Spain´s nearly 100 paradors all have one thing in common: heritage status. More often than not they also have killer views. On this trip we stay every night in a different parador and we experience an authentic slice of Spanish culture around the country, from the pueblos blancos of Andalucía to the rolling fields, mountains and beaches of northern Spain.

Day 1. Arrival day

Day 2. Malaga - Merida
We start the tour by passing Sevilla towards Mérida, following the river Guadalquivir and the Silver route. Mérida is the administrative capital of Extremadura. Strategicaly situated at the junction of major Roman roads from Leon to Seville and Toledo to Lisbon, Mérida was founded by the Romans in 25BC on the banks of river Guadiana. Parador of Merida: built over the remains of what was first a Roman temple, then a baroque convent and then a prison, this spacious whitewashed building exudes an Andalusian cheerfulness, with hints at its Roman and Mudejar past.

Day 3. Merida - Salamanca
The next morning we keep heading north through national parks, passing rivers and lakes on our way to Salamanca. If you approach from Madrid or Ávila,you´ll first see Salamanca rising on the northern banks of the wide and winding River Tormes. In the foreground is its sturdy, 15-arch Roman bridge, above which soars the combined bulk of the old and new cathedrals. Piercing the skyline to the right is the Renaissance monastery and church of San Estéban. Behind San Estéban and the cathedrals, and largely out of sight from the river, extends a stunning series of palaces, convents and university buildings that culminates in the Plaza Mayor. Despite considerable damage over centuries, Salamanca remains one of Spain´s greatest cities architecturally, a showpiece of the Spanish Renaisance. It is the warmth of golden sandstone, which seems to glow throughout the city, that you will remember above all things.

Day 4. Salamanca - Baiona
We will follow our way north, then turn off to the west, take a shortcut through Portugal , stop for a cup of coffee and then return to Spain for lunch and our final run to Baiona on the Atlantic coast. Baiona is a summer haunt of affluent Gallegos. When Columbus´s Pinta landed here in 1492, Baiona became the first town to recieve the news of the discovery of the New World. Once a castle, Monte real is one of Spain´s most popular paradores.This baronial parador was built inside the walls of a medieval castle on a hilltop.

Day 5. Baiona - Santiago de Compostela
We head to the north again, today we snake along the Atlantic coast surrounded by islands, belonging to the Island national park of Galicia. Then we turn off inland and arrive to Santiago de Compostela, our destination for two nights. The bewitching provinces of Galicia and Asturias lie in Spain´s northwest region; these rugged Atlantic regions hide a corner of Spain so remote it was called “finis terrae”(end of the earth)Galicia is famous for Santiago de Compostela, to which Christian pilgrims travel many miles to pay homage to St.James.
A large, lively university makes Santiago one of the most exciting cities in Spain, and its cathedral makes it one of the most impressive. Santiago de Compostela welcomes more than 4,5 millions visitors a year, with an extra 1 million during Holy years(the next one is 2010), when St.James´s Day, July 25, falls on a Sunday.

Day 6. Santiago de Compostela - Day off
The Hostal de los Reyes Católicos, facting the cathedral from the left, was built in 1499 by Fernando and Isabel kings to house the pilgrims who slept on Santiago´s streets every night. Having lodged and revived travelers for nearly 500 years, it´s the oldest refuge in the world and was converted from a hospital to a parador in 1953.

Day 7. Santiago de Compostela - Ribadeo
Today we will finally reach the north coast of Spain and Galicia. Perched on the broad ría of the same name, Ribadeo is the last coastal town before Asturias. The views up and across the estuary are marvelous-depending on the wind, the waves appear to roll across the ría rather than straight inland. Salmon and trout fishermen congregate upriver. Take  scenic walk or drive north through the town to the Illa de la Pancha lighthouse a 5km´s trip,  connected to the coastal cliffs by a small bridge. Parador de Ribadeo: most rooms have glassed-in sitting areas with views across the ría to Asturias.

Day 8. Ribadeo - Limpias(Santander)
Today we say good bye to Galicia and ride across Asturias into Cantabria on the way to Santander. One of the great ports on the Bay of Biscay, Santander is surrounded by beaches that are by no means isolated, yet it lacks the sardinelike package-tour feel of so many Mediterranean resorts. A fire destroyed most of the old town in 1941, so rebuilt city looks relatively modern, and it has traditionally been a conservative stronghold loyal to the Spanish state (in contrast to its Basque neighbours).

Day 9. Limpias - Sangüesa (SOS del Rey Catolico)
The snowcapped Pyrenees that separate the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of the European continent have always been a special realm, a source of legend and superstition. Along with the magic comes a surprising number of ancient cultures and languages, all Pyrenean and yet each profoundly different from the next. To explore the Pyrenees fully-appreciating the flora and fauna, the local gastronomy, the remote glacial lakes and streams, the Romanesque art in a thousand hermitages-could take a lifetime. Nature and history entwine in the town of Sos del Rey Católico, a protected historic and artistic site. Its medieval streets are remarkably well preserved, in a walled town with seven gates, evoking the times of kings and conquests, nobles and prosperity. The hotel was recently restored, conserving the features of the typical Aragonese mansion. Its features include the rectangular plan tower, balconies, a gallery with wooden railings and a large garden next to the city wall. In the interior there is a stunning contrast between the Castilian style furniture and the brightly coloured fabrics of the remodel. Yesterday and today combine to offer a comfortable, welcoming atmosphere where one can enjoy the majestic surroundings.

