Welcome to the Andalucia Highlights 2017!
This ezine is dedicated to southern Spain, where visitors and locals enjoy lots of sunshine each year, life is lived outdoors, and fiestas are celebrated merrily with local food and wine, all the year round, in every village, town and city, to celebrate everything from food harvests to religious pilgrimages. Andalucia is one of the most varied regions in Spain, with every type of scenery from wetlands to deserts, mountains to beaches. You can ski and swim in the sea, on the same day – on the mountains of the Sierra Nevada and the beaches of the Costa Tropical in Granada province.
Visit our current issue of Andalucia Magazine, with details of events happening around the region at this time. We list all the most important ferias and traditional events from every part of Andalucia, whether in the smallest hamlets or major cities – Carnaval, Spring Fairs, romerias (pilgrimages), music festivals.
Welcome to the Andalucia.com magazine about Southern Spain!
<<2018 2016 >>
Fascinating Facts Seville
How much do you know about Spain's most emblematic cities? This month we visit Seville.
DOLMENS DE ANTEQUERA
Antequera Dolmens are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list as "outstanding examples of megalithic architecture"
Virgin del Carmen
The festival of the Virgen del Carmen is celebrated on the 16th July in fishing villages along the coast.
Mozart Dee
Mozart Dee, the young popular singer songwriter is returning to Andalucia to perform two special concerts.
San Juan
The summer solstice is celebrated along the Costa del Sol with beach bonfires and fireworks.
Espeto
This is a traditional way of cooking freshly-caught sea fish, most often sardines. Try it on a beach on the Costa del Sol!
EL ROCIO PILGRIMAGE
El Rocío pilgrimage is the most famous in the region, attracting nearly a million people from across Andalucia and the entire country, and beyond. Up to 5th June
Whale & Dolphin Watching
A wonderful opportunity to get close to whales, dolphins and other sea mammals, in their natural habitat in the Straits of Gibraltar.
Seville Feria
The Sevilla Feria takes place from 12 to 17th April 2016, be sure not to miss this exciting fair.
Cordoba Patios Festival
2nd - 15th May 2016 Córdoba will burst into bloom when the town decorates itself in flowers!
Semana Santa
Holy Week, Semana Santa, in Andalucia is an event that literally transforms towns and cities across this region.
Parador Hotels
Imagine spending the night in a Spanish castle, or how would you like to stay in an ancient monastery or a convent?
Whatever your interests and tastes – sport, nature, hiking, gastro-tourism, nightlife, cultural tourism, history; a private luxury villa, a boutique hotel, a chic city apartment, or a simple seaside bungalow, a campsite or a yurt – you’ll find what you’re after here in Andalucia. For an extra-special stay – anniversary, birthday, or even wedding, see our Special Hotel Collection, where you’re guaranteed a hotel with charm in superb locations offering outstanding service. Explore the pick of the region in the pages of southern Spain's best online magazine.
There are so many Andalucias: the secluded, out-of-the-way one, where you can rent a house in the middle of nowhere, buy all your food from local growers and producers, and enjoy the solitude and spectacular mountain views with abundant wildlife on your doorstep – try Cazorla National Park, the Alpujarras, or the Picos de Aroche, not far from to Doñana National Park, which is a birder’s paradise. Then there’s the cultural buzz of the region’s cosmopolitan cities, perfect for a weekend break: the latest avant-garde art exhibitions, quirky museums, quirky owner-designer boutiques, contemporary architecture, imaginative tapas bars and glam rooftop terraces: Malaga, Granada, Seville, Cordoba; or the more traditional but no less charming Almeria, Jerez and Cadiz.
And of course, the hundreds of kilometres of pristine beaches: for super-chic resorts with all-night open-air dance clubs and Michelin-starred restaurants, packed with the glamorous, sophisticated, and famous head to the Costa del Sol. Or a more low-key, family option – a quiet cove with a small chiringuito (beach restaurant), where children can splash about safely in the shallows and build sandcastles, cute seaside towns with quirky cafes and hip juice bars – the Costa de Almeria, Costa de la Luz. And there are plenty of nudist beaches too.
If history’s your thing, then Andalucia has prehistoric caves, Moorish castles, fairytale palaces, medieval churches, Roman cities, including a good batch of UNESCO World Heritage sites: Seville, Granada, Cordoba, Ubeda, Baeza. Explore the legacy of important British figures such as writer Gerald Brenan, whose house near Malaga is now a museum and cultural centre.
Nowadays southern Spain offers a huge range of holiday courses where you can learn about everything from photography and painting, to yoga and spiritual healing, to flamenco dancing, to sherry and cooking. A double-bonus – you get to find out more about a passion, while enjoying the wonderful warm weather and hospitality of the Andalucians. Less strenuous, but equally enjoyable (and scenic, too) is golf: there are over 100 courses, with many located on the Costa del Sol.
Talking of sport, many top sporting events take place in Andalucia, such as popular cycling event La Vuelta (the Tour of Spain), in August and September (Andalucian stretch in the first seven stages); and the Moto Grand Prix, which takes place in Jerez every May.
Foodies are well catered for in Andalucia, whose reputation as a gastronomic destination continues to sky-rocket – hardly surprising, with such superb produce on offer, traditionally cultivated and farmed for centuries – jamon iberico, wine, olive oil, fresh seafood and vegetables. Whether it’s tapas, a three-course meal, or a full-blown 18-course tasting menu. A growing number of gastrobars offer fascinating culinary fusions. Craft beer is a new trend. An increasingly popular activity which many visitors to Andalucia are choosing as part of their holiday, is gastrotourism. Many bodegas in the Sherry Triangle have been offering guided tours with tastings for years. Visit a pig farm, and learn how to carve jamon iberico (Huelva); see the olives being picked and oil being produced (Sevilla, Cordoba, Jaen), or watch goats being milked and make cheese (Cadiz, Huelva).
Andalucia Magazine provides you with all the information you need for visiting, and living in, this beautiful and varied region, whether you choose to have a holiday here, retire, or to set up a business and enjoy a whole new life in the sun.
