Spain, Chile and Argentina are amazing countries with a common history spanning centuries, which I was lucky to experience personally during several trips.
Although I should have written more about them before, something always took over – but this week I decided it was time to make up for it!
LOTUS Newsletter
I recently signed up to a newsletter by LOTUS, a global travel and tourism PR company, and their last message inspired me to write this post.
Reading about the places in their press release brought back some nice memories and I discovered that I have a connection to many of the places listed in the file, which made me delve into it a bit more!
So, here we go, without further ado, I will reveal part of LOTUS’s top 2019 travel news, including new openings, anniversaries and events with a personal twist to it all!
Museo del Prado
Spain’s most prestigious museum, El Museo del Prado in Madrid, will celebrate its 200th anniversary in 2019 with over 100 activities and commemorative exhibitions.
A number of special programmes displaying the Prado’s greatest works, from artists such as Velázquez, Rembrandt and Goya, will tour Spain. The organizers hope to inspire and educate the public about Spain’s rich cultural heritage as well as demonstrating the history of the Prado.
My connection: I visited the museum nearly 10 years ago and I must admit it was pretty fascinating! I have a couple of friends from Madrid and the first time I visited for a long weekend I decided to check out the Prado Museum and some other attractions, including the Royal Palace and various parks.
First Time in Madrid, Spain
While I was hanging around in Madrid I discovered a beautiful old railway station which today functions as a palm house! The station is the old Atocha Terminal, a short walk from the museum and well worth a visit!
According to the Madrid Tourism Board, Madrid’s first railway station opened here on 9 February 1851. After the building was largely destroyed by fire, it was rebuilt and reopened in 1892. Like the Orsay Museum in Paris, the concourse of Atocha was given a new function in 1992, by installing a stunning 4,000 m² (43,055 sq ft) covered tropical botanical garden.
I must say this building was completely awe-inspiring, not only because of the huge palm trees and cool temperature in the summer heat, but also because it serves various high speed, regional and international trains!
At the time of my visit I stayed at my friend’s place for the night, but if I go again I might check out nearby Hotel Atocha, operated by Only YOU. Hotel Atocha is in a beautiful historic building offering quirky interiors by Catalan architect, Lazaro Rosa Violan.
Coincidentally, the hotel is walking distance to El Prado via the lung of Madrid, Retiro Park, where I once had a little snooze after a yummi lunch!
Retiro Park is absolutely amazing, with a huge lake at its center and some massive trees all over! After all the walking and a full tummy I just put my rucksack under my head and had a little sleep in the shade of one of those trees!
If you decide to visit Madrid, chances are you will arrive at Atocha station, so why not stay at the Atocha Hotel? Or, conversely, if you are looking for a bit of sun and sea, you can take the high-speed train from Atocha Terminal to Valencia, where I also spent about three months learning Spanish.
But more about this later!
Madrid Metro Celebrates 100 Years
Before I go onto writing about one of my favourite Spanish coastal cities, I would like to mention that Madrid’s metro is celebrating its 100th year of operation in 2019!
You will say I am obsessed with Atocha Terminal, but as it happens you can get on Line 1, which is the first Madrid Metro line, here.
The first line in Madrid was opened in 1919 by the King of the country and then extended in 1921 to reach Atocha Terminal.
I will make an admission here: I am a railway and metro geek and I always check out a city’s public transport system! I’ve actually written a nice long article about the Moscow Metro here, so you can check that out if you want!
When I was in Madrid the last time, I took the metro out to Barajas Airport and then flew off to Chile to spend three months there as a journalism intern.
Read on to find out more about my trip to Chile and Argentina!
As a side-note, Barajas Airport is simply amazing, must be one of the best in the world! Getting around Barajas is very straight-forward with beautiful wood coverings everywhere and huge open spaces.
But back to the Madrid Metro! There will be various exhibitions in 2019, featuring the original train-cars which ran on the Metro line a century ago.
You can find these and other historical artefacts in Chamartín Station. In addition, historical and cultural activities include the ‘Centennial Race’ at the beginning of 2019 between Cuatro Caminos and Sol, the original route travelled by the Metro’s first users.
Sorolla’s Cultural Route in Valencia
Here is my short story of Valencia: I first travelled there in 2006 in the spring for a long weekend and I instantly fell in love with the place!
I have to admit I knew nothing about Valencia until I did a bit of research in the library (call me old fashioned!). Here I found I Lonely Planet guide that detailed the history of Valencia and its main river which was diverted after a massive flood in the 1950s.
Once the river was diverted, the council decided to convert the old river basin into a huge, 9-km long park! And I had to visit to see it!
Imagine this: you walk along a street in the city center and see a bridge in the distance. You walk towards it fully expecting water on either side of the bridge but then you see nothing but palm trees, walkways and cacti! It is absolutely fascinating and I would call it one of the wonders of the world!
You can literally spend an entire weekend discovering the park and its many attractions, including the Museo de las Artes y las Sciencias. Or, if you are not into museums, simply check out the signs by the various plant species in the river bed explaining where they are from!
