EXCHANGE RATE (JUNE 2019)
EMERGENCY NUMBERS
US To SPAIN: 011 + 34 + (7 digits)
US to PT: 011 + 351 + (7 digits)
To US: 00 + 1 + area + number
Emergency: 112 (091 police/ 061 medical)
Madrid US Embassy: (+34) 91-587-2200
Lisbon US Embassy: (+351) 21 727 3300
Intro to Medical care: https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/health/medical-care-in-europe
Hospital lookup: https://www.internationalcitizens.com/expatriate-resources/health-care-provider-lookup.php#s
Medical info Spain: https://www.iamat.org/country/spain
Medical info PT: https://www.iamat.org/country/portugal
Free health membership: https://www.iamat.org/membership/new
ELECTRICITY
For Spain there are two associated plug types, types C and F. Plug type C is the plug which has two round pins and plug type F is the plug which has two round pins with two earth clips on the side. Spain operates on a 230V supply voltage and 50Hz.
DRIVING
U.S. citizens visiting Spain who want to drive in Spain must obtain an international driving permit prior to their arrival in Spain.
Spain: It’s compulsory to have in the car: a spare wheel, warning triangle and reflective jacket. If the driver wears glasses, the authorities advise having a spare pair in the car.
Portugal: It’s compulsory to have in the car: proof of identity with photo, a reflective jacket, and a toll device when driving on the motorway. Driving with flip flops is illegal.
ELECTRONIC-ONLY TOLLS IN PT
You can buy and activate a tollcard on the same day you’ve used it (on the first day to be true). The electronic system crosses the information from the cars and the amounts on the next day, so you can technically buy the card afterwards and they will discount what you used that day, before or after you activated. Because the credit card is linked to the vehicle, the membership needs to be cancelled, otherwise, the same credit card can be charged in the case of a new customer renting the same vehicle. You are not allowed to use Via Verde lanes.
Prepaid Toll Card
Buy it online once we have the car's license plate number - so it's associated. It will be active immediately. Access www.tollcard.pt to get the balance.
TIME ZONE
BOSTON: 12am / PT +5hr: 5am / SPAIN +6hr: 6am
BOSTON: 6am / PT +5hr: 11am / SPAIN +6hr: 12pm
BOSTON: 12pm / PT +5hr: 5pm / SPAIN +6hr: 6pm
BOSTON: 6pm / PT +5hr: 11pm / SPAIN +6hr: 12am
PASSPORT
Spain requires that your passport be valid for at least three months beyond your intended date of departure.
SPRINT
Free text
Free basic data
25¢ global voice calls
Spaniards won't even think of having lunch before 3pm
Madrid
Meson de la Tortilla
Sangines Chocolate/churros
CORDOBA
Mezquita
Arab chronicles recount how Abd ar-Rahman I purchased half of the Visigothic church of San Vicente for the Muslim community’s Friday prayers, and then, in AD 784, bought the other half on which to erect a new mosque. Three later extensions nearly quintupled the size of Abd ar-Rahman I's mosque and brought it to the form you see today – with one major alteration: a Christian cathedral plonked right in the middle of the mosque in the 16th century (hence the often-used description ‘Mezquita-Catedral’). Following a dispute between the church and the city over the name of the building in the 2010's it is now diplomatically called "Cordoba Mosque Cathedral". The approach is via the Patio de los Naranjos, a classic Islamic ablutions courtyard which preserves both its orange trees and fountains. When the mosque was used for Moslem prayer, all nineteen naves were open to this courtyard allowing the rows of interior columns to appear like an extension of the tree with brilliant shafts of sunlight filtering through.Shorts or bare shoulders are not allowed for either women or men. The Mezquita is a Catholic church.
