de Cibeles, to Plaza de España. The lively street is one of the city’s most important shopping areas, with a large number of hotels and large movie theaters; it is also noted for the grand architecture prevalent among many of its buildings. Now, most of the theaters are being replaced by shopping malls. It is considered a showcase of early 20th century architecture, with patterns ranging from Vienna Secession style, Plateresque, Neo-Mudéjar, Art Deco and others. read more…
