There was a time when Spain was remarkably different to anywhere else. Crossing the Pyrenees was like crossing to another continent. Spain was in every sense more arid, uncommercial, pure… less affected. Even some of the Spanish joked that Spain was closer to Africa than to Europe, and not just geographically.
Yet these days Madrid, that just 10 years ago felt like a mishmash of small, friendly towns with one or two big roads in the middle, roars like London. And the Mediterranean coast is one long, crooked urban sprawl. And it seems like Seville and Barcelona only care about screwing money out of tourists.
But now I’m starting to sound like those insanely annoying people that say: “if only you’d seen Spain ten twenty thirty years ago…” Don’t you just hate it when people tell you that?
What if you want to see places where Spain still really looks like Spain today? Then you are in luck!
You only have to wonder around the barrio of Malasaña in Madrid to find an area that is still timelessly Madrileño, and you just have to stray 2 minutes from the tourist-hell of Barcelona’s Rambla to see the deliciously seedy Raval and feel like you’re on another, much more interesting planet. And you simply have to drive far enough inland from any coastal building site to find those same beautiful hillsides that always looked so raw and ‘Un-European’.
Here are the first few places I’d tell someone to look for “untouched Spain” if they asked for directions, maybe you can help me out:
1. Soria, town and province – largely undiscovered, even by me!
2. Ourense, town and province – if you are passing through Galicia… a town and province by the same name, both rough-hewn from ganite and rain.
3. Teruel, town and province – so far off the beaten track that even the locals aren’t sure if it exists anymore…
4. Extremadura – wild, vast, full of lushous landscapes and fine ham!
5. ??? – Yes, over to you again: tell us where to find “untouched Spain”, and I’ll add your suggestions to the map below!
For locations and details, click on the blue markers on the map below:
Los Ancares – on the border of León, Asturias and Galicia. Or the Valle del Silencio – also in León. I remember visting a village there where the old man who showed us the church informed us that things were improving, the village population had increased from 6 to 9.
Graeme
8 Jan 08 at 4:40 pm
Soria gets the first snows in Spain… or so I was told over the early November weekend when I visited.
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=soria&w=34598000%40N00
Enrique
8 Jan 08 at 4:53 pm
I definitely second Teruel (and especially the Maestrazgo): http://katieprofunda.wordpress.com/2007/01/21/teruel-existe-2/
and add the southwest corner of Salamanca (Ciudad Rodrigo south to the Sierra de Gata/Las Hurdes): http://katieprofunda.wordpress.com/2007/12/18/la-vida-rural/
Katie
8 Jan 08 at 8:02 pm
try Galicia… but get away from big(ish) towns like Ourense, A Coruña, Santiago, O Ferrol, Vigo, Lugo… and try instead no little places like Peitieiros, Bembrive, Covelo,… but the tiny villages just a couple kms around villages under 5.000 people. I think places under 5.000 are already a target for turismo rural and weekend getaways. I’d try villages under 500 people instead.
http://www.xunta.es/galicia2004/es/26_01.htm
Don’t go looking for anything special. Just try to find a place where to drink a cerveza and you may find some real Spain.
Part of my family is like that… My grandmother used to bake her own bread… made out of the corn she would grow, harvest and grind herself… Unbelievable. Now she is too old to do that… shame no one has decided to follow her steps. Although I wouldn’t do it either…
Hope that helps
mosca cojonera
8 Jan 08 at 8:37 pm
Benavente. No question. I spent several months there and found myself in a Spain that is almost lost. The people were friendly and the landscape was amazing. It’s big enough to find a place to stay for the night, but small enough that you could easily walk across the entire town within an hour.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/p_a_n/259173481/
Chip
8 Jan 08 at 10:03 pm
Letur in castilla la mancha is beautiful, the oldest part being so narrow there are no cars to be seen.
My photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilwykes/tags/letur/
Neil Wykes
8 Jan 08 at 10:14 pm
Los tranquilos pueblos castellanos de Palencia (no Valencia) y sus maravillosas iglesias románicas.
http://www.arteguias.com/romanico_palencia.htm
José Miguel
9 Jan 08 at 8:23 am
Los Guájares, Granada. Time has almost stood still here since the Moors discovered the valley. Stunning scenery. Daily deliveries of bread, fish, fruit & vegetables, although vans have replaced mules. Cervezas still come with generous free tapas. Granadinos who know the area refer to Los Guájares as “Beyond the back of beyond” Yes this is Spain (almost) untouched.
