Ideas for your second trip to Spain

Thank you for posting this! I love Spain and am always happy to get advice about where to go next.

Thanks for the list. Would some of these spots be doable as day trips from some of the cities like Madrid, Seville or Granda or you recommend overnights.

Spain is a bigger country than it seems and for most of these places you would need to stay overnight, the capital of the corresponding province makes normally a good base. But it depends. To visit the most interesting places in Huelva you have to get close to Portugal, about two and a half hours drive. For Valladolid, the high-speed train from Madrid is an excellent option. For Valencia and Zaragoza, I´d stay overnight. It´s just a small list of places that aren´t close to major visited places...that´s one of the reasons they are more "undiscovered".

I agree with the sentiment and would add Extremadura - a number of easily connected (relatively smaller) towns and other sights with a variety of things to see. A car helps, but isn't essential if one has no interest in the rural parts (although there is some fantastic scenery, so I certainly recommend getting out of the towns too).

And just to be picky. Murcia is a region as well as a province (and also a city), and it isn't inland. Some is, of course, but it has a long coastline too which is also worth exploring.

Plus, personal opinion, but I wouldn't get too excited by the city of Jaen. I think it is the least interesting of the eight Andalucian provincial capitals. On the other hand - in Jaen province - Ubeda and Baeza are, indeed, brilliant and architectually beautiful contrasts to much of the rest of Andalucia.

Thanks for the travel ideas for Spain. Been to all the Big destinations. This will be my first earmarked message for future Spain trips.

You are totally correct, Nick. I had not forgotten Extremadura, I was just planning to post a more extended comment on this region I like so much. So diverse, I just love the Jerte Valley (absolutely lovely when the cherry trees are in full blossom), its cascades, the churches, the towns...and the Comarca de La Vera, with historical Plasencia, the monastery of Yuste and Garganta La Olla. Also, Monfragüe National Park, amazing landscapes. Guadalupe, and its monastery, in La Villuerca area, a must-see. Cáceres, UNESCO World Heritage Site, the old town is amazing. Mérida and its spectacular Roman theatre and monuments all over the city. Olivenza in the frontier with Portugal. Hervás as a symbol of Jewish heritage. The monumental town of Trujillo. The white town of Zafra and the arabic walls of Badajoz. La Siberia Reserve of the Biosphere. Malpartida de Cáceres and the natural monument of Los Barruecos...Extremadura is considered as the poorest region in Spain but it´s one of the richest in history, monuments and landscapes.

Here Here for Extremadura. I still dream of those landscapes!

One other "plus" for Extremadura is that it is a great jumping off point to visit the western Portugal area of Alentejo, including Evora and Elvas towns which are both utterly delightful. I think this part of Portugal can be overlooked because it doesn't fit well with an Algarve/Lisbon/Porto trip. But, if starting/ending in Extremadura then it is a great fit. There are direct bus links, for those without a car.

Last year we drove from Bilbao, my hometown, towards Cáceres, then on to Évora, Monsaraz, then Elvas, Estremoz, Serpa (amazing aqueduct, zero foreigners last year in August), Mértola (beautiful and unspoilt) and ending in Ayamonte (Huelva), in Spain.

Kaixo Mikel,

you are right, there is a lot to see besides the "superbeaten places".

Burgos and Zaragoza are great, and, for example, they can be reached with out a car.

Uxue is beautiful, and on a clear day the views are unbelievable.

One thing that you don't really mention, and that others also hinted at, is that many of these places have few to no tourist. Last July I did a road trip from Logroño to Soria to Burgo de Osma. Then up to Burgos the next day. In most of the places there was nobody, or a handful of people. We visited Covarrubias and were the only people visiting the cloister, and the guard was just ahead of us turning on the lights of the gallery when we entered, and off when we moved to the next room. Great experience.

The only place where we ran into a "crowd" was at the Sad Hill Cemetery. It is were they filmed the final of The Good The Bad and The Ugly. Quite a few people, and of those a lot of Germans.

I fully agree with the recommendations. Loved Burgo de Osma and Mikel is the only one to ever mention Daroca. It is a nice small town. We visited to see the fountain with 20 spouts and the Hermitage of Nazarete. There’s only one main street through town. I wasn’t overly impressed by Tarazona, but nearby are the ruins of Belchite, destroyed during the Spanish civil war, Trasmoz, Ágreda, and the list goes on.

We spent 22 days in Extremadura, Castilla y León, and Castilla y La Mancha in October and loved it.