https://mezquita-catedraldecordoba.es/en/organiza-la-visita/tipos-de-visita/
https://mezquita-catedraldecordoba.es/site/assets/files/1060/folleto_ingles_web.pdf
https://mezquita-catedraldecordoba.es/en/descubre-el-monumento/el-edificio/
FREE from Monday to Saturday from 8:30 to 9:30
€10 adults, free under 10
08:30 to 11:30 and from 13:30 to 18:00 Sunday hours
Bell Tower tours every 30min €2
Courtyard tour: https://www.patiosdesanbasilio.com/tour/ruta-de-patios-de-san-basilio/
€10 2-hour tour
The fantastic tour accompanied by a caretaker of courtyards that will explain all the tour and its curiosities, will have an average duration of 2 hours during which you will enter the Barrio de San Basilio (the neighborhood of the courtyards) and the famous Barrio of the Jewish quarter. In these neighborhoods you will visit the well-known Patios Córdoba awarded with the festival awards for patios and different architectures, shapes and colors. It will also include the entrance of a small ethnographic museum located in one of our courtyards that deals with the history of the kitchen. A wine tasting of our land will be included in the price of the entrance. Which you can enjoy in the tranquility of one of our courtyards thus obtaining all the essence of the cultural tradition of the Cordoban Patios.
10:00 a.m., 12:00 pm., 4:30 p.m. /17:30p.m.
Callejon de las Flores
Medina Azahara (Medina Al Zahra)
9am-3pm; Closed Mon
Bodegas Mezquita
Taberna El No.10
GRANADA
Alhambra, gardens
8:30am-8pm daily
Adults: 14.00 €
Children under 12: Free (ticketed)
https://tickets.alhambra-patronato.es
https://www.alhambradegranada.org/en/info/goingtothealhambra.asp
http://www.alhambra-patronato.es/fileadmin/PAG/educacion/descargas/PLANO_INGL.pdf
Inside the Nasrid Palace, it is compulsory to carry backpacks in front or by hand. No strollers are allowed inside the Nasrid Palace. Picnicking is allowed at appropriate sites. Food and drink are only sold at the kiosks at the Wine Gate (near the Alcazaba). Water fountains are scattered through the complex. Note that toilets are only available at the Wine Gate (in between the Nasrid Palace and Alcazaba) and near the stage of the modern open-air auditorium near the Generalife gardens. There are no toilets inside any of the palace buildings. The Gate of Justice (Puerta de la Justicia) entrance a bit closer to the old town but may only be used by visitors already holding QR barcoded tickets. Admission tickets are not sold at this gate. Arrive well in advance of the time for entering the Nasrid Palace. Reaching the palace takes just less than half an hour once past the ticket scanners at the main gate. You must enter within the 30 minute window printed on your ticket, otherwise they will not let you in. In spring and summer, there’s typically a wait, so I would arrive 30 min ahead of your designated window to prepare for long lines. Seeing the Alcazaba and Palace of Charles the V before entering the Nasrid Palace reduces the need for back tracking. The best gardens are after exiting the Nasrid Palace and of course at the Generalife. Tickets are checked at entry to specific points (Nasrid, Alcazaba, Generalife and palace etc) but most areas between the key points are free. The best views from afar are from the Mirador San Nicolas viewing platform, especially popular at sunset.
Getting there: Take a minibus from Plaza Nueva. Either bus no. 30 or 32 is fine, they run every few minutes and cost €1.20 upon boarding. The minibus goes along the main road and instead of turning left, heads farther up to drop you off at the Main Entrance.
parking cost
El Banuelo
10am-5pm daily
This is a free entrance museum which will take about 15 minutes to visit.
These baths used to be part of the Mosque of the Walnut Tree (Mezquita del Nogal) which previously stood here. They were built in the 11th century and are considered to be among the oldest and most complete baths in Spain. Bañuelo were the hammanes baths, the place where the inhabitants of the district went to wash, look after themselves and converse. The Bañuelo bathhouse dates from the XI Century and is one of the best preserved in Spain. The building is divided into three rectangular rooms. Next to the entrance courtyard is the cold room, then the warm room, which is larger, and decorated with horseshoe arcades in three of its sides. Finally, another rectangular room with two spaces where the water baths were placed was the hottest water room.
