Destination: Spain
LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL ITINERARY INFORMATION
Itinerary: Heading South
ONE MONTH/CANTABRIA TO CADIZ
Taking Madrid as a midway point, this 1368km route slices through Spain, from the verdant north and modern art of the Guggenheim in Bilbao to the fiery southern cities of Andalucia, land of flamenco and fine Islamic monuments. On the way, soak up the art and atmosphere of the capital, and stop in the Castilian strongholds of Burgos and Toledo.
It's a bright late spring morning as you drive off the Plymouth ferry in Santander, the elegant coastal capital of the green northern sliver that is Cantabria. After a little exploration, head east along the coast for the Basque Country and Bilbao, home to the extraordinary Guggenheim museum and formidable partying in the old town. From here the rest of Spain beckons. The road south takes you through green, rolling country to the Basque capital Vitoria, where you gently veer southwest to Burgos, with its magnificent Gothic cathedral. The road south crosses the Rio Duero and Sierra de Guadarrama mountains to descend on the capital, mighty Madrid. After a stint here in its great museums and lapping up the hedonism, continue on to the 'city of the three cultures', labyrinthine Toledo, a somnolent medieval jewel. From this conical city hugged in a bend of the Rio Tajo the road sweeps through the plains and olive groves of La Mancha to Ciudad Real, where you make a left for Almagro, a striking medieval village, after which you link up with the A4 highway for Jaen and its gorgeous cathedral. From Jaen it's a short hop to the Islamic glories of Granada and, to the northwest, Cordoba, with its grand Mezquita (Mosque) and animated sherry bars. The colourful capital of the south, laden with the perfume of orange blossom and rich in monumental splendour, Seville, awaits to the southwest. Further south the Atlantic beckons. After passing through the country's sherry and equestrian capital, Jerez de la Frontera, the peninsular journey ends in the ancient port of Cadiz.
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