Country guide
Spain covers 506,030 square kilometres and counts close to 50 million people, and it reads less as one country than as a set of regions that do not resemble eac...
Photograph · Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0
Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor
Spain covers 506,030 square kilometres and counts close to 50 million people, and it reads less as one country than as a set of regions that do not resemble each other. Madrid sits high and dry in the middle of the peninsula with the national collections in it; Barcelona is Mediterranean and Catalan-speaking. Andalusia in the south carries the Moorish architecture of Granada, Córdoba and Seville along with the heat that comes with it, while the green north coast from Bilbao to Galicia is wet Atlantic country most visitors never reach. The Canary Islands lie off Africa, and Ceuta and Melilla are on the African mainland itself.
Checked 2026-08-25
Every city catalogued in this country so far, ranked by how much there is to see.
Photograph · Dmitry Dzhus from London · CC BY 2.0
Photograph · dronepicr · CC BY 2.0
Seasonal closures come from recorded opening hours.
Ranked by importance — sitelinks, pageviews and heritage status, not editor preference.
64 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
Interests
Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid
The Real Jardín Botánico is a working research institute of the CSIC, Spain's national research council, that happens to be open to the public.
Museo Arqueológico Nacional
The Museo Arqueológico Nacional is Spain's principal institution dedicated to archaeological collections. Located in Madrid, it houses extensive holdings spanning prehistoric times through the medieval period.
Cosmocaixa
CosmoCaixa Barcelona is a science museum located in the Sarrià-Sant Gervasi district of Barcelona. The institution occupies a distinctive modernist building originally constructed as an asylum for the blind, designed by architect Josep Domènech i Estapà.
Museo Nacional de Antropología
The Museo Nacional de Antropología in Madrid is Spain's national museum dedicated to anthropology. It houses collections related to human cultures, societies, and physical anthropology.
Vil·la Joana is a historic villa in Barcelona’s wider cultural landscape. Its value for travellers lies in the character of a preserved residential building and the chance to encounter architecture away from the city’s busiest landmark routes.
Museu d'Història de Catalunya
The Museum of the History of Catalonia, locally known as Museu d'Història de Catalunya, is a cultural institution in Barcelona dedicated to preserving and presenting the historical narrative of Catalonia.
Museo Sorolla
The Sorolla Museum is a museum in Madrid dedicated to the work of Joaquín Sorolla, a prominent Spanish painter known for his luminous beach scenes and portraits.
Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza
The Thyssen-Bornemisza is the private-collection third of Madrid's Paseo del Arte, standing on Paseo del Prado at number 8 in the Villahermosa palace, a few minutes' walk from the Prado and the Reina Sofia.
Museo Cerralbo
The Cerralbo Museum, or Museo Cerralbo, is a historic house museum in Madrid. It preserves the former residence of the 17th Marquis of Cerralbo, Enrique de Aguilera y Gamboa, a prominent aristocrat and collector.
Museo de América
The Museum of the Americas is a Madrid museum devoted to the art, archaeology, and ethnography of the American continents. In Ciudad Universitaria, near Moncloa, it brings together objects connected with societies from North, Central, and South America.
CaixaForum Barcelona is a cultural centre on Montjuïc, housed in a former modernist factory designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch.
Museo de Historia de Madrid
Madrid History Museum, also known as Museo de Historia de Madrid, is Madrid’s municipal museum devoted to the capital itself.
Palacio de Liria
Liria Palace, known locally as Palacio de Liria, stands as a historic palace in Madrid. It serves as the principal residence of the House of Alba, one of Spain's most prominent noble families.
l'Aquàrium Barcelona
L'Aquàrium Barcelona is a large aquarium situated in Port Vell, the historic harbour district of Barcelona. It is recognised by official tourism information as Port Vell's major ticketed attraction, a status that corrects its former omission from such listings.
Museo Lázaro Galdiano
The Lázaro Galdiano Museum, known locally as Museo Lázaro Galdiano, is a museum in Madrid. It houses the art collection assembled by José Lázaro Galdiano, a Spanish financier, publisher and collector.
Real Fábrica de Tapices
The Royal Tapestry Factory, or Real Fábrica de Tapices, is a historic Madrid manufactory with centuries of royal connections. Its distinctive appeal is the survival of hand-woven tapestry production as a living craft.
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo is a contemporary art museum in Madrid. Its role is to present and preserve modern and contemporary artistic work, placing it within the capital’s broad cultural landscape.
CaixaForum Madrid is a cultural and social centre operated by the La Caixa Foundation. It occupies a distinctive building in central Madrid, notable for its brick industrial architecture with a prominent vertical garden on one exterior wall.
Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativas
The National Museum of Decorative Arts, or Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativas, is a Madrid museum devoted to applied and decorative arts. It occupies a historic building and belongs to Spain’s national museum network.
Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales
The National Museum of Natural Sciences, known locally as Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, is a prominent institution in Madrid. It operates under the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.
Museo Naval de Madrid
Museo Naval is a maritime museum in Madrid, Spain. It is dedicated to Spanish naval history and heritage. The institution preserves and exhibits collections related to Spain's seafaring traditions, naval warfare, and exploration.
Museo del Traje is Madrid’s museum of clothing, fashion and textile heritage. It belongs to Spain’s state museum network and follows the development of dress through historical periods and contemporary design.
Museo del Romanticismo
The Museum of Romanticism, or Museo del Romanticismo, explores the artistic and social world of nineteenth-century Spain. It occupies a historic palace in central Madrid, where paintings, furniture, decorative arts and personal belongings create a close view of Romantic-era life.
Fundació Joan Miró
The Fundació Joan Miró is a museum of modern art on Montjuïc hill in Barcelona. Established by the Catalan artist Joan Miró, it houses one of the world's most comprehensive collections of his work.
Museo de Cera
Madrid Wax Museum, or Museo de Cera, is a walk-through attraction devoted to lifelike wax figures. It gives visitors an alternative to Madrid’s art museums by presenting historical figures, public personalities, cultural icons, and fictional characters in staged scenes.
Ten to fourteen days allows three or four days in Madrid and four in Barcelona, plus selected rail day trips. Andalusia or either island group deserves a separate route instead of being compressed into the same mainland circuit.
Spain follows Schengen rules, but the traveller's nationality and route determine the required documents or visa. Confirm the current requirement through Spain's official consular information before departure.
High-speed rail makes Madrid-Barcelona and several mainland city pairs practical, while regional buses cover gaps. Island travel needs flights or ferries, and urban ticketing remains local to each city.
April to June and September to October are broad choices for Madrid and Barcelona. Andalusia, the Atlantic north, Balearics, and Canaries follow different heat and weather patterns, so a regional extension should control the final dates.
Spain uses the euro (EUR). Cards are common in cities, but a small euro reserve is useful for individual businesses; always check the billed currency and amount before approving a terminal transaction.
Spain's emergency contact is 112. Electrical outlets accept Type C and F plugs on a 230 V supply. Because this record contains no tap-water finding, use advice from the municipality serving each overnight stop.
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