Mirador San Nicolas, Albaicin (overlook)
Sacramonte gypsy quarter, street flamenco
http://granadainfo.com/rocio/english.htm
Alcaicería - shopping
Royal Chapel of the Monarchs (Capilla Real)
€5, free kids; 10:15 - 6:30pm
La Riviera
free tapa with each beverage
Bar Los Diamantes
free tapas
Restaurante Jardines de Zoraya, in Albaycin
6pm, 8pm, 10pm shows €20/adult; free under 8
https://www.jardinesdezoraya.com/en/reservations/
Bar Aliatar Los Caracoles
Plaza Aliatar, Albaycin
Bus: https://www.lovegranada.com/transport/alhambra-buses/
The Alhambra Bus fares are the same as those of other urban buses. You can use the same travel card on Alhambra and other (bigger) urban buses. Bus C3 or C4 to Alhambra. Only 1,40 per trip. The CREDIBUS CARD or BONOBUS costs 5€, 10€ or 20€ plus a refundable fee of 2€.; Children under 6 travel for free. 7am - 11pm
€20 = 14 trips
Single bus tickets must be bought before you get on the bus from the ticket vending machines at the bus stops. You can pay in cash (coins and notes) or with a credit card. You must also validate your ticket at one of ticket validating machines before getting on the bus.
All routes map: https://www.lovegranada.com/images/transport/city/granada-bus-map.png
C32 bus to Alhambra + Albaicin: https://www.lovegranada.com/images/transport/city/planos/plano-c32.png
C34 bus to Sacramonte: https://www.lovegranada.com/images/transport/city/planos/plano-c34.png
SETENIL
Restaurante Palmero
RONDA
Mirador del Puente Nuevo
Baños Arabes
10am-7pm, €3
SEVILLE
After the city of Córdoba (also in Andalusia), Seville has the hottest summer in continental Europe among all citieswith a population over 100,000 inhabitants, with average daily highs in July of 36.0 °C (97 °F).
Cathedral
General admission €9; free under 15
Tuesday to Saturday from 11:00 to 17:00
The Cathedral of Seville (Catedral de Sevilla) is an expression in stone of post-Reconquest confidence and wealth. Built on the site of a mosque, it is the third largest church in Europe and the largest Gothic building in Europe. It also boasts the largest altarpiece in the world.
Two parts of the mosque were thankfully preserved in the cathedral: the Moorish entrance court (Patio de los Naranjos); and the Giralda, originally a minaret, converted into a bell tower. The cathedral is entered via the Puerta de San Cristóbal on the south side, just inside of which is the tomb of Christopher Columbus (Cristóbal Colón). Columbus was originally buried in the cathedral of Havana, on the island he had discovered on his first voyage in 1492. But during the upheavals surrounding the Cuban revolution in 1902, Spain transferred the remains to Seville. A monumental tomb was sculpted for the explorer's new resting place in Seville. Sculpted by Arturo Melida, it was designed in the Late Romantic style and is held aloft by four huge allegorial figures representing the kingdoms of León, Castile, Aragón and Navarra. There have long been doubts about the authenticity of the remains in Columbus' tomb, and DNA tests are currently underway to find out if they really are those of the explorer.
La Giralda
01/09 - 30/06: Monday: 11:00 - 15:30. Tuesday - Saturday: 11:00 - 17:00.
Price. Adults: 8 € (includes visit to the Church of Salvador). Entry tickets can also be purchased at the Salvador.
The Giralda is the bell tower of the Cathedral. It its day, it was the tallest tower in the world, standing at 97.5 m in height, in addition to being one of the most famous images of the city and Andalusia. The tower consists of two different but perfectly unified pieces, a perfect example of the crucible of cultures existing in the city. The Muslim body is the oldest part, started in 1184 by order of Abu Yaqub Yusuf to be the minaret of the Almohad mosque of Seville. A curious fact, the Giralda does not have stairs, but instead has 35 ramps wide enough to allow the Sultan to ascend mounted on horseback to see the beautiful view.
Real Alcazar
https://www.alcazarsevilla.org/en/
Monday to Sunday, 09:30 to 17:00
€9,50 adults; free under 16
10 min walk from Plaza Nueva
Las Setas de Sevilla
Entrance is underground. €3 for the lift to go to the top, with a token for a drink.
