The First Iberian Tour

After the success of The Balkan Tour in 2008 we decided to do a similar trip a year later, but this time to places a bit more recognised by tourists. So we went to Spain and Portugal.

Choosing the cities

As previously, we had a few places we wanted to visit: Oviedo, Porto, Valencia and Barcelona. Given the location of those cities it felt natural to just drive around the Iberian Penninsula. Knowing how far Spain is, we wanted to visit as much as possible, as we thought we will not have a second chance (we were wrong, as we took The Second Iberian Trip in 2011 - but we did not know that then).

As soon as it became evident we will do a round trip, we decided to visit Gibraltar just because we could, and Andorra to tick off another country.

After a few weeks of pondering this is what we came up with:

• Gdańsk (Poland)
• *Koeln (Germany)
• *some obscure motel in France, probably near Bordeaux
• Burgos (Spain)
• Oviedo
• Lugo
• A Coruña
• Santiago de Compostela
• Vigo
• Braga (Portugal)
• Citania de Briteiros
• Guimarães
• Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia
• Tomar
• Batalha
• Alcobaça
• Lisboa
• Sagres
• Cabo de São Vicente
• Lagos
• Sevilla (Spain)
• Cádiz
• Gibraltar (UK)
• *Los Barrios (Spain)
• Granada
• Valencia
• Barcelona (Spain)
• Andorra la Vella (Andorra)
• *some obscure motel in France, probably near Lyon
• *Bonn (Germany)
• Gdańsk (Poland)

Days 1, 2 and 3: The road to Spain

France

Spain is really far away from Central Europe. Like, really, really far away. Going through Poland and Germany was not that bad - one day of driving and then it is done. Then it is time for France - you never think of it, but that country is just ridiculously large and there is no way you can drive through it in one go. Why? If you go the northern route, you go through Paris. The southern route goes through Lyon. Literally through. Paris took about three hours of just standing in the traffic and enjoying 30+ degrees outside...

Oh, and then there is French tourist infrastructure. The obscure motel near Bordeaux we stayed at had the same rate per night as a hotel in the bloody city centre of Granada. And do not get me started on the size of the room, as the double bed barely fit in.

The only benefit of Bordeaux is that it is relatively close to Spain.

Burgos

On our way to Oviedo we decided to stop in Burgos. We have found a paid parking near the city centre and took a walk to enjoy the beautiful cathedral.

The road to Oviedo

From Burgos we drove west towards Leon (without stopping by) and then north to Oviedo. The mountain range just south of Oviedo means the weather can chance in an instant - and that is what happened to us. While in Burgos we enjoyed the summer, with its 30+ degrees, Oviedo and its surroundings welcomed us with with rain (some hail even in the mountains) and about 18 degrees.

Day 2: Oviedo

This city was a mixed bag. On one hand, the Church of St. Mary located outside of the town is a one-of-a-kind example of early Christian architecture and also gives some insight into early history. On the other, the city itself is rather average and definitely overpriced after its (then recent) portrayal in a Woody Allen film. I mean, the Cathedral was nice and I really liked bronze statues scattered throughout the city, but the overall feeling was that Oviedo is just... average.

Day 3: Lugo and A Coruña

The next day took us to the north-west corner of Spain.

Lugo

This charming city is the only one in the world that is to this day surrounded by Roman walls. And what an impression that makes! Lugo is also home to a few old buildings, but they are definitely not the main tourist attraction. And, completely different than in Dubrovnik, the visit to the city walls is free of charge ;)

Other points of interest in Lugo are within a walking distance and it takes about two hours to visit most of them.

A Coruña

The Tower of Hercules, another Roman structure and another item off the World Heritage List, is probably the most known building in the north-west of Spain. The platform at the top offers a spectacular view and the surroundings of the Tower are really nice. Just be aware that due to the location of the lighthouse it will probably be windy there.

Of course there is more to A Coruña than just the Tower. The city hall is an impressive building, for example. There are numerous interesting buildings hidden from plain sight and one needs to wander around the streets to discover them. This approach allows one to find shops with delicious food :) On the downside, in 2009 not many streets were pedestrian-friendly. I hope things have improved since then.

Day 4: Santiago and Vigo

We now follow south, with the ultimate goal of reaching Lisbon and the southern coast of Portugal.

Santiago de Compostela

The Cathedral and the Monastery are famous pilgrimage destinations. Therefore, it should not be a surprise that the majority of the tourists are pilgrims and most of the infrastructure is built to support their needs.

There are of course other points of interest, like the city walls. Definitely not as impressive as in Lugo, but the walk around them was pleasant. And of course places further away from the Cathedral are way less crouwded.

Vigo

The largest city and the capital of Galicia turned out to be one of the nicest places to visit. It had a perfect mix of walkable centre, parks with amazing views, and enough street life to keep us busy for the rest of the day. It is one of those places that I hope to come back to.

Day 5: Braga

It is important to know that Portugal is not following Central European Time, therefore crossing the border from Spain means you suddenly gain an hour. That also meant we arrived at the hotel in Braga a bit too early for our check-in, but the staff were helpful and considerate and just gave us some other room :)

Bom Jesus is the major landmark in Braga and probably of the entire Portugal as well. People in Portugal are also something else entirely - on our way we got lost in the endless narrow roads only to be stopped by some locals that offered to guide us all the way to the parking area... so we followed their car with ours, hoping they are not going to chop us to little pieces somewhere ;)

Apart from the Sanctuary Braga offers a unique and relaxed atmosphere. There are pedestrian areas, parks, cafes, and many more. We walked around the city for more than a few hours - while we managed to see most of the things, we would not complain if our visit was longer.

