One of the areas which is a must for those with time and money to spend, and possibly just a credit card, is Avenida Diagonal. This avenue is situated in the high area of Barcelona, zona alta. It is one of the most expensive and exclusive areas in the city, but, really, just worth it.

In this avenue you will find many different types of shops, large department stores and many smaller shops as well as branded shops. a real treat.

Another interesting area for shopping is the Golden Square (Quadrat d’Or). This area in the heart of the Modernist quarters is the home of Bulevar Rosa, the most important shopping mall in the area situated between Paseo de Gracia and Rambla de Catalunya. In here you will find the best designs all from local brands.

Of course, if your hotel in Barcelon is in Ramblas, then you will have on your footstep a myriad of small shops and stalls where you will find, maybe not big designer brands, but at least many different items and trinkets to take back home with you.

From a hotel in Puerta del Sol you will be able to easily access many different shops around the area. Around Sol there are many different small independent shops where you will be able to find the latest fashion in clothes and shoes. Shoes are really my favourite, if you do need some new shoes, do pay a visit. Shops around calle Preciados and calle El Carmen are recommended.

Here you will also find the famous El Corte Inglés, a Spanish department store that is well-known and well-loved for its quality and customer service.

For a more up-market experience, visit Goya and Manuel Becerra. It is very close to Sol by underground, only a few stops in the red line. Here you will find another Corte Ingles as well as many different small shops selling top fashion and shoes. If you need an evening dress or something a bit more chic that your work clothes, this is the place to be.

Also, explore the shops around your hotel in Puerta del Sol.

You can get directions from your hotel in Barcelona to this perfumería in Passeig de Gracia 39.

This museum was inaugurated in 1963 to show the evolution of the shape of perfume bottles throughout history. So, in the museum, you will even have the chance to see bottles that contained perfumes, essencial oils and other smellies during the times of the pharaohs.

The museum is divided in two areas, the first one goes up to the 18th century and the pieces are ordered chronologically to show the evolution and changes of the bottles throughout the ages. The second part starts in the 18th century and the samples are divided in brands.

There are also many different curious artifacts to look at,  and of course when you are through with the museum you will be able to relax in the perfume shop and maybe indulge in some shopping or some pampering before returning to your hotel in Barcelona.

Football

If you are staying in a hotel in the centre of Madrid you will have the chance to visit the three stadiums, but today just start with the Calderon.

This stadium, Calderon, is the cathedral of football for the followers of Atletico de Madrid, the red and white team. This great football temple is full of symbols. It can visited from Tuesday to Sunday from 11am to 7pm.

Ticket prices are 6 Euros, although for 10 Euros you will be able to join one of the guided tours of the stadium. The collection in the museum inside the stadium is considered by critics to be one of the best in the world of football, given the quality and amount of the pieces exhibited.

Through the different bits of memorabilia the museum will tell you the sotry of the stadium from 1903 when a group of Basque students who loved football started the club until now. One of the main exhibits is a collection of football shirts.

So, check out how to get here from your hotel in the centre of Madrid.

From a guesthouse in Madrid’s town centre, you will be able to get a train to most of this places from Atocha Renfe, or get a train from there to estación de Chamartín in the north that serves the other half.

One of the destinations in the Comunidad de Madrid where one can enjoy a nice walking expedition is El Pardo. Here, you will also see the Manzanares River, the little one that goes through Madrid, although a bit cleaner and more energetic than after it’s entered the city.

You can take a break at the “Ermita del Cristo de El Pardo” this little church overlooks the river and it’s a great place for pictures or just to relax in the atmosphere.

Following the river you will end up by the reservoir “embalse de El Pardo“. From there you can’t go on, but you can take a break here as well to enjoy the scenery and the walk back on the other side.

All in all a nice day out of the city, but not so far from it that you can’t get back on time to enjoy the night from your guesthouse in Madrid.

First things first, obviously, book your hotel in Compostela and from there you can start exploring the area.

The first site to visit is the Cathedral that stands proud in the centre. This wonderful Romanesque temple that features a Baroque façade. This façade leads to the plaza del Obradoiro, one of the main tourist attractions in Santiago. It is usual to find hundreds of tourists and locals using this square as a meeting point.

Behind the cathedral you will find the plaza de las Platerías, square of silver, where jewels had their shops in the past. From there you can see the Tower of the Clock (la Torre del Reloj).

Santiago de Compostela is a city full of mystery and beautiful buildings. Cars are not allowed into the old town and that makes for a more enjoyable walking experience.

So, book your hotel in Santiago de Compostela and enjoy the area.

However, if you have your hotel in Madrid, and are eager to discover what else the region has to offer, rejoice yourself, because Madrid is not just the pretty face of a modern city full of night life and wonderful day activities, there is also a whole world of nature out there for you to discover.

The area of Lozaya, in Madrid´s northern mountainous region is a nice place to escape to if you enjoy nature. This area has been inhabited from the Middle Ages, with settlers living in the valley and working the land.

In this area you will enjoy the nature as well as many good restaurants serving locally sourced food.

There are also interesting monuments in the area like the old convent in the centre of the town of Lozoya, the fountain with the four taps that was used in the 18th and 19th centuries by shepherds for their animals and outside the town you will also find the little church of Fuensanta.

It is really a nice little excursion for the day, you will enjoy nice scenery and good food before going back to your hotel in Madrid.

For only 3 Euros you can enjoy the exhibition in the local Archeological Museum in the city of Alicante, or Alacant in the local language. The museum is situated in Plaza Doctor Gomez Ulla.

In the 3rd century A.D. the Roman settlements in the north of Europe were often attacked by the local tribes. More often than not during the fight the treasures stolen would fall into the Rhine and lay there unclaimed until centuries later some archaeologist found it.

This is what happened to the treasure of the Barbarians, which is the collection exhibited now in Alicante. This is the tresure of Neupotz, with objects that come from one of the least known periods of the Roman Empire.

The exhibition also contains the treausres of Hagenbach and Ligenfeld.  There is also a video presentation to offer a more detailed insight into the history of the pieces.

Something interesting to do before going back to your hotel in Alicante.

Madrid has a lot to offer the visitor both during the day and at night, you can enjoy great cultural activities during the day and at night choose from one of the many party areas. There is also a bit for everybody as you can choose from nightclubs or the famous pub-crawl pubs that plague the whole city.

Alonso Martínez is one of this party areas, although a bit younger than others, in the evening you will find teenagers and later in the night you will find people in their 20s -30s. However, it’s worth coming here as pubs are almost back to back and you have a wide offer to choose from from popular to alternative.

Huertas is more for an older or more mature crowd, starting at late 20s and 30s. Bars do not start getting busy till late, though, but on the other hand you will find a nice crowd all week, not just at weekends.

Huertas is also close to Atocha in case you are staying in a hotel there.

In this street you will find most of what you need, from wonderful designer clothes to a massive toy shop with a great and interesting shop-window, restaurants, bars, take-aways, and of course it’s the Broadway of Madrid, because of all the theatres and cinemas there.

In Plaza de España just at the bottom of the Gran Vía, you will even find in Martin de los Heros two cinemas where you will be able to see movies in the original language, in case you are feeling homesick.

If after the show you feel like staying out, then, you’re in luck because just behind Gran Vía in Chueca there is a fantastic gay area, as well as many pubs for everybody. Sol and its bars and pubs in Plaza de Santa Ana are also very close, so if you are staying in a hotel in Gran Vía you will be able to walk to most of these areas.

A great way to enjoy the city.