Attractions

Seville:

Alcázar The Alcazar was built in the 1360s by Moorish craftsmen for Pedro of Castile. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Mezquita Is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Córdoba, Spain. It was originally built to be a warehouse, temple and lighthouse. It later became the second-largest mosque in the world.

Fine Art Museum Built in the 18th century by Juan de Oviedo and set up in the old Convent of la Merced, the Fine Art Museum is arranged around three patios. Here the visitor can admire works by El Greco, Velázquez, Zurbarán and Valdés Leal. Especially interesting is the Murillo collection located in the convent’s church.

Madrid:

As the capital of Spain, Madrid is a city of great cultural and political importance. While Madrid possesses a modern infrastructure, it has preserved the look and feel of many of its historic neighborhoods and streets. Its landmarks include the Royal Palace; the Teatro Real (Royal Theatre) with its restored 1850 Opera House; the Buen Retiro park; the imposing 19th-century National Library; and three superb art museums: the Prado Museum, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, a museum of modern art, and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, housed in the renovated Villahermosa Palace.

Prado Museum From its privileged location surrounded by trees and some of Madrid’s greatest monuments, the National Museum of the Prado is one of the most visited attractions in the capital. The museum is home to the most important Spanish painting collection in the world.

Royal Palace Discover the new painting gallery, with works by Velazquez, Goya, Caravaggio, Corolla and Juan de Flandes Home to the Kings of Spain from Carlos III all the way through to Alfonso XIII, Madrid’s Royal Palace is now open to anyone who wants to take a trip through Spanish history. Visitors can wander through the many rooms, enjoying the beautiful architecture and the art collection still housed here. Though it is no longer the current royal family’s home, it is still their official residence and the place where public acts and official ceremonies are held.

Parque del Buen Retiro literally "Gardens" or "Park of the Pleasant Retreat") is a large and popular 1.4 km² (350 acre) park in Madrid's city center, very near the Puerta de Alcalá and not far from the Museo del Prado. Once outside Madrid, the park is now entirely surrounded by the present day city. The park was originally the site of a royal palace (Alcazar) built in 1632 under the reign of King Philip IV. Most of the palace was destroyed during the Peninsular War, leaving a space that was eventually opened to the public in 1868. The few remaining buildings of the palace now house museum collections.

Thyssen-Bornemiza Museum The Thyssen Museum, along with the Prado and the Reina Sofía, is one of the main attractions on the Art Walk. With a collection of over 1,000 works of art, the Thyssen-Bornemisza is a key stop on one of the world's most singular cultural and artistic touring routes. Just meters from the Prado and the Reina Sofía, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum allows visitors to embark on an exceptional journey through seven centuries of painting or to contemplate any one of the 50 paintings it holds masterpieces that are considered to be universal

The Reina Sofia National Museum The Reina Sofia National Museum and Art Center brings together the new trends in contemporary art and undertakes the task of showing the backbone of Spanish art of our times. The extension of the museum, conducted by renowned French architect Jean Nouvel, has increased the facilities and services provided by the original building and has complemented its activities with two exhibition rooms: a library and an auditorium.

Barcelona: 

La Sagrada Familia is truly awe-inspiring. The life's work of Barcelona's favorite son, Antoni Gaudí, the magnificent spires of the unfinished cathedral imprint themselves boldly against the sky with swelling outlines inspired by the holy mountain Montserrat. They are encrusted with a tangle of sculptures that seem to breathe life into the stone. Gaudí died in 1926 before his masterwork was completed, and since then, controversy has continually dogged the building program. Nevertheless, the southwestern (Passion) facade, with four more towers, is almost done, and the nave, begun in 1978, is progressing. Some say the shell should have been left as a monument to the architect, but today's chief architect, Jordi Bonet, argues that the task is a sacred one, as it's a church intended to atone for sin and appeal to God's mercy on Catalunya.

Las Ramblas Five separate streets strung end to end, La Rambla (also called Las Ramblas) is a tree-lined pedestrian boulevard packed with buskers, living statues, mimes and itinerant salespeople selling everything from lottery tickets to jewellery. The noisy bird market on the second block of La Rambla is worth a stop, as is the nearby Palau de la Virreina, a grand 18th-century rococo mansion, with arts and entertainment information and a ticket office. Next door is La Rambla's most colorful market, the Mercat de la Boqueria. Just south of the Boqueria the Mosaic de Miró punctuates the pavement, with one tile signed by the artist. The next section of La Rambla boasts the Gran Teatre del Liceu, the famous 19th-century opera house. La Rambla terminates at the lofty Monument a Colom (Monument to Columbus) and the harbour. You can ascend the monument by lift.

Park Güell Güell, designed by Antonio Gaudí is the most famous park in Barcelona, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It has been subject to all types of praise and criticism, including comments such as outrageous modernism, surrealistic island and nightmare expressionist park. First conceived as a private estate, it became a public park in 1922. The main entrance to the park and the stairway leading to the Hundred Columns Room are structures where Gaudí clearly let his imagination run free.