Golf, Marina, Mountain and Beach: Select Spanish Developments from Barcelona to Cadiz
Our love affair with Spain never ends, and it’s not hard to see why. The country has both spectacular mountain ranges and hundreds of kilometres of beaches, a strong cultural history, and an unrivalled reputation for fiestas. The climate is warm and the sun seems to shine all the time. There’s little wonder that it’s still the number one destination for Western Europeans who want to start a new life or have a second home abroad.
Life in Spain is very relaxed, at a much slower pace than that in the UK. The tradition of taking a siesta in the afternoon, when the day is at its hottest, means one can stay up late into the night, eating, socialising with friends and family, making sure you get as much as possible out of every day.
Food is central to Spanish life, and something about which most Spaniards are passionate. Most towns still have bustling produce markets for all kinds of fresh produce, mostly of local provenance. If you’re after fine dining then you’re in luck: Spain’s restaurants are growing in reputation and if you have the time (and money) you could always visit ‘the best restaurant in the world’, El Bulli, in Catalonia.
The year round sunshine means that you can enjoy a great active outdoor lifestyle. There is good golfing to be had, of course, as well as all the usual water sports on the coasts, but inland you can also find some spectacular countryside for hiking, or perhaps you’d like to try rock climbing in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
It’s also easy to indulge your artistic side – Spain is home to some of the world’s best museums and galleries, such as the Miro Museum in Barcelona, and the Guggenheim in Bilbao. Spain has also preserved some of the most beautiful and impressive buildings from its complicated history, most famously the Alhambra, but countless other Moorish and Roman structures have been blended with modern buildings to make the cities some of the most architecturally interesting in Europe.
Many of Spain’s cities, like Bilbao, are also benefiting from new trams and metro systems, and the country as a whole has substantially improved the train network, so that travelling to pursue your interests, sporting, cultural or otherwise, is very simple. With a base anywhere in Spain the entire country is at your disposal.
Proximity to the UK makes Spain a very attractive prospect – flight times are around 2 hours, but for variety you could also travel via Eurostar, or even take the ferry from Portsmouth.