Spain and Portugal
English and the World · Chapter 1 · English lessons about remarkable places · levels A1–C2
Every place has a story, and most famous places have a legend or two attached. Each lesson tells the story of one place in clear English, checks what is fact and what is not sure, practises the grammar the story needs, and ends with a plan for your own visit. The series follows the story of Spain backwards. It begins in Granada, where that story ended in 1492, moves on to Almería (1489), Málaga (1487), Gibraltar (1462), Cádiz (1262), the Algarve (1249), Seville (1248), Jaén (1246) and Córdoba (1236), and then travels through the whole of Spain and Portugal, the islands and the cities of North Africa included, to finish in Asturias, where it began: Toledo fell in 1085, and the first battle was fought at Covadonga in 722. See the road north below.
The lessons in Málaga and its province are free at every level. Beyond the province, the A1–A2 version of every lesson is free, and the B1–B2 and C1–C2 versions are for members.
Granada
The series begins here, in 1492. The A1–A2 version of every Granada lesson is free; the B1–B2 and C1–C2 versions are for members.
Granada: from Iliberri to the Moor’s Last SighA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
Iberians and Romans, a Jewish vizier who led an army, the last Muslim kingdom in western Europe, a king who wept, and the promises of 1492. Start here. Three levels: telling a story in order (A1–A2), linking events in time (B1–B2), modal perfects: should have, could have, needn’t have (C1–C2). A1–C2.
The Alhambra and the GeneralifeA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
A red fortress on a hill, palaces whose walls are covered in poetry, twelve stone lions, a summer garden of water, and the American writer who made the world fall in love with it. Three levels: prepositions of place (A1–A2), comparisons (B1–B2), inversion after place expressions (C1–C2). A1–C2.
The AlbaicínA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
The oldest quarter of Granada: white houses and hidden gardens, Arab baths a thousand years old, a church built on a mosque, a mosque built five centuries later, and the most famous sunset in Spain. Three levels: adverbs of frequency (A1–A2), quantifiers (B1–B2), noun clauses (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Sacromonte: Caves, Flamenco and the Lead BooksA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
Cave houses, the zambra and flamenco, and the “lead books” of 1595: a forgery that fooled a city for almost a century. Three levels: like, love and hate + -ing (A1–A2), the passive (B1–B2), stance adverbs (C1–C2). A1–C2.
The Cathedral and the Royal ChapelA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
The tombs of Ferdinand and Isabella, Isabella’s crown and Ferdinand’s sword, a queen who would not leave her husband’s coffin, and a Renaissance cathedral built on the site of the great mosque. Three levels: possessives (A1–A2), wish and if only (B1–B2), expressing purpose (C1–C2). A1–C2.
The Realejo and Jewish GranadaA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
A quarter below the Alhambra, a Jewish poet who commanded an army, a family of translators who carried learning across Europe, and the decree of 1492. Three levels: countries, nationalities and languages (A1–A2), verb + object + infinitive (B1–B2), the language of approximation (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Lorca’s GranadaA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
A village on the plain, a summer house among the orchards, a festival of deep song in the Alhambra, and the summer of 1936. Three levels: and, but, so, because (A1–A2), the past perfect simple and continuous (B1–B2), as if, seem and appear (C1–C2). A1–C2.
The AlpujarrasA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
White villages with flat grey roofs on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada, water channels a thousand years old, the Morisco revolt of 1568, and Gerald Brenan’s South from Granada. Three levels: too and enough (A1–A2), cause and result (B1–B2), ellipsis and substitution (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Tales of the AlhambraA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
An astrologer and a bronze horseman, a water-carrier and a treasure, a prince who learned the language of birds: three of the legends Washington Irving heard in the Alhambra in 1829, and the real places behind them. Three levels: subject and object pronouns (A1–A2), character adjectives (B1–B2), reading older English (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Almería
Almería surrendered in December 1489, two years before Granada.
The Alcazaba of AlmeríaA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
The caliph’s naval base of 955, the walls of Jayrán, a city of silk looms and poets, the Genoese and the green bowl, a cathedral built like a fortress against pirates, and the “sea of plastic”. Start here for Almería. Three levels: adjectives and opposites (A1–A2), adding ideas (B1–B2), anticipatory it (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Los Millares: a Copper Age TownA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
Walls with towers, forts on the hills, domed tombs for whole families, some of the first metal-workers of Iberia, the engineer who dug it up, and the radiocarbon dates that overturned an old theory. Three levels: subject questions (A1–A2), fractions and proportions (B1–B2), fronting (C1–C2). A1–C2.
