Best nature parks Andalusia; a piece of paradise

Whether you want to hike, cycle or kayak through nature, the excellent network of visitor-friendly national parks and natural parks of Andalusia never gets bored and it will fascinate you no matter if you see it for the first time or the 10th time. The best nature parks Andalusia, you can read everything about it below.

Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas

The largest protected natural area of Spain on 2099 km2, the Sierras de Cazorla in northeastern Andalusia, north of Jaén. Here you will find spectacular mountains and valleys, villages with nice hills and an abundance of flora and fauna. One of the most popular walks you can make here along the Borosa River that runs through a landscape that extends to a beautiful mountain lake through a gorge and two tunnels. Red and fallow deer, red squirrels, mouflons (wild sheep), different types of eagles and vultures are all animals that you could encounter here and you can even catch a glimpse of the enormous and very rare lammergeier (bearded vulture). The picturesque old town of Cazorla is the park’s most attractive gateway, but do not miss out on Segura de la Sierra, on top of the high hill with a medieval castle above it.

Sierra Nevada

This impressive ‘wall’ of high peaks of the Sierra Nevada offers a beautiful, snow-covered backdrop of the legendary Alhambra palace in Granada. The highest of the 75 km long range is Mulhacén (the highest mountain in Spain at 3479m) with a summit that is not very difficult to reach thanks to the minibus services of the national park, which run from June to October. The minibus from the village of Capileira transports walkers to an altitude of 2700 meters. This is about three hours of walking from the top. The Parque Nacional Sierra Nevada which occupies the upper altitudes is home to more than 2000 ibexes. The Sierra Nevada Natural Park covers the lower altitudes. There are countless beautiful hiking trails here.

Doñana

With a beautiful expanse of water, dunes, forests and the beach in the delta of the Rio Guadalquivir, this is one of the largest wetlands in Europe. It’s a refuge for half a million migratory birds including flamingos, storks, spoonbills and bee-eaters. In addition, there are also very endangered animals such as the Iberian lynx and the Spanish imperial eagle. Doñana is actually divided into two parks: a national park of 542 square kilometers with the buffer of a surrounding natural park of 538 square kilometers. The village of El Rocío, with a beautiful view over the wetlands and their wildlife, is the main visitor base. The best and only way to visit the parks is with an all-terrain vehicle with operators such as Cooperativa Marismas del Rocío, Doñana Reservas and Doñana Nature. The chance of spotting the Iberian lynx and the Spanish imperial eagle are very low but it’s definitely possible to spot some of the other animals.

Sierra de Grazalema

High green peaks rise from the plains of the province of Cádiz and form the small but incredibly beautiful and surprisingly rugged Sierra de Grazalema nature park. Drive over the exciting Puerto de las Palomas and pass between the beautiful white villages of Grazalema and Zahara de la Sierra. In summer you can cool off in various local village coils and you can go to Horizon for canyoning, paragliding, kayaking, ferrata-climbs or the Garganta Verde gorge walk.

Cabo de Gata-Nijar

When it’s very hot in the summer, it makes sense to go to the coast. The Parque Natural Cabo de Gata-Nijar stretches over a 70 km long coastline, where high volcanic headlands emerge between some of the most beautiful, but least crowded sandy beaches of Andalusia. You can enjoy cooling off and sunbathing on the beaches, but you can also make boat trips, kayaking and Suppen (stand-up paddle). You can also go snorkeling in the most pristine waters of the Mediterranean. In autumn you can make beautiful walks along the coastal paths.

The best nature parks Andalusia have plenty to offer you when it comes to beautiful nature, animals and adventure. Can’t get enough of the beautiful nature of Spain? Be sure to read our article about the top 7 natural wonders of Spain.

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You should watch these 7 best Spanish movies on Netflix

Watching a series on Netflix is of course a lot of fun, but sometimes you have those days when you don’t really feel like watching a series and you just need a good movie. We got your back! We have put the 7 best Spanish movies on Netflix for you on a list. Some of the trailers are in Spanish but on Netflix you can of course turn on subtitles.