Day 10. Sangüesa - Barcelona
We ride through Aragon passing Huesca, into Catalonia on the way to Barcelona for our two nights stay. This is the only place where we don´t stay in Parador for the simple reason that there is no Parador in Barcelona city. However the hotel we have chosen surely will not disappoint you and is a big compliment to the standarts of any Parador.

Day 11. Barcelona - Day off
Capital of Catalonia, 2.000 year-old Barcelona commanded a vast Mediteranean empire when Madrid was still a dusty Moorish outpost on the Spanish steppe. Relegated to second-city status only after Madrid, became the seat of the royal court in 1561, Barcelona has long rivalled and often surpassed Madrid´s economic and political might. One of Europe´s most visually stunning cities, Barcelona balances the medieval intimacy of its Gothic Quarter with the grace and distincion of the wide boulevards in the Moderniste example-just as the Mediteranean Gothic elegance of the church of Santa María del Mar provides a perfect counterpoint to Gaudí´s riotous Sagrada Familia. You will have a full day to explore the city.

Day 12. Barcelona - Jávea
Culturally and geographically diverse, region´s most populated coastal resorts stretch north from the provincial capital of Alicante. Benidorm has the uneviable reputation of being the largest resort in the world, yet has the magnificent sweeping beaches and a something-for-everyone nightlife. South of here are such traditional working cities as Murcia and Alicante ,while, heading inland, the scenery is dramatically diverse with flat scrubland, olive and citrus groves interdispersed by craggy mountain ranges, nature reserves, and stuck-in-a time-warp villages where you will still need to speak Spanish to order a beer. Jávea is a labyrinth of tiny streets and houses with arched portals and Gothic windows, with an antique aspect contrasted only by its modern church, Santa Maria de Loreto. The church-fortress of San Bartolomé is the town´s architectural gem with gothic vaulted ceiling inside. Parador de Jávea: esconded in a lush palm grove, with terrific views of the bay and white sand beach below, this modern parador is four stories high and far more tasteful than the high-rise hotels elsewhere on the Costa Blanca.

Day 13. Jávea - Mójacar
La Manga del Mar Menor- The advance of rocks and sand from two headlands into Mediteranean Sea transformed what was once a bay into the Mar Menor (Smaller Sea), a famously calm expanse of water about 20 feet deep. The Mar Menor is Europe´s largest saltwater lake (170 square km)and, because of its high salt and iodine content, it´s used as a therapeutic health resort for rheumatism patients. The Manga is 21-km spit of sand averaging some 990 feet wide that separates it from the Mediterranean. Four canals, called golas, connect the Mar Menor with the Mediterranean. The Manga has 42 km of inmense, sandy beaches on both the Mediterranean and the Mar Menor sides ,allowing swimmers to choose more or less exsposed locations and warmer or colder water according to season and weather. Mójacar is one of the most emblematic municipalities of the province of Almeria.
The old town surprises its visitors with the medieval settings of the streets and monumental corners.

Day 14. Mojacar - Granada
Today we turn of the coast and ride through Las Alpujarras National Park to Granada. We will spend the day on twisty good quality mountain roads till our short final highway run to the destination. The Alhambra and the tomb of the Catholic Monarchs are the pride of Granada. The city rises majesticaly from a plain onto three hills, dwarfed-on a clear day-by the Sierra Nevada. Atop one of these hills perches the redish-gold Alhambra palace. The stunning views from the palace takes in the sprawling Moorish quarter ,the caves of Sacromonte and in the distance, the fertile vegetation, rich in orchards, tobacco fields, and poplar groves.
Split by internal squabbles, Granada´s Moorish Nasrid dynasty gave Ferdinand of Aragón an oportunity in 1491, spurred by Isabella´s religious fanaticism, he laid siege to the city for seven months, and on January 2, 1492, Boabdil, the Rey Chico (boy King), was forced to surrender the keys of the city to the Catholic Monarchs. As Boabdil fled the Alhambra via the Puerta de los siete Suelos (gate of the seven floors), he asked that the gate be sealed forever.

Day 15. Granada - Malaga
We still can see the Sierra Nevada’s peaks with patches of snow on our left side as we depart from Granada. We drive past lake Los Bermejales, Alhama de Granada, lake Viñuela and stop for lunch in Antequera. We climb over the small hills behind Antequera and stop at the train station of El Chorro Gorge, very famous as a top rock climbing destination in Andalucia. The river Guadalhorce has cut rocky labyrinths with 300m vertical cliffs in the soft limestone. The main defile is the extremely narrow cut crossed by the one-time trail called El Camino del Rey. King Alfonso XIII is said to have walked it to dedicate a railroad tunnel in the 1920´s. Now it’s officially closed. From there we take very enjoyable biking road passing Coin and Marbella to arrive at our base where we drop the bikes, drive you to the hotel, give you time to relax and shower before we meet again for a good-bye dinner.

Day 16. Departure day

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