If you’re going to visit Spain but not certain about the exact destinations yet, you can find some inspiration here. We are looking into the 10 best places to visit in Spain.
Taking into consideration are the following factors: Authenticity, history, friendliness of people, food culture, amount of unique things to do, sensible levels of tourism, and hotel prices. And most importantly – we are trying to include a lot of Spanish destinations that are often overlooked.
Ultimately, we believe that these are the best cities to visit if you want the best possible experience in Spain.
First and foremost, we have Vigo. This coastal city in the southwest of Galicia has some beautiful natural sights, along with several nice shopping options and an abundance of bars and restaurants.
If you want to eat out a lot, Vigo is perhaps the best city in all of Spain. With several famous dishes, most notably the grilled octopus, you can get a culinary experience out of the ordinary here. Be sure to visit Calle de las Oestras where you can eat oysters, and the many other great seafood restaurants in the historic area of Vigo, close to the harbor.
For those arriving in the summer, a visit to the Cies Islands near Vigo is an incredible experience. But there are cool attractions all year round in Vigo, so don’t worry if you arrive outside the summer.
Another reason why Vigo ranks as number one is the friendliness of the people. The Galicians are very nice and open, much more so than Spaniards in other regions. It feels like a completely different world. In Vigo, it is very easy to socialize, and that is important – especially for solo travelers!
A Coruña
In several ways, A Coruña feels like a higher-class, more calmed-down version of Vigo. Yet they are similar in many ways.
A Coruña is slightly smaller and slightly colder due to its location in the northern edge of the region.
Yet it remains the second-best place to visit in Spain, and you can very conveniently visit both Vigo and A Coruña on your trip since they are not far apart. In fact, a high-speed train connects the two cities and in a matter of just two hours and a few euros, you can go from one city to the other. In between we have Santiago de Compostela, also highly worth a visit, but a little bit too touristy and expensive for our taste, and no longer as unique as these other Galician cities that are more vibrant with modern culture.
Being in Gijón feels like being in a fairytale. Strolling along the San Lorenzo beach is great at any time of the day, and if you want to experience the local culture up close, then spend a night out in the Cimadevilla area where the nightlife is pretty active on the weekends.
Gijón also provides some nice classic sights, some decent shopping options, and many tasty restaurants. It ranks impressively when it comes to the quality of the bars. We recommend you to try some sidrerías – cider bars – at first. After that, move on to get some vermouth or simply visit one of the crazy clubs in Cimadevilla!
Huelva
The most underrated city in Andalusia is Huelva. It gets very few tourists compared to Seville, Cádiz and Málaga. But in its own right, it is very interesting, especially when it comes to history.
Christopher Columbus (Cristóbal Colón in Spanish) lived in a town just a bit south of Huelva, and the city has several monuments, houses and facilities related to Columbus. But it has much more: Including Spain’s oldest football club (Recreativo Huelva), a nice cathedral, a beautiful seaside and several nearby beaches. It’s a university city, so there are young people and a nice vibe, and the older people in Huelva are almost always up for a chat if you wish to learn more about the city of Huelva.
The capital must be included here – not so much because of its history, but rather because of all the cool activities you can do in Madrid.
Madrid is by far the entertainment capital of Spain. It has the best nightlife, and it provides you with a chance to do almost any activity. Want to throw axes around or go to a trampoline park? There are several facilities for that. Want to ride horses or go skydiving? Simply head a bit outside of the city. The entire region of Madrid is awesome.
In Madrid, you will never be bored, so once you’re finished seeing the main sights in the city, you can get started with the unusual attractions and perhaps later find some action in the surrounding towns of the Madrid Community.
For football fanatics, Madrid is also a special destination since it is home to Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu as well as Atlético Madrid’s Estadio Metropolitano. A lot of travelers go to Madrid specifically to watch football. It’s one of the best sporting destinations in the world!
Navacerrada
This beautiful town is located in the vicinity of Madrid and you can reach it by bus or car after arriving in Madrid.
Navacerrada is surrounded by mountains, and it gets snowy in the winter. The main reason for going here is to experience nature. The settings are quite extraordinary in Navacerrada, so despite the fact that the town provides just a few modern activities, you can still expect a great stay. We recommend staying here for a weekend, or for a full week if you need some tranquility and rest from busier travel activities.
Valencia
Valencia is a charming city. It is the third-largest in Spain, so there will always be a lot to do. Historically, Valencia was a very important city, particularly during the 1400s. You can see several classic attractions – the main ones are the old Cathedral, the Serranos Towers, and La Lonja.
The best time of the year to visit Valencia is in the spring. During March, April, May and June, the weather is delightful and you can enjoy the city from its absolute best sides. While you visit Valencia, you can also consider a day trip to Alicante – in fact, many tourists fly in via Alicante and then take a train or a car onto Valencia after landing!
Zaragoza
One of the largest cities in Spain. Zaragoza is very unique in its culture. In many ways, it feels like a mix of Madrid and Barcelona, but smaller – and with some new things blended in.
A lot of folklore is related to Zaragoza, and it has previously hosted a world fair. It is a beautiful place to go sightseeing. Be sure to see the large basilica by the Ebro River, and set some time aside to walk around in the historic part of the city.
One day is not quite enough in Zaragoza. Many people visit the city on a day trip when they stay in Barcelona or Madrid, but we recommend taking a bit longer. Plan a stay for 3-4 days: With that amount of time, you can properly discover Zaragoza and all of its secrets!
Mérida was founded as a Roman colony in the year 25 BC by Emperor Augustus. It was meant to be a place to resettle soldiers, and it quickly became one of the biggest cities in the region.
Nowadays, many Roman monuments still remain in Mérida. The most important attraction is the beautiful Roman Theatre, but there are several others: The aqueduct, the temple, and the Roman art museum should also be visited on a trip to Mérida.
One day is rarely enough here, so we recommend spending two or three days if you want to do proper sightseeing.
Even though Mérida is located a bit far away from everything, it is a city highly worth visiting. You can reach it by car or bus from either Madrid or Seville. Mérida is fairly close to the Portuguese border, and if you wish to explore more cities in the nearby area, check out Badajoz and Évora.
Vitoria-Gasteiz
Finally, we have a Basque city: The very underrated Vitoria-Gasteiz, a city with beautiful medieval streets, a nice atmosphere, and several nice sights – including two cathedrals!
Vitoria-Gasteiz is often overlooked by tourists. San Sebastián takes most of the attention in the Basque Country, along with Bilbao. And even Pamplona is more frequented by tourists. But perhaps that is a good thing: Vitoria-Gasteiz retains its charm, and it is considered to be one of the best places to live in Spain – so it only makes sense to include it among the best cities for a vacation, too.
This article was written by Jacob Jensen. He primarily covers European and South American destinations for Scope Trip while also working as the main editor for the site.
We care about your privacy. Scope Trip uses cookies on the website to improve your experience. You can read more about how we use cookies, you can change the settings and opt-out from receiving non-necessary browser cookies, or you can accept the conditions and start browsing the page.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