1. Contratiempo

2. Jefe

César is such a typical boss who’s hated by everyone and the employees who approach him do so purely for their own interest. There is no one who wants to tell him the truth and there is no one who appreciates him. Apparently the employees don’t do a lot of work at night and that is only the beginning of the problems that César has to deal with. His life is getting worse and worse when he notices that he is being betrayed by his partners and thrown out of his house by his wife. He tries to do his best not to fall completely into this misery and fortunately there is someone who helps him with this. Her name is Ariana and she is the cleaning lady of the night shift.

3. Palmeras en la nieve

This story takes place in 1968 on a Spanish colonial island off the west coast of Africa and it alternates between the 1950s, the last years of Spanish rule, and the present. In the 1950s, a man and his brother travel from the snowy Pyrenees to the exotic island where they learn real life lessons. In the present the daughter of the man travels to the island to learn more about the younger years of her father and her uncle.

4. El Aviso

It is 2008 and a man is shot in a supermarket during what appears to be an arbitrary act of violence. But was this really random? During the time that this victim is in a coma, his best friend begins to decipher a history of similar events that have also taken place at the same location. Then in 2018 a boy receives an anonymous warning that if he enters the same store on his tenth birthday he will die. Sounds heavy? Absolutely! and incredibly exciting too!

5. Amar

Young Laura and Carlos love each other as if every day can be their last. Laura wants to get away from her mother’s control and determine her own life and she dreams of getting pregnant. Laura and Carlos are both still looking for themselves and their place in this world. When it is one year later and they are both a little more mature, their deep passion is only a memory. You can recognize Laura, played by María Pedraza, from her roles in La Casa de Papel and Elite.

6. La Tribu

Fidel is a CEO of a company called Omnicron. When one day he has sex with his secretary at his office, he suddenly has to deal with ‘penis captivus’ and he is unable to retreat. Then there is a medical which takes him to the hospital from there. This whole scene is filmed by a number of office workers and the video goes viral. His company dismisses Fidel and his girlfriend and adoptive family also reject him. Eventually he comes into contact with his biological mother which creates hilarious moments.

7. La Sombre de la Ley (Gun City)

The year 1921 is a year of chaos and unrest for Spain. It’s a period where the streets are made unsafe by criminals and anarchists that illegal companies use gratefully. Agent Aníbal Uriarte is sent to Barcelona to take charge of a mission: to find the perpetrators who have stolen a military train. However, this will not be an easy job for the agent between the riots, crimes and corruption. Nobody at the local police station can be trusted and this makes it a very difficult job. In this film there are again familiar faces of Las Chicas del Cable and actor Jaime Menéndez Lorente known for his roles in La Casa de Papel and Elite.

With these Spanish movies you’ll be sure of some great movienights. So if you don’t feel like watching a series make sure you check out these movies on Netflix!

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Natural wonders of Spain; the most admirable

Spain has so much beautiful nature that you can impossibly make a top 5. Yet, we make a top 7 in this article because otherwise it would become an endless article with all the beauty of nature that can be found in Spain. Read and enjoy the natural wonders of Spain.

1. Fuente Dé (Cantabrië)

Fuente Dé is a nature reserve in the Picos de Europa Mountains on the Cantabrian State. The viewpoint Fuente Dé can be reached on foot but also with a cable car where you at 800 meters altitude will enjoy great views and a glacier.

2. La Playa de los Catedrales (Galicia)

The beach A Paraia Das Catedrais is located in the province of Lugo in Ribadeo. The region of Galicia, like Asturias and Cantabria, is known for its most beautiful beaches. This beach is so special because of the curved rock formations where you can walk under when the sea is at its lowest point. The beach is visited annually by thousands of people.

3. Las Médulas (Castilla y León)

Las médulas are located in the province of León and are old Roman gold mining mines. Now they are completely covered with chestnut and oak forests, making this nature reserve a veritable spectacle of the most beautiful colors in the spring and autumn months. In Roman times, the Médulas were the largest gold mines of the entire Roman Empire, but now it’s an area declared by UNESCO as World Heritage Site.