The Desert of Tabernas: Europe’s Wild WestA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
Badlands that played Texas, Mexico and Arabia, Sergio Leone, Clint Eastwood and Ennio Morricone, a plot borrowed from a samurai film, and the film towns that survive in the desert. Three levels: Have you ever…? (A1–A2), the order of adjectives (B1–B2), how new words are made (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Cabo de Gata: Volcanoes, Salt and Blood WeddingA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
A coast made by volcanoes, flamingos in the salt pans, the Sirens’ Reef, a gold-mining ghost town, and the runaway bride of 1928 who became Lorca’s Blood Wedding. Three levels: the weather (A1–A2), comparing (B1–B2), descriptive writing (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Málaga
Five years before Granada, in 1487, Málaga fell after a long siege. The Málaga lessons, and those of its province, are free at every level.
Málaga: 2,800 Years in One CityFree
Phoenicians, Romans, Moors and Christians, ironworks and vineyards, Picasso and the Costa del Sol: the whole history of the city, and a walk through it. Start here for Málaga. Three levels: the past simple (A1–A2), the past perfect (B1–B2), participle clauses (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Los Baños del Carmen and Football in MálagaFree
A seaside resort from 1918, the city’s first football ground, and a club that went from its first match in 1904 to the Primera División in 2026. Three levels: past simple (A1–A2), used to and would (B1–B2), inversion and nostalgia (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Two Cemeteries, Two Cities: San Miguel and the English CemeteryFree
In 1831 General Torrijos and his men were shot on a Málaga beach and buried apart: the Catholics in San Miguel, the Protestant Boyd in the new English Cemetery. Two cemeteries that tell the story of the city and of the strangers who made it home, from the Heredia pantheon to Gamel Woolsey and Gerald Brenan. Three levels: was born and died (A1–A2), the passive (B1–B2), reporting structures (C1–C2). A1–C2.
The Alcazaba, Gibralfaro and the Roman TheatreFree
Three monuments on one hill: a Roman theatre found by gardeners in 1951, a Moorish palace built with its stones, and the castle at the top that guarded them both. Three levels: comparatives and superlatives (A1–A2), modals of deduction (B1–B2), third and mixed conditionals (C1–C2). A1–C2.
La Concepción: a Garden of Iron, Palms and Roman StonesFree
A tropical garden created around 1855 by Amalia Heredia and Jorge Loring, a little temple that held the laws of Roman Málaga, and the families and the city that saved it. Three levels: some, any and much (A1–A2), relative clauses (B1–B2), concession and contrast (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Picasso’s MálagaFree
The square where Picasso was born and watched the pigeons, the church where he was baptised, his father’s school, and the museum that brought his work home. Three levels: can and could (A1–A2), gerunds and infinitives (B1–B2), cleft sentences (C1–C2). A1–C2.
The Atarazanas Market: from Shipyard to Market HallFree
A 14th-century Nasrid shipyard gate that once faced the sea, an iron-and-glass market built around it in 1879, and the fish, fruit and tapas of today. Three levels: shopping language (A1–A2), reported speech (B1–B2), compound adjectives (C1–C2). A1–C2.
The province of Málaga
The Province of Málaga: from the Coast to the MountainsFree
Mountains and valleys, dolmens and caves, raisins and avocados, a national park and one of Europe’s busiest coasts: an overview of the province, and of the places that follow. Three levels: places and directions (A1–A2), present perfect and past simple (B1–B2), articles with place names (C1–C2). A1–C2.
El Caminito del Rey: the King’s Little PathFree
A workers’ path on the walls of a gorge, walked by a king in 1921, closed as “the most dangerous path in the world” and reopened in 2015. Three levels: there is and can (A1–A2), must and be allowed to (B1–B2), the formal language of rules (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Ronda: the Bridge, the Gorge and the BullringFree
A town split by a gorge, the Puente Nuevo that took forty years to join it, one of Spain’s oldest bullrings, and the writers and film-makers who fell for it. Three levels: the present continuous (A1–A2), future forms (B1–B2), the future in the past (C1–C2). A1–C2.
