Geography Project Spanish Cities

Cities
In Spain there are different regions. Each region has its different provinces. For
example, la Comunidad Valenciana has 3 provinces: Valencia, Castellón and
Alicante. Each of these provinces are like little chunks of a region, in these
chunks called provinces there are different cities, towns and villages.
MADRID
Madrid is the capital of Spain. The Muslims of the Middle Ages were the ones
who took over Madrid and made it into a civilized city. The capital used to be
Toledo until the 1500s when Madrid earned the title. It only makes sense that
Madrid is the capital, since it sits in the very centre of Spain. With a population
of 6.5 million, it’s also one of the most popular cities in Europe.
With an average sunshine of around 250 days per year, this Spanish city hardly
sees the clouds.
Naturally, this means that the heat can get pretty
brutal, but summers are usually fine until August.
During August, you definitely need a fan! And
every month, be sure to wear sunscreen.
Madrid gave birth to celebrity’s like Penelope Cruz, the well-known actress and
Oscar winner Enrique Iglesias. Public transportation in Madrid is known for
being one of the largest and most efficient metropolitan networks.
Students from all over the world come to study in Madrid! Aside from the
beautiful weather and pastel buildings, students are attracted to Madrid for its
amazing universities.
Sobrino de Botin is a classic Spanish restaurant that was founded in 1725. It is
the world’s oldest restaurant. An even more fascinating fact is that the fire
oven hasn’t been extinguished since the first day they opened. That’s about
300 years of fire!
Sobrino de Botín is known for their cochinillo asado (roast suckling pig), but all
of their food is delicious. Their recipes have been perfected over the years .
(Mmmm, qué bueno!)
Madrid receives more than 6 million tourists per year, which like to visit the
interesting well-known museums, like El Museo del Prado. People come to
taste famous food like tapas and octopus. Bull fighting is
also a huge attraction for foreigners, who come to
witness the ancient event that gives a taste of traditional
Spanish culture.
Madrid also has the Mercado de San
Miguel, which is a luxury market that is
always crowded with visitors. Here,
you can find meats, cheeses, wine and
many different foods to taste as you
walk around.
BARCELONA
Barcelona is a province of Catalunya, in the North West of Spain and their

population is 1.8 million!
Barcelona is known for being one of the best beach cities in the world. But the
pretty looking beaches used to be a rocky wasteland not so long ago. In fact,
there were no sandy beaches until the
early 90’s. The two miles beachfront had
been created for the Olympics in 1992,
importing the sand all the way from Egypt!
The waterfront now offers a wide variety
of beautiful white sandy beaches, nightlife,
and yummy food!
Barcelona has 12 metro stations, which are completely abandoned. The
rumour is that they’re haunted! The stations were mainly abandoned due to a
modification of the city’s layout.
Barcelona doesn’t only have one, or two, or even three landmarks. No,
Barcelona has nine different masterpieces that have been listed! (I know, it’s
a lot isn’t it)!
Barcelona’s most famous sight, is definitely La Sagrada Familia, its construction
began in 1882 and is planned to be completed in 2026 ( Finally!), that means
it will take longer to build than
the Egyptian pyramid’s. Antoni
Gaudi designed it and started to
construct it, as well as many
other famous creations in the
city.
Can you imagine Paris without the famous Eiffel Tower? Or the Eiffel Tower in
Barcelona? Gustave Eiffel’s original idea was to pitch the proposal to the city of
Barcelona, and so he did. However, it didn’t go as planned and the city wasn’t
too convinced so they rejected. They thought the tower wouldn’t be anything
special to Barcelona’s landscape. After the rejection, Gustave decided to pitch
to Paris and the rest is history! (I know I’m not doing France as my
project but who cares! Did you know that the Eiffel Tower was only
meant to be a temporary exhibit?)
Park Güell is located on Carmel Hill and is composed of beautiful gardens and
unbelievable, colourful architectural elements. This is actually as some call it a
failed housing project. Antoni Gaudi and Eusebi Güell intended it to be a
visionary housing complex, unfortunately (or fortunately for us tourists?)
they received no interest from the investors and had to abandon the original
idea.
In Barcelona there is a street called Eixample street which has no corners! It’s
not just so it looks great in aerial photography, there’s an even better reason,
which is to make it easier and safer for the trams to turn corners. It also makes
it easier for vehicles and pedestrians to navigate. (And of course, it looks
seriously cool.)
La Rambla is known as the heart of Barcelona’s social life, it is a wide, tree-

shaded street which divides the old town into
two parts. Even though we tend to refer to it
in the singular, ‘La Rambla’ is actually a group
of five streets: Rambla dels Estudis, Rambla
de Canaletes, Rambla dels Caputxins, Rambla
de Sant Josep and the Rambla de Santa
Mònica. The area features beautiful
(expensive looking) pedestrian sidewalks,
many restaurants, shops, cafes and so on. To put it simple, whatever you
like, you should find at La Rambla.
It is the only city in the world awarded a Royal Gold Medal for architecture by
Royal Institute of British Architects. Although the medal is usually given to one
or a group of architects, Barcelona is the first and only city on the planet to
receive this honour.
Located in Barcelona’s Ciutat Vella (Old Town), the shopping mecca Portal de
l’Àngel is not only one of the most expensive streets in Spain, but also the
country’s busiest walkway, with an average of 150,000 people walking down it
daily!
BILBAO
This is northern Spain and the Basque Country, so don’t expect typical sunny
Spain, hot weather and sunshine every day, not even in summer. It is often
cloudy and rainy here. Despite this, the city has many attractions to keep you
entertained in wet weather, including its many museums. Besides, all that rain
ensures that the surrounding countryside and mountainous landscapes stay
beautiful and green. (You would already be used to it because of rainy
Wales).
Bilbao sits surrounded by mountains and is also very close to the coast. You
can go hiking around Artxanda hill in
the morning, followed by a surf
session at Sopelana Beach in the
afternoon.
The Guggenheim contemporary art museum may be Bilbao’s most famous
attraction, but there’s a lot more to see and do here than just that. For
example, visiting contemporary architecture and many other museums
including the Fine Arts Museum, the Archeological Museum, the Maritime
Museum and the Bullfighting Museum.
In the Basque Country, particularly in big cities like

Bilbao, it’s not all about tapas, instead it’s about
pintxos. Pintxos are small pieces of bread, topped
with a multitude of different ingredients, and are
lined up along the bar so you can help yourself. You
are trusted to get what you want and pay for it
afterwards.
Basque, as well as Spanish, is an official language here. Basque is actually the

oldest European language and is completely unrelated to any other language
on the planet currently spoken today.
Besides pintxos, here it’s all about
seafood, so if you’re not a fan of fish or
seafood, you’re missing out on most of
the local dishes. These include things
such as squid cooked in its own ink, cod
or hake, or bacalao pil-pil (cod fried in
garlic and olive oil) among other traditional dishes. Bilbao is also home to a
good handful of vegetarian restaurants.

Geography Project Spanish Cities

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Geography Project Spanish Cities

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Geography Project Spanish Cities

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Cities

Barcelona is a province of Catalunya, in the North West of Spain and their

La Rambla is known as the heart of Barcelona’s social life, it is a wide, tree-

In the Basque Country, particularly in big cities like

Basque, as well as Spanish, is an official language here. Basque is actually the

You might also like