Mark
9 Jan 08 at 4:03 pm
Spain is for people of low class holiday, please try Italy for real experience
Luciano
9 Jan 08 at 4:56 pm
In my experience, ‘untouched Spain’ is full of very friendly Bulgarian people. They seem to be filling the void (working on farms or in bars in the little villages) when the younger Spanish people prefer to live in ‘touched Spain’.
luke
9 Jan 08 at 7:21 pm
Thanks for all the suggestions so far, and the links to the stunning photos. I want to travel Spain again!
I’ll update the map soon, and in the meantime, more suggestions are welcome please!
Ben
9 Jan 08 at 7:29 pm
lol, luke, you are so right!, bulgarian and romanian also…
muy bueno!
españolito
9 Jan 08 at 8:47 pm
La Graciosa – Tiny semideserted volcanic island north of Lanzarote, in the Canary Islands.
It is an unspoiled beauty of about 25 square km. with about a couple of hundred permanent residents in its only town (Caleta de Sebo).
Streets and roads in La Graciosa and in Caleta de Sebo are unpaved sand. You will find no cars or motor vehicles in La Graciosa (they are forbidden) except for very few Land Rovers that are there for special transportation.
The island lives on fishing and tourism, although there are not hotes but little and modest boarding houses in Caleta, built right on the sand.
In La Graciosa you will find total tranquility and majestic solitude in a truly breathtaking environment. At day you can go trekking inland or visit (walking as there is no other way of transportation ) many beatiful sandy beaches along the coast.
Back in town (Caleta) the very few restaurants will be enough for having dinner (mainly fish : fresh catch of the day) and after that you will most likely watch the sunset sipping cold white wine from Lanzarote (Malvasía) with the stunning view of Lanzarote island just in front of you.
http://www.graciosaonline.com/graciosafotosesp.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graciosa%2C_Canary_Islands
Parubin
10 Jan 08 at 9:52 am
‘Untouched Spain’ for me is a place where there are no tourists. Given that these days it is almost impossible to be alone along Spain’s well trodden paths, I seek out bars or restaurants in any town or city where only the Spanish locals go. I am aware of the irony of me sitting there polluting the place as an alien but with the buzz of a back street restaurant and the sound of the wonderful sing-song Spanish chatter, it doesn’t matter where I am.
Andrew
10 Jan 08 at 3:02 pm
Te has olvidado de Guadalajara. No viene ni en el mapa que has puesto.
Es una provincia plena de contrastes paisajísticos y bellezas naturales, ofrece un variopinto abanico de enclaves admirables, repartidos a todo lo largo y ancho de sus cuatro comarcas: la Alcarria, la Campiña, la Serranía y el Señorío de Molina. y pueblos como Siguenza: Su fabuloso patrimonio arquitectónico fue declarado conjunto histórico-artístico en 1965. La Catedral, el Museo Diocesano, la Plaza Mayor, el Castillo, las iglesias ( San Vicente, Santa María , Nuestra Señora de los Huertos y Santiago ) y la Casa del Doncel, merecen una visita. por no hablar de Pastrana, Cogolludo… merece la pena
Julio
11 Jan 08 at 4:07 am
You’ve forgotten Castilla La Mancha. If you really want to know what the deep and untouched spain is try to travel to Castilla La Mancha. Toledo is by far the most wonderful city of Spain. You can find there the place where lived together peacefully and harmonly civilizations like jew, christian and islams. Unbelievable arquitecture and certainly great part of the untouched Spain.
It’s also very very interesting to travel to Serranía de Cuenca and Cuenca city. The Serranía de Cuenca is an amazing model of huge karstic mountains, full of savage animal (special mention to birds of prey like real eagle, lioned vulture and peregrino falcon, also with many stags, fallow deers…). Its towns are very small, not having most of them local shops where to buy anything you want. Fish, meet, vegeteables…, a track provided of it comes twice a week to the towns. That’s only in very small villages losted in the time and in the mountains. But what’s the untouched Spain if not that?Of course, you would find sure some bars or pubs in them. XD . Nice views, pure water at homes and rivers, life live on the highest level.
