Barcelona, the capital of Catalunya and the most metropolitan city of Spain, has been attracting travellers for very long time. It's cultural variety with a mix of Spanish and Catalan heritage, together with a broad expat community, makes Barcelona one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Europe. The first traces of the town date back 2000 years. Spain's second largest city with 1.6 Mio inhabitants is also one of Europe's most visited cities. Sights like Gaudi's Sagrada Familia or the shopping street Rambla attract 7 Mio visitors every year!

Situated in a small, high plain in the foothills of the Pyrenees at the River Arga, the town is shaped by the huge and well-preserved Citadelle and a Cathedral. The historic Plaza del Castillo, with its connection to the old markets (burgos), in front of the city hall at the Plaza Consistorial, marks the centre of the city. Pamplona is famous for its annual Sanfermines from July 6th to 14th, which is held in honor of the Patron Saint Firmin from Amiens. During the procession, people are all dressed in white and wear red scarves. The biggest attraction of the Sanfermines are the stampedes (spanish: encierros), even more attractive than the bullfights themselves. The stampede takes place every morning through the streets connecting the stables at the edge of the city centre with the bullfighting arena. The origin of this custom was a cattle market during the Patron Saint festival, where the butchers drove the cattle to the market every morning. The stampede is a great spectacle, where the men of the region can prove their courage, but it is also dangerous and controversial. Every year some get wounded and sometimes even killed.

From the year 1914, at the beginning of the first world war and beyond, San Sebastián, the Basc capitol, developed into the cosmopolitain centre of Europe. Public figures, such as Mata Hari, Leo Trotzki and Maurice Ravel, were regular guests in the world-famous casino this city housed. From 1940 to 1975, the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco had his summer residence in San Sebastián. In the 1950s, Juan Carlos de Borbón, the later Spanish King Juan Carlos I, spent his summer holidays there, too. Today, San Sebastián is a glamorous beach resort with great beaches and fantastic restaurants. You can find the highest density of Michelin-Star-Restaurants in the world there.

Col du Tourmalet (6,939 ft.) is the highest road in the central Pyrenees in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées in France. It is one of the most famous climbs on the Tour de France. It has been included more than any other pass, starting in 1910, when the Pyrenees were introduced. The Tourmalet is also one of the passes that Lance Armstrong never came in in first place in all the years he won the race!

To the north of Huesca, in the Aragonese Pyrenees, aficionados of high mountains will enjoy a unique national park in Spain: Ordesa and Monte Perdido. Consisting of four valleys (Añisclo, Escueta, Ordesa and Picuaín) and one peak, Monte Perdido, it unfolds like a scene from a film, where different ecosystems flourish together. A natural paradise where you can explore meadows, enormous forests, incredible gorges, glaciers, experience perpetual snow, and admire the unique karstic landscape, formed over thousands of years.(www.spain.info)

Cadaqués, in the province of Girona, is situated on a bay in the middle of the Cap de Creus Peninsula and has a special place in art history. The local artist Mei Fren was the first modern artist to live in Cadaqués, and gave the town many of his works. Salvador Dalí often visited Cadaqués in his childhood, and later kept a home in Port Lligat, a small village on a bay next to the town. A summer holiday here in 1916, spent with the family of Ramon Pichot, is seen as especially important to Dalí's artistic career. Other notable artists, including Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Marcel Duchamp, Antoni Pitxot, Henri-François Rey, Melina Mercouri and Maurice Boitel also spent time here.