There are a plethora of small towns worth visiting. A car is needed to reach many them, but you will be rewarded with locations with very few, if any, foreign tourists.

Hi Dlindstrom, I believe you live in La Rioja (btw, not to be mistaken with Rioja D.O.Ca. wine region, as you know), another province where the wine (present only in its northern and the eastern part) gets all the attention, ignoring its beautiful historical towns (Nájera, Sajazarra, San Millán de la Cogolla (Suso and Yuso monasteries), all the Cameros area...).

Well, the places mentioned do get tourism, but mainly by locals. It´s true that foreign visitors do not visit these places as much as the classic tourist destinations in Spain. Travelling is a lot easier and cheaper nowadays and we all want to explore new places, so some of the above will be the future popular destinations in Spain for foreigners. I live near Bilbao, quite ignored by tourism until very recently, now a very popular destination for European and US visitors thanks to the Guggenheim Museum. And our beautiful old town and the architecture of the city and surrounding areas are now much more well known than just a few years ago. Still misspelled as Bilboa or Balboa, though :)

MikelBasqueGuide--- I very much appreciate this post, as I came here seeking ideas for a second trip to Spain (late May/early June). We plan to spend three weeks, and I am thinking of staying in three different spots, doing day trips from each. Your list gives me a head start on where to begin looking. Thank you!

I also very much appreciate this post. I haven't traveled much and never to Spain. I would assume from the descriptions here that I'd need more than minimum Spanish in a lot (most?) places? That would be fine. I could always do tours if I got the chance to go.

Mikel, Bilbao has changed a lot since I first visited in 1992.

BTW, you left out Ezcaray, which will be part of the Giro 2025.

@Jaime, I agree about Tarazona. Nearby is the monastery of Veruela which is very nice. And has the Borja DO wine center.

We will be driving from Madrid to the Extremadura area staying in Sierra de Fuentes, Extremadura for 7 nights. Stopping on the way from Madrid in Guadalupe for a few hours. Then doing day trips to Caceres, Monfragüe National Park, Mérida, Trujillo to name a few not sure if we can get it all in but hoping we can explore a good portion of the area. I will look in some of the other place mentioned by the OP.
There just isnt enough time to see it all - Spain is just to vast.

@dacase90 - if going to Guadalupe for the monastery, check its hours to ensure to get there when it’s open. It closes for a few hours in the afternoon. Since you’ll be driving, there is free parking along Calle Viña Mayor by the Centro de Salud de Guadalupe. From it the monastery is a couple minutes walk.

The castle in Trujillo is nice. There isn’t much to it, but it is large and the walls are nice to walk along. It’s inexpensive to enter, but was cash only. We stayed at the Parador and there is free parking along Calle Santa Beatriz de Silva and Calle Paredones de Santa Clara.

In Cáceres, free parking is a little bit of a walk from the historic center. We parked at Calle Jose Luis Cotallo, 5 Parking. There are pay lots a little closer to the historic center.

If you’re an enthusiast of Games of Thrones or House of the Dragon, consider both Monsanto, Portugal and Los Barruecos where parts of the movies were filmed. En route to Monsanto is the small town of Gallisteo. The notable part of the town is its wall you can walk along. Unlike other town walls made of large blocks, its wall is made of river stone. Nearby Coria is worth a short stop to walk around.

If you wanted a short break en route between Cáceres and Mérida, there’s an impressive castle at Medellín. It’s best seen from the exterior as there’s little to the interior. Getting to the castle one needs to drive across a 17th century bridge.

There are free parking lots in all the places I mentioned.

Bookmarking! I’ve been twice to Andalusia and have a long wander through other areas on the horizon so this is great!

You had me from the start with Ourense and Riviera Sacra ( my family is from and still in Ourense). But to me conspicuously and almost unforgivably absent is Asturias. Glaring omission for me. But apart from that, I wholly agree with your recommendations.

Archimedes, I did mention Llanes and the coastal towns on the way to Galicia, but it´s very true that Asturias is also full of many beautiful, stunning sites with spectacular nature. I can only recommend the whole region, love it there (and it´s a short 2.5h drive from Bilbao airport).

@dacase9 Like Jaime, I also enjoyed Los Barruecos--and I am not even a GoT fan. Cows, rocks, birds, just a neat place.
Another really cool excursion we did was drive to Alcantara to see the Roman bridge, which is interesting in its juxtaposition near a modern dam. We did a stunningly gorgeous hike there and only saw one person on the trail (curiously, he was barefoot and carried no water, but he appeared to know what he was doing in every way).
Monfrague is really special, I hope to get back one day.

