3 Unique Destinations You Must Visit In Spain

When thinking about Spain, most people imagine the beaches of the Costa del Sol, or major cities like Madrid, Barcelona or Granada. However, this historic and beautiful country has many attractive destinations to explore with beautiful architecture and fascinating historic sites. Here we explore three.

Ronda in Andalucia, Spain

While this destination is only a few miles from the Costa del Sol, it is a world away from sandcastles, concrete apartment blocks and bars. This delightful town is perched high up on two cliff faces above the El Tajo gorge. The Guadalevin River runs through the gorge, which splits two halves of the historic town.

The Romans were the first to establish a settlement at Ronda and this can be seen in the Roman Bridge (Puente Viejo) that heads over the river. However, the Moors also set their sights on Ronda and left behind the Arab Bridge (Puente San Miguel), the Arab baths and what remains of the city’s walls.

However, it is the New Bridge (Puente Nuevo) that joins Ronda over the gorge. Despite the name, this bridge was built by the town’s Spanish inhabitants and finished in 1793. Beautiful views can be had on the bridge, right across the countryside. On both sides, homes seem to cling precariously to the edges of the gorge. The town has a number of museums to visit including Spain’s oldest bullfighting ring

Ronda has been popular with a number of prominent writers over the years, including Ernest Hemingway and Orson Welles, both of which spent some time in the town.

San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, Spain

Heading up north to the Basque Coast of Spain, we now visit a truly out-of-the-way destination for a unique Spanish holiday. While it is out-of-the-way, surprisingly you may have seen the tiny island of Gaztelugatxe on TV without even realizing it. The island has a fantastical stone bridge to cross, leading to hundreds of steps taking visitors to a hermitage.

The bridge and stairway were built in the 11th century to take people up to the religious hermitage at the top of the sea crag. Gaztelugatxe famously starred in the popular HBO TV series, Game of Thrones. It is believed the structure was built by the Knights Templar and since then, the small church has been destroyed a number of times, but always rebuilt again.

A visit to the hermitage can be a little tiring, but once at the top, visitors are told to make a wish as they ring the bell.

Playa de las Catedrales, Ribadeo, Spain

This spectacular geological formation is located on Spain’s Galician coast. On a stretch of sand around a mile in length, a series of formations stand as cathedral-like arches. The beach is officially called Praia de Augas Santas (Beach of the Holy Waters) and is a fascinating place to stroll under the arches.

Photos of Cathedral Beach at low and high tide by Andy Roberts/Flickr and Carlos Matilla/Flickr

However, visitors must bear in mind that the arches and natural sea caves can only be seen at low tide. They stretch up to 90 feet in height, joining up to the cliff. However, as can be seen from the images above, once the sea returns for high tide, all traces of the cathedral arches disappear under the water.

Explore Spain’s unique and historic sites on your next Spanish holiday.
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