4. Natuurpark Las Lagunas de Ruidera (Castilla La Mancha)

Speaking of natural wonders of Spain, this one can’t be missed. The Parque Natural de Las Laguna de Ruidera is a beautiful nature reserve full of forests and fifteen lagoons/ lakes along the old rivers Pinilla and Guadiana Viejo. You can also find the caves of Montesinos in this natural park.

5. Gaztelugatxe (Basque country)

Gaztelugatxe is a small island (looks like a rock) located off the coast of Bermeo in the Basque Country. On this small island is a chapel located, this chapel was built in the tenth century in honor of San Juan. The bridge to the small chapel is an experience on itself and the panoramic views from this island are also definitely worth the effort.

6. Parque Natural de Timanfaya

Also called Montañas del Fuego which literally means fire mountains, is a nature reserve on Lanzarote, the area consists of a unique volcanic, “moon” landscape. This landscape was caused by a volcanic eruption in 1730. Today there is still volcanic activity. Because of the precipitated lava, a wine with a special taste can be made in the surroundings of the Timanfaya National Park. The area covers around 51 square kilometers.

As a visitor you can visit a part of the area in a bus or on the back of a dromedary. A walk of 3 km on the Termesana route with guide takes two hours. This walk must be requested two months in advance and reconfirmed 48 hours in advance. This is to prevent too many people from entering this vulnerable area. There is a visitor center on top of a volcano. Here is the restaurant El Diablo located, where is being cooked with volcanic heat. This center can be reached by car after you have paid entrance fees. This includes a tourist bus ride of about 40 minutes through the volcanic landscape.

7. Selva de Irati

The Irati Forest is the second largest and best-kept beech and spruce forest in Europe. The largest is the Black Forest in Germany. This immense vast green zone of around 17,000 hectares is virtually untouched. The forest is located in the eastern Pyrenees of Navarre, in a catchment area surrounded by mountains, at the foot of the Pyrenean valleys Aezkoa and Salazar.

The Irati Forest is a nature reserve with a high ecological value where several nature reserves such as Mendilatz and Tristuibartea and the integral nature reserve Lizardoia are next to each other. Dense beech forests, pastures, fir trees and water make the landscape vibrant with colors that change with every season. The Forest of Irati is accessible in two places, on the western side from Orbaizeta and on the east side from Ochagavía. Here is also the Interpretation Center located, which is also a good starting point for information about the forest and its surroundings. More information about The Irati Forest can be found here.

There are plenty of natural wonders of Spain, and these are not even all of them yet. There are too many to mention in this article. As a true nature lover, you will certainly have enough to discover in Spain, so put on your hiking shoes and explore!

Besides these natural wonders, Spain also has some pretty special places to spend the night. Do you want to know more about this? Read our blog about an unique overnight stay in Spain.

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7x must-try Spanish beers of local brewers

It might be fun to try beers which were especially brewed at your own city. We must admit: not all beers were good and tasty enough to mention, but we created a list of the beers we would recommend you. As you can see, the infographic shows you the beers per city. We’ve chosen the cities where our language schools are. The darkest beers are the beers which contain the highest percent of alcohol. In this post, you can find some more and short descriptions about these beers. We hope you will enjoy the 7x must-try Spanish beers of local brewers while you are visiting this wonderful country!

Beer from Barcelona

Estrella Damm

There are a lot of local beers to find in Barcelona. One of the biggest brewers is Estrella Damm. This brewer has got more beers besides their Estrella beers, like Voll-Damm. Estrella Damm is often called ‘the Spanish version of Heineken’ (we as Dutchies would say: NEVER), but yes it is. This beer has got its own malthouse, which offers tours. Estrella has three reserves of yeast, one at Barcelona, one at Valencia and one at London. This beer contains 100% natural ingredients.