The Dolmens of AntequeraFree
Three tombs more than five thousand years old, stones weighing hundreds of tonnes, and a mystery: why Menga faces a mountain instead of the sun. Three levels: past simple questions (A1–A2), indirect questions (B1–B2), hedging in academic writing (C1–C2). A1–C2.
The Cave of NerjaFree
Five boys looking for bats, a cathedral of stone, a ballet underground, and paintings of seals that may or may not be the work of Neanderthals. Three levels: -ed and -ing adjectives (A1–A2), past continuous and past simple (B1–B2), reporting verbs (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Frigiliana and the AxarquíaFree
A white village in the mountains, the last stand of the Moriscos in 1569, Europe’s only sugar-cane honey factory, and the raisins dried in the sun. Three levels: imperatives and directions (A1–A2), conditionals (B1–B2), the mandative subjunctive (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Gibraltar
Castile took Gibraltar for the last time in 1462; Britain has held it since 1704.
The Rock of GibraltarA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
One of the Pillars of Hercules, the mountain of Tariq that gave it its name in 711, the first Neanderthal skull ever found, 1462 and 1704, the Great Siege tunnels, the apes, and Llanito, the town’s mixture of English and Spanish. Three levels: prepositions of movement (A1–A2), both, either and neither (B1–B2), when languages meet (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Cádiz and Jerez
Alfonso X took Cádiz in 1262 and Jerez, for the last time, in 1264.
Cádiz: from Gadir to GadesA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
Sailors from Tyre, a walled town on an island at the edge of the known world, a date that may be three centuries too early, the temple of Hercules where Hannibal made his vows and Caesar wept, and the rich Roman city of Gades. Start here for Cádiz. Three levels: ago, in, before and after (A1–A2), how sure are we? (B1–B2), nominalisation (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Cádiz: the Port of Two WorldsA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
Columbus’s second voyage, Drake singeing the King of Spain’s beard, the sack of 1596 and a bishop’s library carried off to Oxford, and the golden century when the fleets of the Indies sailed from Cádiz and merchants watched for them from their towers. Three levels: numbers and ordinals (A1–A2), time clauses (B1–B2), emphasis (C1–C2). A1–C2.
1812: La Pepa, the Constitution of CádizA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
A city Napoleon could not take, French shells that fell short, a song about curling hair with bombs, and the constitution written in a small church: what it promised, whom it left out, and how it gave English the word liberal. Three levels: everyone, no one, everything (A1–A2), contrast (B1–B2), word formation (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Trafalgar, 1805A1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
A white cape on the coast of Cádiz, Nelson’s signal and his death in the hour of victory, the Spanish captains Churruca and Gravina, the storm that sank the Santísima Trinidad, and the people of Cádiz who rescued friend and enemy alike. Three levels: adverbs of manner (A1–A2), verbs of perception (B1–B2), the devices of rhetoric (C1–C2). A1–C2.
The Carnival of CádizA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
Chirigotas, comparsas, coros and cuartetos, a contest that lasts until dawn, the singers on the street corners, forty years of carnival under another name, and a city that laughs at everyone, itself included. Three levels: the present simple (A1–A2), have and get something done (B1–B2), the unreal past (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Jerez: Sherry, Horses and FlamencoA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
A frontier town that gave English the word sherry, a pyramid of barrels that is never emptied, the British and Irish families of the trade, horses bred by monks and trained to dance, and the bulerías of Santiago and San Miguel. Three levels: would like (A1–A2), the present perfect continuous (B1–B2), gradable and ungradable adjectives (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Sanlúcar, the Guadalquivir and DoñanaA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
The river mouth where Magellan’s ships set out and the Victoria returned, horse races on the beach at sunset, a duchess who gave her name to Europe’s most famous wetland, the Iberian lynx brought back from the edge, and the battle over Doñana’s water. Three levels: plural nouns (A1–A2), the future continuous and future perfect (B1–B2), cohesion with summary nouns (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Huelva
Huelva and Niebla were taken by Castile in 1262, the same year as Cádiz.