12min walk from Plana Nueva
Parque de Maria Luisa
Plaza de España
Take T1 tram from Plaza Nueva to San Sebastian
Calle Sierpes - shopping
El Pasaje
Bodega Santa Cruz Las Columnas
Bar Pelayo
El Rinconcillo
Casa de la Guitara, kids allowed
€18 adult
https://www.peppylocals.com/qa/866/flamenco-for-kids
Flamenco museum:
https://museodelbaileflamenco.com/en/
10am-7pm
€22 adult; Children under 6 Free
Tram T1 runs between Plaza Nueva and San Bernado via Avenida de la Constitución, Puerta de Jerez and San Sebastián. The standard ticket is €1.40 but a range of passes is available if you're likely to use it a lot. The tram (tranvia) goes south from Plaza Nueva, the centre of the city, and has four stops, covering a total distance of 1.4km. After leaving from Plaza Nueva, it goes down Avenida de la Constitucion past the Cathedral, stopping at the Archivo de Indias (next to Alcazar Palace), San Fernando (where Puerta Jerez Metro station is), the Prado de San Sebastian (Metro station, Plaza de Espana, Maria Luisa park), and terminates at San Bernardo train station (Metro station), where you can catch a Cercanias train. Confusingly, the tram is called Metro-Centro, even though it's nothing to do with the metro. It runs from 6am to 1.30am.
PORTUGAL
The Fort of Our Lady of Grace, officially termed as Fort Conde de Lippe is located in the parish of the Alcáçova, about a mile north of the city of Elvas, Portalegre District.
When the 16th century the fortified city of Elvas was running out of water; the wells were drying up so the decision was taken to channel water from Amoreira eight kilometres away.
Marvão Castle and Cistern
The formidable castle, built into the rock at the western end of the village, dates from the end of the 13th century, but most of what you see today was built in the 17th century. The views from the battlements are staggering. There’s a huge vaulted cistern (still full of water) near the entrance and it’s landscaped with hedges and flower beds. The torre de menagem (keep) has displays on the castle’s history even predating its 13th-century founding.
Roman ruins in Conimbriga, near Coimbra
Braga
Guimarães is the oldest city of Portugal
Train from Porto or Caíde to Pinhão
schedule: https://www.cp.pt/StaticFiles/timetables/oporto-regua-douro-regional-trains.pdf
Historic steam train from Regua to Tua:
https://www.cp.pt/passageiros/en/how-to-travel/For-leisure/Nature-and-Culture/douro-historical-train
Saturdays, between June 1 and October 26, 2019;
Thursday (public holiday), August 15, 2019.
Outward: Régua 15:23 > Tua 16:34;
Return: Tua 17:10 > Régua 18:32.
Magnifico Douro river cruise from Pinhao
€10/ 1 hour 12pm, 3pm, 5pm
Northern Spain
Santiago de Compostela (2.5hr from Povoa)
BOSTON: 12am / PT +5hr: 5am / SPAIN +6hr: 6am
BOSTON: 6am / PT +5hr: 11am / SPAIN +6hr: 12pm
BOSTON: 12pm / PT +5hr: 5pm / SPAIN +6hr: 6pm
BOSTON: 6pm / PT +5hr: 11pm / SPAIN +6hr: 12am
PASSPORT
Spain requires that your passport be valid for at least three months beyond your intended date of departure.
SPRINT
Free text
Free basic data
25¢ global voice calls
Spaniards won't even think of having lunch before 3pm
Madrid
Meson de la Tortilla
Sangines Chocolate/churros
Mezquita
Arab chronicles recount how Abd ar-Rahman I purchased half of the Visigothic church of San Vicente for the Muslim community’s Friday prayers, and then, in AD 784, bought the other half on which to erect a new mosque. Three later extensions nearly quintupled the size of Abd ar-Rahman I's mosque and brought it to the form you see today – with one major alteration: a Christian cathedral plonked right in the middle of the mosque in the 16th century (hence the often-used description ‘Mezquita-Catedral’). Following a dispute between the church and the city over the name of the building in the 2010's it is now diplomatically called "Cordoba Mosque Cathedral". The approach is via the Patio de los Naranjos, a classic Islamic ablutions courtyard which preserves both its orange trees and fountains. When the mosque was used for Moslem prayer, all nineteen naves were open to this courtyard allowing the rows of interior columns to appear like an extension of the tree with brilliant shafts of sunlight filtering through.Shorts or bare shoulders are not allowed for either women or men. The Mezquita is a Catholic church.
