For those of you who are lucky enough to have made the move to Spain and who are establishing new lives there, this article provides you with 10 slightly ‘different’ ideas of things to do and see now that you’re living in Spain full time.

As an expatriate with a brand new adopted country you owe it to yourself to get the very most you can out of your new homeland after all.

Few people venture outside of the guide book’s recommended activities and sites when they holiday in a country because they simply lack the time in their two week vacation to experience all a country has to offer - as an expatriate, you don’t have that excuse. But if you were wondering where to start, here’s a unique guide to 10 of the best things Spain has to offer you (in our opinion anyway!).

1) The Seville Fair - we all know that the Spanish are party people and they party well, but if you’d like to experience the biggest, liveliest and most exciting party of all consider visiting the Seville fair which is seven days of pure, unadulterated fun!

From processions of horses, carriages and beautiful people dressed in their stunning traditional Spanish attired and pouting a lot to nights filled with wild yet graceful dancing, eating, drinking and everything but sleep! This is an experience we think you’ll want to relive each year.

2) Surfing Or Snowboarding - from riding the Biscay swell at Guernika in the Billabong Pro to snowboarding in the Sierra Nevada Mountains - whatever form of extreme sport you’re into, Spain has the unique natural landscape to satisfy you!

3) Unrivalled Views - from standing atop the piste with views of Granada to driving the N340 highway with the coast of Morocco so close you can almost reach out and touch it - Spain not only has the most breathtaking natural scenery, it affords you a wealth of unique views to die for.

4) Sherry & Rioja - drink sherry in Jerez, drink Rioja in La Rioja - say no more!

5) Clubbing In Ibiza - take a week - yes, just seven days - and visit one of the seven main clubs in Ibiza each night of the week and be prepared to party until the sun rises and your feet can dance no more! It has to be done!
6) Bull Fighting & Bull Running - bull fighting may be ritualised killing and many people’s idea of extreme cruelty, but to others the experience of a corrida is a breathtaking and dramatic view of the Spanish psyche.

The Pamplona Bull Run on the other hand is possibly the very last thing you’ll get to do in Spain! We’d advise anyone crazy enough to charge ahead of a mad bull down the narrow cobbled streets of Pamplona to get their life insurance in order before they set off - alternatively, join the crowds of spectators and simply witness this (possibly?) once in a lifetime thrill!

7) View The Alhambra At Sunset - the Alhambra, the most incredible and enduring legacy of Moorish Spain is worth a hundred visits...but if you want to experience the true majesty and understand why the Alhambra was the physical manifestation of the Moorish concept of paradise, climb up to St. Nicholas Square at sunset and see how the ancient wonder glows golden against the stunning snow-capped backdrop of the peaks of the Sierra Nevada - and be prepared to feel seriously moved if not emotional!

8) Art & Culture - The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao is a work of art in itself and worth visiting even if you’re not interested in the wealth of art and artefacts contained therein. The museum is an incredibly daring structure built from titanium, glass and stone, and it beats at the heart of this city of contrasts.

Madrid’s Reina Sofia Museum is tame in architectural comparison (!) but it houses one of Picasso’s greatest works, in fact, possibly one of the greatest works of 20th Century (?) namely Guernica...

If you want art and culture, Spain has it in heaps - and every city, town or region you visit will offer you a whole host of opportunity to experience the Spanish cultural riches.

9) UNESCO World Heritage Sites - The UNESCO World Heritage Committee is dedicated to ensuring future generations inherit the treasures of the past by working to protect both cultural and natural sites of significance worldwide.

Spain has over 35 sites that have been flagged as world heritage sites - we challenge you to visit them all!

From the Historic Centre of Cordoba to Alhambra, Generalife and Albayzin, Granada, the Burgos Cathedral and the Monastery and Site of the Escorial, Madrid, Parque Guell, Palacio Guell and Casa Mila in Barcelona and Altamira Cave. The Old Town of Segovia and its Aqueduct and the Monuments of Oviedo and the Kingdom of the Asturias Santiago de Compostela, the old Town of Avila, with its Extra-Muros churches, the Mudejar Architecture of Aragon and the Historic City of Toledo. Garajonay National Park and Donana National Park, the Old Town of Caceres and the Cathedral, Alcazar and Archivo de Indias in Seville. The Old City of Salamanca, Poblet Monastery, the Archaeological Ensemble of Merida and the Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Guadalupe. The Route of Santiago de Compostela and the Historic Walled Town of Cuenca, La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia, Las Medulas and The Palau de la Musica Catalana and the Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona. San Millan Yuso and Suso Monasteries, the Pyrenees - Mont Perdu, the University and Historic Precinct of Alcala de Henares. Rock-Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula or Ibiza, Biodiversity and Culture! San Cristobal de La Laguna, the Archaeological Ensemble of Tarraco, the Palmeral of Elche, the Roman Walls of Lugo, the Catalan Romanesque Churches of the Vall de Boi, the Archaeological Site of Atapuerca, the Aranjuez Cultural Landscape and last but not least the Renaissance Monumental Ensembles of Ubeda and Baeza.

We’re exhausted from compiling the list...we can only imagine how you’ll feel if you manage to visit them all!

10) Tomato Fighting - not fighting tomatoes (that would be silly), but fighting with tomatoes in Valencia in August! Yes, one of the strangest of all Spanish festivals and carnivals is La Tomatina where upwards of 30,000 semi-naked people gather to throw tomatoes at each other before getting washed down by the hoses of the local fire brigade…

It is truly an experience worth...well...experiencing really! If only to say ‘been there, done that.’

As was once said, Spain is different! It is a country which effortlessly and seamlessly combines a plethora of fiestas, indefatigable nightlife, stunning and diverse natural scenery, supposedly impossible to achieve levels of synergy between ancient and modern architecture and artistic culture, fun and fascination, beautiful people, incredible cuisine, sun, sea, sand and sangria - to create a variety and spice of life you will never experience outside of Spain.

If you’re living in Spain, dreaming of a new life in Spain or just interested in finding out more about this incredible country - we’re not surprised!

Shelter Offshore
Copyright Rhiannon Williamson