Palos and La Rábida: Where Columbus Set SailA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
A monastery whose friars believed in Columbus, a royal order read in a village church, the Pinzón brothers who found the crews, the cry of “Land!”, two rival ships returning on the same tide, and the long argument over who deserved the credit. Three levels: in, on, at for time (A1–A2), question tags (B1–B2), the historic present (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Río Tinto, Tartessos and RecreativoA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
A red river studied by NASA, five thousand years of mining, a British company and the shootings of 1888, the oldest football club in Spain, and Tartessos, the kingdom of silver the Greeks wrote about. Three levels: there was / there were (A1–A2), compound nouns (B1–B2), advanced comparison (C1–C2). A1–C2.
The AlgarvePortugal
Portugal’s Reconquista ended here in 1249, a year after Seville fell.
Faro and Silves: the End of Portugal’s ReconquistaA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
The red castle of Silves, capital of al-Gharb al-Andalus, the poet-king al-Mu’tamid, crusaders on their way to Jerusalem, the conquest of Faro in 1249, the Chapel of Bones and the storks of the old town. Three levels: this, that, these, those (A1–A2), verbs of change (B1–B2), figurative language (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Lagos and Sagres: Henry the NavigatorA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
Cape St Vincent at the end of Europe, a prince with an English mother who never sailed on a voyage of discovery, Gil Eanes and Cape Bojador, and Lagos, where the first great slave sale in Europe took place in 1444. Three levels: should for advice (A1–A2), verb–noun collocations (B1–B2), euphemism and loaded language (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Seville
Seville: from Hispalis to the Gateway of the IndiesA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
A Roman river port, a bishop who explained the origins of words, an Almohad capital, the conquest of 1248, and the century when every ship to the Americas sailed from here. Start here. Three levels: then and now (A1–A2), ability in the past (B1–B2), formal cause and consequence (C1–C2). A1–C2.
The Cathedral and the GiraldaA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
A minaret that became a bell tower, the largest Gothic cathedral in the world, a wall of gold, a crocodile on the ceiling, and the tomb of Christopher Columbus. Three levels: How … ? questions (A1–A2), superlatives (B1–B2), advanced relative clauses (C1–C2). A1–C2.
The Real AlcázarA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
A Christian king’s palace in the style of the Alhambra, patios of tiles and water, a royal wedding with Portugal, and gardens where dragons were filmed. Three levels: past simple negatives and questions (A1–A2), phrasal verbs (B1–B2), dependent prepositions (C1–C2). A1–C2.
The Archive of the Indies and the Torre del OroA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
A merchants’ exchange that became the archive of an empire, a twelve-sided tower on the river, and the five ships that left in 1519 to sail around the world. Three levels: a, an, the (A1–A2), obligation in the past (B1–B2), complex prepositions (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Triana: Sailors, Potters and FlamencoA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
The bridge of boats and the iron bridge, the castle of the Inquisition, the oldest parish church in Seville, sailors for the Indies fleets, the tile makers, and the flamenco families of the corrales who were moved away. Three levels: going to for plans (A1–A2), be used to and get used to (B1–B2), idioms (C1–C2). A1–C2.
The Barrio de Santa CruzA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
The old Jewish quarter, the violence of 1391 and the expulsion of 1492, the legend of Susona, Murillo’s lost grave, and how much of its old-world charm was designed in the 20th century. Three levels: whose, mine, yours (A1–A2), reflexive pronouns and each other (B1–B2), formal and informal register (C1–C2). A1–C2.
The Plaza de España and the Exposition of 1929A1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
A half-moon of brick and tiles, the alcoves of the provinces, María Luisa Park, an exposition fifteen years late and hit by the Wall Street Crash, and the square that played Cairo and Naboo. Three levels: can and could for requests (A1–A2), expressing purpose (B1–B2), comment clauses (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Seville in OperaA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
Carmen and the real cigarette-makers of the Royal Tobacco Factory, Figaro the barber, Don Juan the seducer, and why composers who never saw Seville set so many operas there. Three levels: have to and don’t have to (A1–A2), prefer and would rather (B1–B2), verbs that change meaning with -ing or to (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Holy Week and the April FairA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
The brotherhoods, the hidden costaleros, the pointed hoods and the saeta of Holy Week, and two weeks later a cattle fair of 1847 turned into a week of casetas, horses and sevillanas. Three levels: making suggestions (A1–A2), describing customs (B1–B2), apposition and glossing (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Itálica: the City of EmperorsA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
The first Roman town in Spain, the birthplace of Trajan, Hadrian’s grand new city and its amphitheatre, the mosaics, the river that moved away, and the poem on its ruins. Three levels: how much and how many (A1–A2), as or like (B1–B2), Latin expressions in English (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Jaén
North of Granada, the frontier province: Castile took its towns one by one between the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212 and the surrender of Jaén in 1246. Today it is a sea of olive trees.