https://mezquita-catedraldecordoba.es/en/organiza-la-visita/tipos-de-visita/
https://mezquita-catedraldecordoba.es/site/assets/files/1060/folleto_ingles_web.pdf
https://mezquita-catedraldecordoba.es/en/descubre-el-monumento/el-edificio/
FREE from Monday to Saturday from 8:30 to 9:30
€10 adults, free under 10
08:30 to 11:30 and from 13:30 to 18:00 Sunday hours
Bell Tower tours every 30min €2
Situated in the heart of Córdoba’s charming former Jewish quarter, El Zoco (‘The Souk’) is where to head if you want to check out what the city’s finest artesans are up to. This has been a market in various forms for centuries and was originally part of Córdoba’s expansive souk, at which expensive perfumes were sold alongside the finest fabrics and spices from north Africa. Nowadays, handmade ceramics and leather goods as well as jewellery, glassware and ornaments are on sale daily in one of this old neighbourhood’s most attractive courtyards.
Courtyard tour: https://www.patiosdesanbasilio.com/tour/ruta-de-patios-de-san-basilio/
€10 2-hour tour
The fantastic tour accompanied by a caretaker of courtyards that will explain all the tour and its curiosities, will have an average duration of 2 hours during which you will enter the Barrio de San Basilio (the neighborhood of the courtyards) and the famous Barrio of the Jewish quarter. In these neighborhoods you will visit the well-known Patios Córdoba awarded with the festival awards for patios and different architectures, shapes and colors. It will also include the entrance of a small ethnographic museum located in one of our courtyards that deals with the history of the kitchen. A wine tasting of our land will be included in the price of the entrance. Which you can enjoy in the tranquility of one of our courtyards thus obtaining all the essence of the cultural tradition of the Cordoban Patios.
10:00 a.m., 12:00 pm., 4:30 p.m. /17:30p.m.
Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos
Built under Castilian rule in the 13th and 14th centuries on the remains of a Moorish predecessor, this fort-cum-palace was where the Catholic Monarchs, Fernando and Isabel, made their first acquaintance with Columbus in 1486. One hall displays some remarkable Roman mosaics, dug up from Plaza de la Corredera in the 1950s. The Alcázar's terraced gardens – full of fish ponds, fountains, orange trees and flowers – are a delight to stroll around. At 9pm (except Mondays) there's a popular multimedia show featuring lights, flamenco music and dancing fountains called Noches Mágicas en el Alcázar (Magic Nights in the Alcázar; adult/child €6.50/free). While here, it's also interesting to visit the nearby Baños del Alcázar Califal, the impressive 10th-century bathhouse of the Moorish Alcázar.
9pm Magical Night Tour, light show
€6,50/ adult, children free
Callejon de las Flores
9am-3pm; Closed Mon
GRANADA
Alhambra, gardens
8:30am-8pm daily
Adults: 14.00 €
Children under 12: Free (ticketed)
https://tickets.alhambra-patronato.es
https://www.alhambradegranada.org/en/info/goingtothealhambra.asp
http://www.alhambra-patronato.es/fileadmin/PAG/educacion/descargas/PLANO_INGL.pdf
Inside the Nasrid Palace, it is compulsory to carry backpacks in front or by hand. No strollers are allowed inside the Nasrid Palace. Picnicking is allowed at appropriate sites. Food and drink are only sold at the kiosks at the Wine Gate (near the Alcazaba). Water fountains are scattered through the complex. Note that toilets are only available at the Wine Gate (in between the Nasrid Palace and Alcazaba) and near the stage of the modern open-air auditorium near the Generalife gardens. There are no toilets inside any of the palace buildings. The Gate of Justice (Puerta de la Justicia) entrance a bit closer to the old town but may only be used by visitors already holding QR barcoded tickets. Admission tickets are not sold at this gate. Arrive well in advance of the time for entering the Nasrid Palace. Reaching the palace takes just less than half an hour once past the ticket scanners at the main gate. You must enter within the 30 minute window printed on your ticket, otherwise they will not let you in. In spring and summer, there’s typically a wait, so I would arrive 30 min ahead of your designated window to prepare for long lines. Seeing the Alcazaba and Palace of Charles the V before entering the Nasrid Palace reduces the need for back tracking. The best gardens are after exiting the Nasrid Palace and of course at the Generalife. Tickets are checked at entry to specific points (Nasrid, Alcazaba, Generalife and palace etc) but most areas between the key points are free. The best views from afar are from the Mirador San Nicolas viewing platform, especially popular at sunset.