Greetings
varinho
12 Jan 08 at 12:34 pm
Oh! I forgot it! Don Quixote was from La Mancha too! If you have read the book, the views, the people, the attittudes, everyting remains the same like in the book
varinho
12 Jan 08 at 12:36 pm
You have forgotten Guadalajara. It(he,she) does not come not in the map that you have put.
It is a full province of landscape contrasts and natural beauties, there offers a many-colored(mixed) range(fan) of admirable enclaves, distributed to everything(all) length and width of his(her,your) four regions: the Moorland, the Field, the Mountainous country and the Dominion of Molina. and peoples(villages) like Siguenza: His(Her,Your) fabulous architectural patrimony was declared historical – artistic set in 1965. The Cathedral, the Diocesan Museum, the Major Plaza, the Castle, the churches (San Vicente, Santa Maria, Our Lady of the Gardens and Santiago) and the House of the Mild one, deserve a visit. For not speaking about Pastrana, Cogolludo … is worth it
Julio
12 Jan 08 at 11:58 pm
Many thanks for all the suggestion, I have updated the map above – so many great places to go!
Ben
13 Jan 08 at 12:01 pm
The Alcarria and the Alto Tajo regions. It surprised me to no end that, given that it was so close to Madrid, it really doesn’t get that many visitors (if, of course, you don’t count the Hare Krishna headquarters outside of Brihuega….)
Dawn
13 Jan 08 at 12:48 pm
You should avoid big cities like BCN, Madrid, etc.. they are all about tourist exploitation, i recommend you little cities such as Girona in Catalonia, Zamora, Salamanca in Castilla León and similar ones, that’s the real deal.
A nice ‘review’ of Girona, in particular the old jewish neighbourhood.
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=408383
trafi
16 Jan 08 at 11:28 am
I really enjoyed the Girona photos.
ValenciaSon
16 Jan 08 at 12:30 pm
@Luciano “Spain is for people of low class holiday, please try Italy for real experience”
Are you for real? Have you been to Spain?
luke
16 Jan 08 at 9:45 pm
And your luke? Have you been in Spain? Can you allow you a few vacations in españa? And I you do not speak of going to a hotel of 3 stars in the beach of the sandbank in Majorca.
Julio
19 Jan 08 at 2:44 pm
Luke excuses the question is for Luciano
Julio
19 Jan 08 at 2:46 pm
Not Spain, strictly speaking (hehe) but I can’t recommend a trip to the Solsones comarca enough. It’s just on the edge of the Pyrenees and offers spectacular views, awesome food and good hiking and skiing. Try Sant Llorení§ de Morunys for a medieval village still in great nick. http://flickr.com/photos/thebadrash/sets/72157603761311651/
Also, Mura (we went there for La Diada) is a stunning and untouched village near Terrassa.
http://www.thebadrash.com/2007/09/11/felic-diada/
Tom Clarke
22 Jan 08 at 10:41 am
Everywhere in interior Catalonia is unspoiled and well worth a trip. Near my wife’s hometown, Vallfogona de Riucorb, you have Guimerí , Verdú, Poblet, Santes Creus, Vallbona de les Monges, Montblanc, Cervera, Guissona, Prades, and very attractive rough countryside. Stay at the Regina Hotel at the spa in Vallfogona; my wife’s cousin manages it, and that’s where we had our wedding reception. Not many people have been to Guimerí , which is literally built on terraces on the side of a valley. It’s a unique place with lots of medieval stuff and a first-class traditional bakery. Also, non-vegetarians will appreciate the butcher shop and its homemade butifarra.
John
30 Jan 08 at 3:13 pm
Ok so I may be biaised (I live there), but Soria gets my vote any day.
As for the snow, well its been pretty non eventful this year. Now we are actually hoping we get some so we don’t have water issues later in the year.
Louise
13 Feb 08 at 1:34 pm
In 1998 Madrid was a mishmash? Well maybe, but it was just as much of a big city with he same feel as today (minus Latin America). Your comment is bemusing.
marc
27 Apr 08 at 6:12 pm
lol poor luciano is green with envy the jealous italian lmao jealousy is a bitch!
Spain rocks baby..
16 Mar 09 at 6:56 pm
you guys should check out costa brava too (ampuria brava,cadaques etc)
Spain rocks baby..
16 Mar 09 at 6:58 pm