Voll-Damm Doble Malta

Yes this beer is also from Barcelona, not from Malta. This beer is like we said before, also from the Estrella Damm brewery. This beer is better to drink after studying of working, because it contains more alcohol than the Estrella Damm. Namely, this beer contains of 7.0% alcohol. The taste of Voll-Damm Doble Malta can be described as citrusy and roasty, with a hint of fruit.

Beer from Madrid

La Virgen (Madrid Lager)

Besides the big offer of La Virgen beers (like La Vrigin IPA), there is also a more common beer from this brewery. La Virgen (Madrid Lager) is becoming more popular these days. The only difficulty about this beer is where to find it, because not every bar has got La Virgin in their assortiment available.

Mahou (Clasica)

Still bigger then La Virgen is Mahou. Mahou is a beer that is growing and growing, and becoming really famous in Spain. Some students even say that it is becoming the most popular beer from Madrid. It is a real competitor for San Miguel.

Beer from Zaragoza

Ambar (Especial)

Ambar Especial is a famous Spanish beer that has got her own brewery in Zaragoza. A place around 1,5 hour away from Madrid and Barcelona. This brewery offers tours with beer tasting. Besides Ambar Especial, this brewery also has got other kinds of beer. We choose to recommend Ambar Espacial not only because of the great taste, but this beer won in 2016 the World Beer Award. Definitely worth it to try!

Beer from Valencia

Turia

Valencia also has got her own beer, namely: Turia. This is the most popular beer among local Valencian citizens. Also a lot of students order buckets of Turia beers after studying and college. Notifying about there beers is that the bottles are 25cl, not the regular 33cl.

Beer from Seville

Libre

Even though it is not the biggest city of all, Seville also has got her own local brewery. Libre is not very easy to find, but it is the best of the local beers from Seville. It has got a intense yellow color, and the taste of this beer is refreshing, soft and citrusy. Libre also offers a gluten-free beer: Libre Trigo!

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The best restaurants for brunch in Valencia

Valencia is a city which is getting more and more popular every day. One of the reasons of the increase of visitors is because the city isn’t that big – you don’t have to travel too far to discover the whole city. So, when you want to have brunch in Valencia in a cool place, you don’t have to walk miles or take many buses to get there. To give you some inspiration, these are the top 5 best places to have brunch in Valencia:

Dulce de Leche

Probably the most important place to visit when you want to go out to have brunch in Valencia. It is a Spanish “Pastelería” located in one of the trendiest neighbourhoods of the City: Ruzafa. You will fall in love with Dulce de Leche immediately after you’ve seen the amazing cakes, cookies, cupcakes, bagels, sandwiches and more. And believe me, the creations don’t only look amazing, they are amazing! Make sure you are prepared to wait in a queue since the place gets more popular every day. However, it’s one of the highlights of the city that you cannot miss.

Bluebell Coffee

Another restaurant also located in Ruzafa, near Dulce de Leche, is called Bluebell Coffee where you can have delicious brunches. Every day they offer a different brunch with a coffee or tea, aperitif, and a dessert for only 9€. The main dish of the brunch is a toast or waffle with delicious ingredients. Is this too much for you? Don’t worry, because they also have a menu with several toasts you can choose of. And their coffee – it’s delicious. Their goal is to offer a coffee with exceptional quality made by the hands of great baristas.

Art y Sana (by guayoyo)

For this restaurant, we also stay in the Ruzafa district. They also offer delicious toasts with salmon, avocado, chicken, arugula, mozzarella and many more tasteful ingredients. You can order them separately or choose for the 4 courses brunch consisting of, a special coffee or tea, aperitif, toast and dessert like chocolate cake or carrot cake. The portions are perfect if you would like to have a good brunch and all of this for only 9€.

Federal cafe

To find this restaurant, you should go to the El Carmen district, in the old centre of Valencia. It is a great place to have a coffee, breakfast or enjoy a good brunch in Valencia. The name of the restaurant “Federal” is actually the name of a small town on Binna Burra Rd. in Australia. All dishes are made with great care, the perfect place to take a break while discovering the city.

