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Cultural Heritage
Spain has a large amount of unique monuments, such as, for example, the Alhambra
of Granada or the Mosque of Cordoba. Almost the entire history of occidental
art is represented in Spain: Roman cities and Romanesque churches, Gothic cathedrals,
cities dating back from the Middle Ages, the Renaissance period, or modern times,
such as Barcelona, for example, with Gaudí as its main attraction. The
website of the Ministry of Culture (www.mcu.es)
offers detailed information on the most important cultural and artistic attractions
of Spain per Autonomous Region.
Museums
Spain is endowed with a rich cultural heritage. An important part of the Spanish royal collections is currently on display at numerous museums, such as the National Prado Museum. Some of the more recent museums feature works by modern and contemporary artists. On the website of the Ministry of Culture (www.mcu.es), under “Bellas Artes”, “Museos y Patrimonio”), you can find a list of the most important State museums and their web pages. Most museums close on Mondays. State Museums are free on Sundays. The table below shows a list of Spain’s most famous museums:
| MUSEUM | CITY | WEB PAGE | DESCRIPTION |
| Miró Foundation | Barcelona | www.bcn-fjmiro.es | Houses an impressive collection of Miró?s work. |
| Guggenheim Museum | Bilbao | www.guggenheim-bilbao.es | Contemporary art museum housed in an impressive building designed by architect Frank O. Gehry. |
| Museum of Spanish Abstract Art | Cuenca | http://www.march.es | Museum with abstract paintings and sculptures from the fifties and sixties. |
| Dalí Theatre-Museum | Figueres (Girona) | www.salvador-dali.org/esp/ | Surrealist museum. Houses an extensive collection of Dalí?s work. |
| Chillida Leku Museum | Hernani (Guipúzcoa) | www.eduardo-chillida.com | Museum with 40 sculptures of the Basque artist, housed in an antique XVI century farmhouse with garden. |
| National Prado Museum | Madrid | http://museoprado.mcu.es/home.html | One of the most important art galleries in the world. |
| National Reina Sofía Museum | Madrid | http://museoreinasofia.mcu.es | Contemporary art museum. Houses the famous ?El Guernica? by Picasso. |
| Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum | Madrid | www.museothyssen.org | Important artists from the XIV-XXI century. |
| Picasso Museum | Málaga | www.museopicassomalaga.org | Museum located in Picasso?s hometown, with more than 200 of his works. Inaugurated in 2003. |
| National Roman Art Museum | Mérida (Badajoz) | www.mnar.es | Roman art. Sculptures, mosaics, etc. |
| Altamira National Museum and Research Centre | Santillana del Mar (Cantabria) | http://museodealtamira. mcu.es/indexprova.html | Museum-cavern with primitive cave paintings, made in Palaeolithic times. |
| National Sculpture Museum | Valladolid | www.museoescultura.mcu.es | Spanish sculptures from the Dark Ages until the XIX century. |
Science Museums
You can find links to the Spanish Science and Technology Museums on the web
page of the FECYT (www.fecyt.es).
Cinemas
Many movie theatres in the big cities show movies in their original language
version with Spanish subtitles. You can find them on the web page: www.guiadelocio.com,
www.lanetro.com or in the
leisure section of most newspapers. You can rent movies on DVD at almost every
video club only 6 months after premiering.
Music
The web pages of the National Institute of Performing Arts and Music (wwwinaem.mcu.es/rmusic.htm)
and the Ministry of Culture (www.mcu.es)
offer information on State concerts. To check local movie listings, you can
visit the website of the movie theatre or browse the leisure section of your
local newspaper.
| MOST IMPORTANT CONCERT HALLS AND OPERA HOUSES IN SPAIN | ||
| THEATRE | WEB PAGE | CITY |
| Barcelona Opera House | www.liceubarcelona.com | Barcelona |
| Catalonia Music Palace | www.palaumusica.org | Barcelona |
| Royal Theatre | www.teatro-real.com | Madrid |
| National Music Auditorium | www.auditorionacional.mcu.es | Madrid |
| Kursaal | www.kursaal.org | San Sebastián |
| Valencia Music Palace | www.palaudevalencia.com | Valencia |
Opera has a long tradition in Catalonia, though many other Spanish cities have famous music and opera festivals too. “Zarzuela” (Spanish operetta) is also highly appreciated. All major foreign pop-, rock-, jazz- etc. stars and groups include Spain in their world tours, generally during summer. Ibiza is the capital of electronic music and “chill-out”.
Theatre
Spain has a wealth of theatre on offer: There is the classic theatre festival
of Merida (www.festivaldemerida.es), plays from the “Golden Century”
at the Almagro Festival (www.festivaldealmagro.com),
or Contemporary Theatre like “El Mercat de las flors” in Barcelona
(www.mercatflors.org). Some cities offer theatre in foreign languages. Musicals
are at its peak, especially the Spanish versions of Broadway shows.
Sports
Spain has excellent facilities for the practice of any kind of sport. You can
find information on sport centres on the web page of the Ministry of Education
and Science: http://www.csd.mec.es/CSD/Default.htm.
Sportec (Sport Information Technology) also offers detailed information on sports
on its website: www.sportec.com. The Spanish Professional Football League, one
of the most important in the world, offers information on its website: www.lfp.es.
Tourism
In 2005, 55.5 million tourists visited Spain (according to the FRONTUR-Ministry
of Industry, Tourism and Commerce Survey: 2005 provisional data). Its excellent
climate and thousands of kilometres of coast have turned Spain into the Mecca
of European tourism. Rural, cultural and sport tourism have shown steady growth
over the past few years. The web page of Turespaña (www.spain.info)
offers detailed information on tourist destinations, routes, hotels, etc…
An important role in Spanish tourism is played by the “Paradores Nacionales”
(www.parador.es), 4 or 5
star state-run hotels in historic buildings and charming landscapes. Another
option are the rural houses, which are small 5- to 8-room hotels with personalised
service. More information on this type of hotels can be found on the web page
of Rusticae (www.rusticae.es).