Getting there: Take a minibus from Plaza Nueva. Either bus no. 30 or 32 is fine, they run every few minutes and cost €1.20 upon boarding. The minibus goes along the main road and instead of turning left, heads farther up to drop you off at the Main Entrance.
parking cost
El Banuelo
10am-5pm daily
This is a free entrance museum which will take about 15 minutes to visit.
These baths used to be part of the Mosque of the Walnut Tree (Mezquita del Nogal) which previously stood here. They were built in the 11th century and are considered to be among the oldest and most complete baths in Spain. Bañuelo were the hammanes baths, the place where the inhabitants of the district went to wash, look after themselves and converse. The Bañuelo bathhouse dates from the XI Century and is one of the best preserved in Spain. The building is divided into three rectangular rooms. Next to the entrance courtyard is the cold room, then the warm room, which is larger, and decorated with horseshoe arcades in three of its sides. Finally, another rectangular room with two spaces where the water baths were placed was the hottest water room.
Sacramonte gypsy quarter, street flamenco
http://granadainfo.com/rocio/english.htm
Alcaicería - shopping
Royal Chapel of the Monarchs (Capilla Real)
€5, free kids; 10:15 - 6:30pm
free tapa with each beverage
free tapas
6pm, 8pm, 10pm shows €20/adult; free under 8
https://www.jardinesdezoraya.com/en/reservations/
Plaza Aliatar, Albaycin
Bus: https://www.lovegranada.com/transport/alhambra-buses/
The Alhambra Bus fares are the same as those of other urban buses. You can use the same travel card on Alhambra and other (bigger) urban buses. Bus C3 or C4 to Alhambra. Only 1,40 per trip. The CREDIBUS CARD or BONOBUS costs 5€, 10€ or 20€ plus a refundable fee of 2€.; Children under 6 travel for free. 7am - 11pm
€20 = 14 trips
Single bus tickets must be bought before you get on the bus from the ticket vending machines at the bus stops. You can pay in cash (coins and notes) or with a credit card. You must also validate your ticket at one of ticket validating machines before getting on the bus.
All routes map: https://www.lovegranada.com/images/transport/city/granada-bus-map.png
C32 bus to Alhambra + Albaicin: https://www.lovegranada.com/images/transport/city/planos/plano-c32.png
C34 bus to Sacramonte: https://www.lovegranada.com/images/transport/city/planos/plano-c34.png
SETENIL
Restaurante Palmero
RONDA
Mirador del Puente Nuevo
Baños Arabes
10am-7pm, €3
SEVILLE
After the city of Córdoba (also in Andalusia), Seville has the hottest summer in continental Europe among all citieswith a population over 100,000 inhabitants, with average daily highs in July of 36.0 °C (97 °F).
General admission €9; free under 15
Tuesday to Saturday from 11:00 to 17:00
The Cathedral of Seville (Catedral de Sevilla) is an expression in stone of post-Reconquest confidence and wealth. Built on the site of a mosque, it is the third largest church in Europe and the largest Gothic building in Europe. It also boasts the largest altarpiece in the world.
Two parts of the mosque were thankfully preserved in the cathedral: the Moorish entrance court (Patio de los Naranjos); and the Giralda, originally a minaret, converted into a bell tower. The cathedral is entered via the Puerta de San Cristóbal on the south side, just inside of which is the tomb of Christopher Columbus (Cristóbal Colón). Columbus was originally buried in the cathedral of Havana, on the island he had discovered on his first voyage in 1492. But during the upheavals surrounding the Cuban revolution in 1902, Spain transferred the remains to Seville. A monumental tomb was sculpted for the explorer's new resting place in Seville. Sculpted by Arturo Melida, it was designed in the Late Romantic style and is held aloft by four huge allegorial figures representing the kingdoms of León, Castile, Aragón and Navarra. There have long been doubts about the authenticity of the remains in Columbus' tomb, and DNA tests are currently underway to find out if they really are those of the explorer.