Bastard Coffee Kitchen

This industry styled restaurant is located in Carrer de Leandro de Saralegui, in the district where the students live. You cannot only have breakfast or brunch here, but also lunch or dinner. For a brunch, they have several menus around 10€ that consist of 2 or 3 courses. It’s really a place for the ones that also enjoy the looks of the restaurants, and believe me, you are going to love this style of this one.

Those are just a few of the amazing places that Valencia has to take a break or have a nice breakfast in order to start your day perfectly. If you decide to come to Valencia, whether it’s for holidays or study, you should at least try one of these delicious restaurants to have brunch in Valencia and share your brunch experience with #suspanish on your Instagram!

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Enjoy the country with the top 5 best beaches in Spain

The five best beaches in Spain are as follows:

5. Playa de la Concha (San Sebastián)

One of the nicest beaches of Spain is situated at the Playa de la Concha. This beach has a length of 1350 meters and a width of 40 meters. Playa de la Concha is a substrate sandy beach and shallow. Since 2007 this beach is one of the 12 treasures of Spain. If you are in San Sebastian don’t doubt to pack your swimsuit and visit this amazing beach near the city centre of San Sebastian!

4. Ses Illetes (Formentera)

We have to say that in general, all beaches of Formentera are very nice and we’re sure that you’ll have a nice day at them all! However Ses Illetes is one of the most famous beaches of the island. It´s located at the northern part and you can get there by public transportation (bus). There is also a very nice route to hop on your bicycle and go there yourself. Fifty meters into the sea of this beautiful beach the depth of the water is about 1,5 meter. They say it’s on of the best beaches in Spain and number 5 in the world!

3. Playa de Muro (Mallorca)

Blue sea, that’s the reason why you want to go to the beach, well.. Playa de Muro is one of those that you have to visit if you are nearby! It´s situated in the north of Mallorca. Playa de Muro has a lot of nice facilities like restaurants, bars, but also different types of watersports. This beach has the world famous Blue Flag award, which is reached out every year for excellent water quality, clean beaches and attention to nature.

2. Cala Conta (Ibiza)

This very famous beach in Ibiza is only 15 minutes away by car from San Antonio. It is a 800 meters long and 15-30 meters wide blue beach that you have to visit when you are in Ibiza! You can reach this beach by car, bus or a ferry in the summer. The ferry departs regularly from San Antonio, if you go by car please note that it can get crowded in peak season. For most people Cala Conta needs no introduction. This beach has beautiful views, blue sea and different areas to explore.

1. Cala Salada (Ibiza)

For a lot of people Cala Salada is one of the best beaches in Ibiza, located nearby San Antonio. You will reach this beach by a little hike down, but when you reach the beach you will enjoy the blue sea, nice views, luxury yachts and nice cliffs to have a jump into the water (please be careful!).

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Brunch in Madrid

For a good start of your day or after a good night out, there is nothing better than a good old brunch in Madrid. There are a lot of places to have brunch in Madrid, but which one is the best? We wrote down our top three for you, so you don’t have to look any further!

Federal Café

One of the most fashionable places to have brunch in Madrid is Federal Café. This trendy bar is known for its breakfast and brunch menus with a lot of fresh yoghurts, toasts and pastry. Besides breakfast and brunch, Federal Café is known for its amazing coffee, a perfect way to start or end your brunch. If you are late, you should try the burgers or salads, also amazing!

Carmencita Bar

A perfect place to have brunch on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday morning is Carmencita Bar. The light interior gives a relaxed atmosphere where you can enjoy an affordable and cozy brunch. Carmencita Bar is also a great place to have a drink afterwards.

Café Oliver

Our personal favorite is Café Oliver. This small bistro in the fashionable neighborhood Chueca was one of the pioneers in Madrid. Every Sunday morning you can have brunch in this cozy bar. The menu with fresh juices to start, coffee and the renowned eggs Benedict, is the best brunch menu in Madrid.

When in Madrid, you should definitely visit one of these amazing places!

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