Day 6: The road to Porto

Citania de Briteiros

Citania is an archaeological site from the Bronze and Iron Ages, located on a hill on a way from Braga to Guimarães. It mostly consists of stones ;) but what an impression they make. There are ruins of about 150 houses, together with streets, water drains, and even a public bath.

Wandering around the area takes about an hour (maybe two if you move really slow) - thus it is an ideal point for a stopover and a little break from driving.

Guimarães

Ah, the fabulous castle of Guimarães. I wish we had seen it in more details, but our trip happened on Monday and the museum was closed. Because of that we decided to call it quits and try to arrive to Porto earlier to have an evening walk there.

Day 7: Porto and Vila Nova

These two cities are well-known tourist attractions, so I will spare the details. Both well worth the visit, and the tours of the wine cellars in Vila Nova are definitely worth your timwe and money :)

Day 8: The road from Porto to Lisbon

The trip from Porto to Lisbon took us through three World Heritage sites, each worth a visit. Their proximity to each other and easy access from Porto and Lisbon make them perfect for a day trip. Especially if you are travelling from one city to the other.

The Convent of Christ in Tomar

The Convent is a former stronghold and thus is absolutely monumental. Sightseeing time is about two hours and the walls of the Convent offer much needed protection from the scorching sun. The interiors are very ascetic, though, and apart from the main chapel there are not that many things to see inside. The outside, on the other hand, features really intricate architectural details.

The Batalha Monastery

Second on the list was the Batalha Monastery. A shorter visit, about one hour, was enough to appreciate the beauty of this place. Again, it is monumental and somewhat ascetic inside. Which makes sense, given it is was a monastery.

The Alcobasa Monastery

This Monastery is the third World Heritage site and is equally impressive, although it is definitely the smallest of the bunch. We have finished sightseeing in less than an hour after paying a visit to the small (but nice) inner garden and the main chapel with beautifully sculpted graves of King Pedro I and his wife.

Days 9, 10, 11: Lisbon

My goodness, this city has it all. From wonderful parks and promedades to crowded city centre and everything in between. There are thousands of tourist guides on what to see and do in Lisbon, so I will not repeat them here. Let me just say that I had an absolute blast at the Aquarium.

Day 12: The End of the World and Lagos

An extreme round-trip would not be complete if we did not visit the furthest point in Europe you can reach from Gdańsk.

Sagres and Capo de Sao Vicente

The south-west corner of Europe truly is the end of the world. Rocky landscape, blistering heat and an endless ocean all add up to an unforgettable experience. Even though there is not much to see there, honestly. Just some cliffs, rocks and lots of water.

Lagos

There are plastic sculptures of different marine lifeforms scattered throughout the city - walking around and randomly finding them quickly becomes a game of finding all of them. Definitely a nice treat.

Day 13: Sevilla

The home of the famous and fabulous Alcazar offers a few other points of interest. Most notably, the Cathedral and the Corrida Arena. Apart from those, Sevilla is a charming city that definitely is not the biggest tourist attractor and is fine with it.

Day 14: Cadiz and Gibraltar

Cadiz

A moderate-size city with countless plazas and streets to wander in, plus a few kilometres of sandy beach with warm water. Add to that great food and it is hard not to dislike Cadiz ;)

Gibraltar

I knew I had to go to Gibraltar as soon as we decided to go to Spain. I am on a quest to set foot in as many European countries and territories as possible and I could not give up this possibility. The city itself is proudly British ("please allow yourself sufficient time for your return walk") and offers a visit to the caves ("the stalactites took thousands of years do grow, please do not deface them") under the famous Rock ("please do not feed the apes"). And the only road in goes through an airfield that is still in use ("please avoid unnecessary slowing"). All in all, this was great!

Well, maybe except hotels. Those were beyond expensive in the area and we had to go Los Barrios to actually find something we could afford.

Day 15: Granada

Lovely city with a very unique atmosphere. Of course, Alhambra contributes to that, but the city has way more to offer with its narrow streets full of shops and cafes. One can easily tell Granada has been under the influence of the Arabic world for quite some time.

Days 16 and 17: Valencia

It easily is one of my most favourite cities in Spain. It has everything. The City of Arts and Sciences is of course a must-see, as it by itself offers lots of attractions and easily provides a few hours of fun. The Old Town is nicely walkable and has tens (if not hundreds) of murals, sometimes in really weird places, adding to the experience.

Oh, and finally in Valencia we managed to find a place that had churros con chocolate. And it was delightful :)

Days 18, 19 and 20: Barcelona

Back in 2009 Barcelona was not such a tourist-infested place as it is in 2024. Sure, it was full of tourists, but it was not unpleasant to be in it, and there were places that were almost completely empty. Of course, as a major destination there are tons of guides on what to do in Barcelona, I will not repeat those.

In short, our stay was nice and packed with interesting sights, but we left without wanting to stay even a day more.

Day 21: La Vella

A short drive away from Barcelona lies Andorra, a small country ruled by the Bishop of Urgell and the President of France. In theory, of course, because in practice it is just a regular democracy.

Similarly to Gibraltar, I knew I had to get there just to be in another country. And now I wish I had stayed there one day longer - while I enjoyed the capital La Vella (a typical small city), I had not had the peasure of walking around in the mountains. And holy cow the sights are spectacular.

Days 22, 23 and 24: The road to Gdańsk

I mentioned at the beginning of this article that Spain is far away. And I also mentioned the French tourist infrastructure. Which is why I prefer to keep the memory of a breakfast on a terrace in La Vella, with the view of the Pyrenees just before we started driving back, over three days of that driving back :)

Summary

Nearly four weeks and 7000 km and a visit to four countries. We finished with a feeling of seeing the most of the places we visited, but with a longing for more. So much so, that two years later we had The Second Iberian Tour.