Jaén: the Castle, the Cathedral and the Pact of 1246A1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
The castle of Santa Catalina, the legend of the lizard, the bargain that made Granada’s first Nasrid king a vassal of Castile and kept his kingdom alive, Vandelvira’s cathedral and its relic, and the Arab baths beneath a palace. Start here for Jaén. Three levels: the first conditional (A1–A2), unless and provided that (B1–B2), formal conditionals (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Úbeda: a Renaissance TownA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
An emperor’s secretary and his funerary chapel, the architect who shaped a whole town, a square worthy of Italy, the green pottery of Calle Valencia, and a World Heritage town saved by its own decline. Three levels: adjectives with prepositions (A1–A2), prepositions with -ing (B1–B2), complex noun phrases (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Cazorla and the Sea of OlivesA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
The largest natural park in Spain, the spring where the Guadalquivir begins, ibex, a violet found nowhere else and the return of the bearded vulture, and below, tens of millions of olive trees. Three levels: will for offers and decisions (A1–A2), countable and uncountable nouns (B1–B2), the language of data (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Baeza and Antonio MachadoA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
Úbeda’s quieter sister, the fountain of lions and the Jabalquinto palace, a university founded in 1538, and the grieving poet who taught French there for seven years and turned the olive fields into literature. Three levels: as … as (A1–A2), adjectives and ordinals with to (B1–B2), verbs for analysing poetry (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Las Navas de Tolosa, 1212A1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
Three kings against the Almohad caliph, a crusade that half went home, the shepherd of the hidden pass, the chains of Navarre, the chroniclers’ impossible numbers, and the battle that opened the road to Andalusia. Three levels: the past continuous (A1–A2), at first, eventually, in the end (B1–B2), the language of historical significance (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Córdoba
The capital of Roman Baetica and of the caliphs of al-Andalus, once the greatest city in western Europe, taken by Ferdinand III on 29 June 1236.
Córdoba: from Corduba to the CaliphateA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
The Roman capital of Baetica and the Senecas, a prince who escaped the massacre of his family, the caliph of 929 and his library, Almanzor and the bells of Santiago, the civil war that ended it all, and the night climb of 1236. Start here for Córdoba. Three levels: the past simple of regular verbs (A1–A2), the past simple or the present perfect (B1–B2), participle clauses (C1–C2). A1–C2.
The Mosque-CathedralA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
Four mosques in one, reused Roman columns and red and white double arches, a golden mihrab made with help from Constantinople, a wall that faces the wrong way, the cathedral of 1523 and the words put into Charles V’s mouth, and the argument over the building’s name. Three levels: the present continuous (A1–A2), relative clauses (B1–B2), passive reporting structures (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Medina AzaharaA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
The caliph’s shining city on three terraces, the legend of al-Zahra, a hall of carved stone and a bowl of quicksilver, the sack of 1010, centuries as a quarry, and a palace rebuilt from thousands of fragments. Three levels: irregular verbs in the past simple (A1–A2), must have, might have, can’t have (B1–B2), advanced concession (C1–C2). A1–C2.
The Jewish Quarter and MaimonidesA1–A2 freeB1–C2 members
The caliph’s Jewish doctor and diplomat, a synagogue of 1315 that survived as a hospital and a shoemakers’ chapel, and the boy from Córdoba who fled the Almohads, became a court physician in Egypt and wrote the Guide for the Perplexed. Three levels: imperatives and directions (A1–A2), reported speech (B1–B2), the language of reasoning (C1–C2). A1–C2.
Averroes and the PhilosophersComing soon
Seneca the Stoic, Averroes the commentator on Aristotle, and how Córdoba’s ideas travelled to the universities of Europe.
The Alcázar of the Christian KingsComing soon
A fortress-palace and its gardens, where Columbus first met Ferdinand and Isabella, and which later became a seat of the Inquisition.
The Roman Bridge and the Calahorra TowerComing soon
Sixteen arches over the Guadalquivir, the gate tower at the far end, the water mills of the river, and a bridge that played a part in Game of Thrones.
