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travel tips for northern Spain and Portugal
Anyone been recently on Northern Spain and Portugal.. that ends in Porto
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Anyone been recently on Northern Spain and Portugal.. that ends in Porto
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We went in late Spring. 1- hope you get the fabulous TD, Eloidie. She will give you lots of information. 2- check to see about siesta time. For example in Zaragoza (liked it - not enough time). During free time we went to another site and then had lunch. Those who did the reverse were unable to see something else because of the long siesta. 3- Even if you've been on too many winery tours and want to skip the Marques de Riscal winery tour, as I did, don't. It was great. 4 - Come in early to see Barcelona. Tauck falls down on this city. I would skip the panoramic tour because it was boring and took away time from city sights. Great sights are the Palau de la Musica Catalana, St Pau Hospital (yes!), a few blocks away from Sagrada Familia (need more time at Sagrada than what Tauck gives), a half day tour to Montserrat, Park Guell, a Gaudi house (we saw Casa Vicens this time). If you are into museums the National Museum of Catalan Art (on top of the hill) is great as is the Picasso Museum (interesting to see how skilled of a classical painter he was in his teens). Ciutadella Park is a nice stop. Google and you will find things to do that interest you. 5- Bilbao - know that there won't be enough time so plan ahead what you want to do.
Be aware that some of the days do have fillers.. For the most part the food is great as isf tinto de verano and Port spritzers. There were three outstanding hotels.
We took this tour before they rearranged the itinerary. But I’ll second @the moores with regards to Barcelona. There is so much to see and do! Across the side street entrance of your hotel is Hotel 1898. The rooftop terrace is called Isabella. We were tired when we arrived and the concierge at Meridian booked a table for us. Great way to begin! Views, menu of small typical dishes well prepared, top notch cocktails. I also second the Hospital St. Pau. It’s a modernista masterpiece not by Gaudi. But it was a working hospital not too long ago. Fascinating. A quick cab ride (BTW in front of Hotel 1898 is a taxi rank. Cabs are cheap, plentiful, and they take tap and pay). A fun thing to do is a tapas tour. Don’t book through Viator or any other consolidator. Look at Barcelona taste or Devour. We’ve done this with both.