Sorolla Exhibition
The region of Valencia is also celebrating the great 19th century Valencian artist, Joaquín Sorolla this year. Covering 30 different spots around the city of Valencia the route commemorates Sorolla’s life and works.
The Sorolla Route is a cultural proposal exploring the life of Sorolla in his home region. This is ahead of an exhibition at London’s National Gallery which is the first UK display dedicated to Sorolla for more than a century.
Catalonia: Rustic and Wild
Catalonia is another region in Spain that I have a connection with: I’ve visited here on a number of occasions for business and leisure.
Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia is simply amazing, showcasing the architectural prowess of this region to the entire nation!
This region is the economic powerhouse of Spain and you can see proof of this everywhere you look in Barcelona. The rich industrial magnates wanted to show off their wealth and built many amazing palaces and public spaces to please the citizens of this Basque Country!
My personal favourites were the local private restaurants where I would sit in the evenings and have dinner with the residents of the streets, all watching football for the night!
If you don’t know what to pick, I would recommend the steak slice with chips and a fried egg plus ketchup – you cannot go wrong with this!
2019 – The Year of Culture
According to LOTUS, the Catalan Tourist Board’s Year of Culture 2019 will showcase the region’s cultural heritage and inspire visitors to explore the different territories of Catalonia.
During my last trip to Barcelona I actually travelled up north to visit the Pyrenees mountains and many small seaside towns on the way.
I rented a car from Thrifty for three days and for the first night I stayed at the AC Hotel north of Barcelona.
From here I drove north along the coast to Tossa de Mar, a stunning little historic town with an amazing stone castle on top of a cliff!
I spent a good few hours here discovering the history of the place which includes structures from Roman, medieval and more recent times. Chagall even called this place the “Blue Paradise”!
LOTUS is now promoting various country routes with the Catalonia Tourism Board to visit some hidden corners of this part of Spain.
Driving to Girona
From Tossa de Mar I drove to Girona in the north where I spent a night at the local Ibis Budget Hotel. It was in April so the town wasn’t super busy and so I was able to immerse myself in its historic beauty!
The truth is I knew very little about Girona before I came here, which is why I rented the car to discover it for myself.
The medieval cathedral, the winding streets and the beautiful park on the edge of the old town makes it definitely worth a visit, although I would come in the shoulder season as it gets very busy during summer.
The drive up to the peaks of the Pyrenees is quite fascinating and if you have a car you should definitely make a point coming here.
Driving to the Pyrenees
What I did was drive north toward Oix and Beget on route GIV-5221 and GIV-5223 until I reached Route C-38. On the way here I got out of the car and went for a walk at a nearby mountain where the views were absolutely breathtaking!
You can see the house on the hillside with the stunning vistas and tranquillity – it smelled really fresh like the pine forest and fresh air after a brief rain!
For lunch I stopped at a small restaurant outside Oix called El Raco d’Oix which serves local food, cooked to the specifications of the owner himself!
After lunch I had to head back to Barcelona Airport – I flew with British Airways but another time I also used Easyjet.
Getting to Barcelona & Catalonia
LOTUS tells me that Jet2 will operate a new flight between London Stansted and Lleida starting this winter.
EasyJet will fly from Manchester while Ryanair from London Luton to Barcelona. For summer 2019, Ryanair has also announced the launch of a flight between London Southend and Reus.
Chile and Latin America
Like I mentioned above, I once spent some time in Madrid and flew from Barajas to Chile in 2008. The following year I flew to Argentina, again from Barajas. After Argentina I travelled to Chile by bus having spent six weeks in Buenos Aires.
Solar Eclipse
Next year will be special because a total solar eclipse will take place for two minutes over the southern hemisphere on 2 July 2019!
The eclipse will be only visible over a narrow band of central Chile and Argentina, so if you want to see it, book your flights now!
According to LOTUS, Select Latin America has a five-day ‘Chile & Argentina 2019 Eclipse’ tour which includes various excursions.
If you pick this package, you will travel to La Serena, the Elqui Valley, Limari Valley, the Cruz Sure and La Silla observatories. In addition, you will be able to visit the port city of Coquimbo which boasts some of the clearest skies in Chile. The trip is priced from £3,113 per person excluding flights.
My budget was a bit more meagre at the time of my visit since I was a student, but I still had a great time!
I am not going to go into too much detail here, because I’ve written several posts about my trip to South America. You can access them here:
- Backpacking on the Death Road in Bolivia
- Road-tripping from Chile to the Equator
- Self-Guided Walking Tour in Buenos Aires
- Tourist Attractions in Chile’s Atacama Desert
I’ve never been to the Patagonia region of Chile, but LOTUS tells me it is renowned for some of the world’s most stunning sights.
“Now, the Chilean government has launched a new hiking trail known as the Route of Parks connecting 17 national parks through the Patagonian wilderness.”
The route starts from the city of Puerto Montt and takes tourists all the way down to Cape Horn!
“At 1,700 miles, it has become the world’s longest hiking trail!”
When I was in Chile I only managed to visit the top half from Arica to Santiago, but I guess maybe next time I am there I will get to see the bottom half too!
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