"One Spanish region where tourists are welcome ..."

Three quarters of Spain (or even more) are hardly visited by foreign tourists. Beautiful areas with unspoilt landscapes and towns like Soria, Guadalajara, La Rioja (not the wine part, that is quite small), Teruel, Cantabria, Araba, Castellón, Zamora, León, Burgos, Huelva, Badajoz, Ciudad Real, Albacete, Lérida, Huesca, Palencia, Valladolid, Zaragoza...and many more... are not the focus of massive tourism. This forum is full of questions -as it´s quite logical, since they are major attractions of Spain- on Barcelona (anybody not going there this year?), Madrid, Seville, Córdoba, Ronda, Majorca, Granada... Not a surprise that these areas are quite busy and some locals may have a sense of being "invaded". I´m sure the other less visited areas would welcome some of these visitors. But who knows what will happen when Spain becomes less trendy.

As Dave is aware, we visited Sad Hill back in 2022.

We mostly stopped visiting the main tourist destinations years ago. There’s something to be said for being in a small town and striking up a conversation with one of the residents to find out about places to see and things to do in the area.

A couple years ago when visiting Artajona, a town Dave recommended, we asked a couple from Albacete to take our photo. After taking it they asked what drew us there since few foreign tourists visited it. That led to a nice 30 minute conversation. They were surprised that we had an interest in Spain beyond the main destinations.

Likewise, in SOS del Rey Católico we struck up a conversation with a gentleman who gave us a list of places to visit and directions on how to reach them.

For us, this year it’s on to Extremadura and a lot of additional small towns. In addition to Plasencia, Cáceres, Guadalupe, Trujillo, and Mérida we’ll be visiting a number of villages on Spain’s prettiest village list and a couple of the national parks.

We’ve always found the Spanish to be very welcoming, especially if you show an interest. I will add that when driving the back roads it is somewhat depressing seeing towns where almost every building has a for sale sign on it and few inhabitants remain.

For anybody who says they want to live like a native on their trip, rent a car and visit any of the small towns and villages that have no train and little bus service, and where few tourists visit.

I’m in Catalonia for two days, Figueres. I haven’t heard English yet. Lots of us Frenchies running around, but no English.

Yes unfortunately most will not heed our advice to explore other parts of Spain and just go to the most crowded places because of fear of missing out or a fear of the unknown.

My estimate is 90% of foreign tourists only visit 10% of the country.

My estimate is 90% of foreign tourists only visit 10% of the country.

Well, to be fair, Carlos, the other 90% is olive trees ...

Just kidding, obviously, and you make an excellent point. We ran into Spanish tourists when we were recently in Utrecht, from Zaragoza. Their descriptions of their home city have us eager to visit it next year. Spain has so much to offer.

Interesting and attractive, but train transportation is poor.
We are train people.
Buses only when desperate.
Cars never.

Buses are really excellent in Spain, but for some reason they are not considered by US visitors. Modern, cheap, efficient, totally safe, on time...and with an extensive network. And roads are in very good condition, locals tend to use the bus over the train in many areas.

@MikeBasque
We have ridden buses in Europe. They are OK.
We much prefer trains:
1. Larger seats
2. You can get up and walk around
3. Smoother ride without the transmission shifting
4. Quieter ride without engine noise

I am a train bigot.

But buses take you almost anywhere in Spain and trains don´t :) Buses are now all automatic transmission and modern, in many routes WC and WiFi equipped, and very cheap and more frequent than trains in many routes. So if you want to get to the less known places, bus is usually an excellent option.

In agreement with Mikel. There are a lot of towns and villages worth visiting that are no longer served by train. In those places the old train station is probably a ruin if it’s there at all.

Your trips, your travel choices.

Thank you Mike for you comments. I also recommend bus travel, I'm became familiar with taking the bus from travel to UK and Ireland. They are nothing like busses in the US, most are newer, air conditioned and comfortable for longer travel.

"Buses are really excellent in Spain, but for some reason they are not considered by US visitors. "

I was thinking the "anti-bus" feelings was a US thing. Surprised to see it in other places as well. Though, things change with longer distances.

"Buses are for losers’: A short history of traffic congestion in Dublin"

By the mid-1990s, the Dublin Transport Office predicted a “chaotic
future” if drivers couldn’t be convinced to leave their cars at home.
But convincing them would be a hard task. “The perception that ‘buses
are for losers’ still holds sway in a society which, more than ever,
seems to assign such a high premium to company cars and slim-line
mobile phones,” wrote Frank McDonald in 1999.

Dublin Corporation’s then director of traffic Owen Keegan agreed.
“Even if Dublin Bus was to collect these people from their houses
every morning, drop the kids off to school and then serve them a
champagne breakfast in club class conditions on the way into town,
they still wouldn’t get the bus,” he said.

https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/an-irish-diary/2024/09/12/buses-are-for-losers-a-short-history-of-traffic-congestion-in-dublin/