The Patios of MayComing soon
The May crosses, the festival of the flower-filled courtyards, recognised by UNESCO, and the city’s fair.
The Province of CórdobaComing soon
The castle of Almodóvar del Río, baroque Priego and its fountains, the white village of Zuheros, and the wines of Montilla.
The road north
After Córdoba, the series works its way through every region of Spain and Portugal, following the dates of the Reconquista backwards as a general direction rather than a strict rule, and sweeping east and west as it goes, to finish in Asturias. Portugal, born of the same history, is woven in where its dates fall. The places below are a plan, not a promise: the order and the lessons may change as we go.
Dates are when each place passed, for the last time, from Muslim to Christian rule; “c.” means the date is approximate or disputed. Some places, such as the Canary Islands and the mountains of the far north, have a different story, told in their own lessons.
Ceuta and Melilla1415 · 1497
The two Spanish cities in North Africa: Ceuta, taken by Portugal in 1415 and Spanish since the 1600s; Melilla, taken by Castile in 1497; the Pillars of Hercules, and four cultures in one city.
The Canary Islands1402–1496
Never part of al-Andalus: the Guanches and the Castilian conquest, Columbus’s last stop before the Atlantic, Mount Teide, and Lanzarote’s volcanoes.
Murcia1243–1266
Murcia and its huerta, and Cartagena: Carthaginian, Roman and naval.
Valencia1238
James I of Aragon and the conquest of 1238 (after El Cid’s Valencia of 1094); the silk exchange, Las Fallas and paella; Alicante; and Elche and its mysterious Lady.
The Balearic Islands1229–1287
Mallorca (1229): Palma’s cathedral, Ramon Llull, Chopin and George Sand; Ibiza (1235); and Menorca (1287) and its prehistoric talayots.
Extremadura1229–1230
Mérida’s Roman theatre, medieval Cáceres and Badajoz, Trujillo and the conquistadors, and the monastery of Guadalupe.
Évora and the AlentejoPortugal1165
Évora, taken by Geraldo the Fearless: its Roman temple, its chapel of bones, and the cork forests of the plains.
LisbonPortugal1147
The siege of 1147 with the help of English and Flemish crusaders, the castle of São Jorge, the great earthquake of 1755, Belém and the voyages of Vasco da Gama.
Castilla-La Mancha1177–1085
Cuenca’s hanging houses (1177) · La Mancha, Don Quixote and the windmills · Toledo (1085), the city of three cultures and of the translators.
Madridc. 1083–1085
A Muslim fortress, Mayrit, that became the capital in 1561; the Prado, and the monastery-palace of El Escorial.
Aragon1171–1096
Teruel and its lovers (1171), Zaragoza and the Aljafería (1118), Huesca (1096), Goya, and the Pyrenees.
Catalonia1149–785
Lleida and Tortosa (1148–1149), Roman Tarragona, Barcelona (801) and Gaudí, Girona (785), and the mountain of Montserrat.
CoimbraPortugal1064
Portugal’s capital for over a century and its oldest university, the tomb of its first king, Afonso Henriques, and the Roman city of Conímbriga.
Castilla y Leónc. 1100–856
Salamanca, Ávila and Segovia, resettled around 1100 · Valladolid · Burgos (founded 884) and El Cid · León (856) and its cathedral · and the earliest Europeans at Atapuerca.
La Rioja and Navarrec. 1045–824
Calahorra (c. 1045), wine, and the monastery of San Millán, where some of the first written words of Spanish were found; the kingdom of Pamplona (c. 824) and San Fermín.
The Basque Countryno lasting Muslim rule
Euskara, Europe’s mystery language; Bilbao and the Guggenheim; Guernica.
Cantabriano lasting Muslim rule
The painted cave of Altamira, Santander, and the Picos de Europa.
Porto and the NorthPortugal868
Porto, taken by Vímara Peres and the origin of Portugal’s name, port wine and the Douro; Braga and Guimarães, “the cradle of Portugal”.
Galiciac. 740s
Santiago de Compostela and the end of the Camino, the Roman walls of Lugo, and the Tower of Hercules.
Asturias: where Spain and Portugal began722
Oviedo’s pre-Romanesque churches and the Cross of Victory; the king who is said to have been the first pilgrim to Santiago; and Covadonga, where Pelayo’s victory, traditionally dated 722, began the story that ended in Granada in 1492.