Andalucia & Costa del Sol Things to Do

Located just 12 kilometers west of Málaga, Spain, you’ll find another popular seaside of resort town: Benalmádena.

Like the rest of Spain, the Christmas holidays in Andalucia‘s Seville don’t end with Santa and a Christmas tree on the 25th, or with the strike of midnight on the 31st. Oh no, the holidays in these parts are filled with lots of big meals and they culminate with special deliveries by the Three Kings on January 6th.

Seville is the capital of Andalucia and the fourth largest city in Spain. Its historic center is the largest in Spain and only third in size in Europe after Venice and Genoa. It has a harbor on the River Guadalquivir, and a university dating back to 1505. What all these facts don’t tell you is that Seville is a lively and contemporary city with history and culture to see during the day and fun to be had during the evening.

Triana is traditionally the gypsy quarter of Seville and is full of flamenco bars and ceramic and tile shops.

Across the river from much of the city and in fact almost an island in the Guadalquivir river, Triana residents (or trianeros) have always considered themselves a bit apart and are fiercely proud of their community.

oly Week in Seville, the week before Easter, is one of the biggest festivals in the Spanish calendar. Starting on March 30th in 2012, it’s a week long day of celebrations, parades, and religious observance leading up to April 8th, Domingo de la Resurreccion, or Easter Sunday which is a strictly holy day and has no parades.

Don’t you hate going out to eat and having to choose between all those delicious things on the menu? That’s the genius of tapas: you can choose lots of little dishes instead of just one big one. It reconfirms my opinion that Spain is one of the best places in the world. Seville takes credit for inventing the concept of tapas although there is some disagreement about the exact means by which these small plates came about.