La Giralda
01/09 - 30/06: Monday: 11:00 - 15:30. Tuesday - Saturday: 11:00 - 17:00.
Price. Adults: 8 € (includes visit to the Church of Salvador). Entry tickets can also be purchased at the Salvador.
The Giralda is the bell tower of the Cathedral. It its day, it was the tallest tower in the world, standing at 97.5 m in height, in addition to being one of the most famous images of the city and Andalusia. The tower consists of two different but perfectly unified pieces, a perfect example of the crucible of cultures existing in the city. The Muslim body is the oldest part, started in 1184 by order of Abu Yaqub Yusuf to be the minaret of the Almohad mosque of Seville. A curious fact, the Giralda does not have stairs, but instead has 35 ramps wide enough to allow the Sultan to ascend mounted on horseback to see the beautiful view.
Real Alcazar
https://www.alcazarsevilla.org/en/
Monday to Sunday, 09:30 to 17:00
€9,50 adults; free under 16
10 min walk from Plaza Nueva
Las Setas de Sevilla
Entrance is underground. €3 for the lift to go to the top, with a token for a drink.
12min walk from Plana Nueva
Parque de Maria Luisa
Plaza de España
Take T1 tram from Plaza Nueva to San Sebastian
Casa de la Guitara, kids allowed
€18 adult
https://www.peppylocals.com/qa/866/flamenco-for-kids
Flamenco museum:
https://museodelbaileflamenco.com/en/
10am-7pm
€22 adult; Children under 6 Free
Tram T1 runs between Plaza Nueva and San Bernado via Avenida de la Constitución, Puerta de Jerez and San Sebastián. The standard ticket is €1.40 but a range of passes is available if you're likely to use it a lot. The tram (tranvia) goes south from Plaza Nueva, the centre of the city, and has four stops, covering a total distance of 1.4km. After leaving from Plaza Nueva, it goes down Avenida de la Constitucion past the Cathedral, stopping at the Archivo de Indias (next to Alcazar Palace), San Fernando (where Puerta Jerez Metro station is), the Prado de San Sebastian (Metro station, Plaza de Espana, Maria Luisa park), and terminates at San Bernardo train station (Metro station), where you can catch a Cercanias train. Confusingly, the tram is called Metro-Centro, even though it's nothing to do with the metro. It runs from 6am to 1.30am.
PORTUGAL
The Fort of Our Lady of Grace, officially termed as Fort Conde de Lippe is located in the parish of the Alcáçova, about a mile north of the city of Elvas, Portalegre District.
When the 16th century the fortified city of Elvas was running out of water; the wells were drying up so the decision was taken to channel water from Amoreira eight kilometres away.
Marvão Castle and Cistern
The formidable castle, built into the rock at the western end of the village, dates from the end of the 13th century, but most of what you see today was built in the 17th century. The views from the battlements are staggering. There’s a huge vaulted cistern (still full of water) near the entrance and it’s landscaped with hedges and flower beds. The torre de menagem (keep) has displays on the castle’s history even predating its 13th-century founding.
Roman ruins in Conimbriga, near Coimbra
Braga
Guimarães is the oldest city of Portugal
schedule: https://www.cp.pt/StaticFiles/timetables/oporto-regua-douro-regional-trains.pdf
Historic steam train from Regua to Tua:
https://www.cp.pt/passageiros/en/how-to-travel/For-leisure/Nature-and-Culture/douro-historical-train
Saturdays, between June 1 and October 26, 2019;
Thursday (public holiday), August 15, 2019.
Outward: Régua 15:23 > Tua 16:34;
Return: Tua 17:10 > Régua 18:32.
€10/ 1 hour 12pm, 3pm, 5pm
Northern Spain
Santiago de Compostela (2.5hr from Povoa)
