Travel Agent - October 15, 2007 - (Page 23)

BARCELONA AND MADRID MAY JUST BE the most heavily trafficked tourist destinations in Spain—plus, the cities claim the country’s two largest populations: Madrid is first, followed by Barcelona. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t create a genuine experience in these two cities, which are full of tapas restaurants, historic architecture, shopping, museums and nightlife. It’s easy to create an itinerary that lets clients experience the best of Madrid or Barcelona, mixed with an extra dash of authenticity courtesy of the surrounding countryside. Recent buzz has Spain claiming the title of Europe’s tourist giant from Italy in the next few years, and some agents indicate that may very well be the case, due in equal parts to Madrid’s and Barcelona’s architectural boom and a revival of Spain’s northern wine country. Exploring Spain With Packages Create a customized tour to Madrid with Avanti Destinations (www.avantidestinations.com). The wholesaler offers a range of hotel options in the city, including the popular Westin Palace Hotel (www.westinpalacemadrid.com) on the Plaza de las Cortes. Dubbed Madrid’s most famous hotel, the property faces the Museo del Prado (http:// museoprado.mcu.es), or the Prado Museum, and Neptune Fountain, and is loved for its central location and stellar service. After exploring the Prado, shopping in Madrid’s main district and sampling a variety of tapas—which Madrid is famous for—extend the vacation by adding on a package to La Rioja in the Basque Country of northern Spain, only a short jaunt from Spain’s capital city. What’s really putting La Rioja on the map, in LEFT: Exterior of the Hotel Casa Fuster BELOW: A Junior Suite at the Hotel Grau Roig in Andorra, Spain addition to its wine, is Starwood Hotels and Resorts’ (www.starwoodhotels.com) new property there, Hotel Marqués de Riscal, designed by the architect Frank Gehry. The hotel is Gehry’s second venture in Spain, following Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum (www.guggenheim bilbao.es), conveniently located near La Rioja. Avanti also offers a La Rioja wine package, which includes a three-night hotel stay complete with taxes and fees, two lunches with wine cellar visits, a trip to La Rioja’s Dinastía Vivanco Museum of Wine and Culture (www.dinas tiavivanco.com), daily breakfast and a four-day manual car rental. The package also works well as a pre- or post-cruise excursion from a ship that ports in Bilbao or San Sebastian. In Barcelona—which, according to one agent, is losing out in popularity to Madrid—it may be hard to narrow down the best sightseeing options, being the large city that it is. Depending on clients’ desired level of activity, it may be best to stick to landmarks surrounding the chosen hotel. Recommendations include La Rambla (www.laramblabcn.com), a perfect boulevard for people watching; Tibidabo mountain, which offers a beautiful view of the city; and a stop (or two) in any one of Barcelona’s many museums, particularly the Museum of National Art of Catalonia (www.mnac.es) and the Picasso Museum (www.museupicasso.bcn.es). For a made-to-order Barcelona trip, explore options from Travel Bound (www.booktravelbound.com) and choose from a range of hotels that fit any budget, from the Hotel Rialto (www.gargallo-hotels.com/rialto) at $49 per night to the $189-per-night Hotel Majestic (www.hotelmajesticbarcelona.com). Or, check out the highly recommended Hotel Casa Fuster (www.hotelcasafuster.com), a member of The Leading Hotels of the World. Located in the Modernist quarter of Barcelona, the hotel is near plenty of shopping and museums. What’s more, insiders say that a stay CONTINUED ON PAGE 24 AGENTADVICE Virginia Irurita is an agent with Made For Spain (www.madeforspain.com) in Madrid. The native Spaniard says that she mainly sends people to Barcelona, but that clients also tend to get out of the city to explore other places. “It’s very different,” she says. “The city is absolutely great, but when you get to the country, it’s all these villages with stone roads, small restaurants and great hotels.” In Barcelona, the big draw is architecture tours, Irurita says, particularly ones centered on the work of Antoni Gaudí, the Spanish architect from Catalonia famous for his individualistic style. “Barcelona is charming because you get this great Modernist architecture with this great Gothic architecture,” she notes. “Many travelers concentrate on Gaudí and forget that there was a flourishing time in the city for many architects.” Andorra, she says, is not yet a tourist hot spot. “It’s very beautiful and green,” she explains, “and a lot of people go there for skiing, but it’s also beautiful in the summer.” Plus, the city has tax-free shopping, so a visit to Andorra at the end of summer equals lots of end-of-season deals on clothing and other goods. And even though Spain uses the euro, you can still expect to find a bargain. “Spain, as a country, is more expensive now than it was years ago,” Irurita says. “In general terms, everything is more expensive, but having said that, once you get here it’s more affordable than London or Rome.” Outside of Madrid, Seville is also a popular getaway for tourists. “Seville can be busy, but there are certain months like March or February where there are fewer people and it’s not that cold,” Irurita says. “It’s a very charming place with lots of small shops and artisans.” October 15, 2007 TravelAgent | 23 http://www.starwoodhotels.com http://www.guggenheimbilbao.es http://www.guggenheimbilbao.es http://www.madeforspain.com http://www.dinastiavivanco.com http://www.dinastiavivanco.com http://www.avantidestinations.com http://www.laramblabcn.com http://www.westinpalacemadrid.com http://museoprado.mcu.es http://museoprado.mcu.es http://www.mnac.es http://www.museupicasso.bcn.es http://www.booktravelbound.com http://www.booktravelbound.com http://www.gargallo-hotels.com/rialto http://www.hotelmajesticbarcelona.com http://www.hotelcasafuster.com

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Travel Agent - October 15, 2007

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