As a funny side note, "Alcántara" means "bridge" in Arabic. That's why there are so many towns and places near a river with this name. And it's also a popular surname in those areas where the moors were present (not in the Basque Country, for example).

Great posts Mikel, thanks for sharing, and to everyone else contributing to the thread!

Thank you for this list of recommendations. I have visited many of the places you named. I do think it is important to see as much of Spain as possible to truly understand the rich diversity and history of this wonderful country.

Your list is much longer than possible for a second trip--unless one happens to rent a car and stay for a month or two (which we have done a few times.). You do point out to visitors, though, that Spain is much more than just the most famous sites.

However, I think it is better to have the purpose of knowing WHY I want to go somewhere and WHAT I want to do there. Too many tourists these days just like rushing around and checking place names off lists --"been there, seen that."

I lived in Valladolid and attended the university, so I am very familiar with nearby cities and towns. Every day I would walk by the home of Cervantes--it was like following in the footsteps of history.

Visiting the castles of Spain is so special--one can stay in a converted hotel (parador) or see an abandoned castle ruin and ask for the key at a local office.

The cathedrals of Spain are also extremely memorable--attending Easter mass at the cathedral of Santiago de Campostela was amazing--I will never forget the smell of the incense from the Botafumeiro.

Yes, Roman archaeology, medieval historic centers, and even prehistoric sites are all found throughout Spain. Once I went to Menorca in the Winter just to visit the Talaiotic stone monuments.

I am very happy that tourism in Spain has grown so strongly, as it is good for the economy, and helps people realize what a fascinating country they have discovered. I only hope Spain can manage the influx by dealing with challenges from issues like housing shortages/converted B &B's, increased petty crime on tourists (pickpocketing, etc.), water shortages, environmental impact, and local protests.

I am always looking forward to my next visit to Spain plus ultra!

PhilaLady, you are quite right, Spain is extremely diverse and such a heterogeneous country that you cannot visit and understand it all in two months. The places I suggest for the second visit are just that, some ideas, not intended to be a full itinerary doable in a certain time. I take part in several travel forums and many first-time visitors to Spain go to the most well-known places, something totally normal and probably the logical thing to do when visiting Spain for the first time. I just wanted to point out some other places that may also be of interest for a second or third visit to Spain. I´ve been all over this country (as many of us in the Basque Country say, our "neighbors" :)) and there´s always something new to see and learn about. In a few days I´ll be revisiting Tudela and the Bardenas Reales in southern Navarra, for four days, so different from northern Navarre.

@mikel - I’ve only been to Tudela de Duero and both times it just happened to be during its asparagus festival. Totally by chance. I’ve yet to make it to Tudela.

@jaimeelsabio, I'm visiting the other Tudela, by the Ebro river.

Does anyone have book recommendations that would help plan a trip to these lesser-known destinations? I planned our first trip using the RS book, and there is little to no mention of these areas.

@gacllc1997 - saw a book called Backroads Spain by DK Eyewitness, when I was living in the US -
https://www.dk.com/uk/book/9780241208090-dk-eyewitness-back-roads-spain/

I think it did a great job of uncovering some of these lesser known destinations in Spain

@gacllc1997 - we always have a rental car on our trips. Once I select where we intend to stay I start researching the towns and villages within about an hour from those locations. Usually it’s by clicking on them on Google maps, looking at photos, and looking at Things to Do on TripAdvisor.

Mikel, Enric, Carlos, and dlindstrom have been invaluable with their suggestions on the forum.

I use the Spain’s prettiest villages website to see if any are in the area I’ll be visiting, as well as regional tourist websites, and the Spainish Tourism website. Finally, if I see a location on television or in a movie, I bookmark it to Google maps.

The less known areas of Spain are better visited driving your own car, no doubt. Or you may fly to the nearest airport and then manage your way using public transport (bus is normally the best option, as it´s clean, safe, modern and cheap, and it gets you anywhere in Spain).

@gacllc1997 Jaime has very wise advice. My research method is very similar. I have found https://www.wikivoyage.org/ to be a very helpful. Mikel was very kind to me with Basque advice. There is a fascinating country out there beyond the "superbeaten" places. Brad

Thank you for the book, website and travel recommendations!