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Spain UNESCO world heritage sites

except http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/874

Andalucia community [capital = Sevilla]

Donana National Park in Almonte @
It is notable for the great diversity of its biotopes, especially lagoons, marshlands, fixed and mobile dunes, scrub woodland and maquis. It is home to five threatened bird species. It is one of the largest heronries in the Mediterranean region and is the wintering site for more than 500,000 water fowl each year.

Cathedral in Sevilla on Av. de la Constitucion
After its completion in the early 16th century, Seville Cathedral supplanted Hagia Sophia as the largest cathedral in the world, a title the Byzantine church had held for nearly a thousand years.

Archives of the Indies in Sevilla on Av. de la Constitucion
This 16th-century building houses 80 million pages of documents and maps about the Indies, Spain's mighty empire from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, providing the most complete and documented historical view (if not the most objective) of the Spanish administration of the New World.

Real Alcazar in Sevilla at Pl. del Patio de Banderas, 6
The Alcazar of Seville is one of the most representative monumental compounds in the city, the country and the Mediterranean culture as a whole. The historical evolution of the city in the last millennium is held within its walls and gardens, amalgamating influences starting from the Arabic period, late Middle Ages Mudejar right through to the Renaissance, Baroque and the XIX century.

Caliphate City of Medina Azahara in Cordoba at Ctra. Palma del Rio, km 5.5
The site is a complete urban complex including infrastructure, buildings, decoration and objects of daily use, and provides in-depth knowledge about the material culture of the Islamic civilization of Al-Andalus at the zenith of its splendour but which has now disappeared.

Historic Centre of Cordoba see detail
The townscape has maintained an authenticity of its own. There is still a high level of building traditions and techniques, situation and surroundings, that are reflected in the presence of the urban areas, historic buildings, the image and the treatment of the public spaces. Other monuments included in the area, belonging to different styles and timelines, hold a high degree of authenticity of shape, design, materials and uses, which can be added to the great number of architectural types: ancestral homes, casa-patios, corrales (tenement houses) etc.

El Torcal in Antequera at Calle el Torcal de Antequera, 70-75
The Jurassic age limestone is about 150 million years old and was laid down in a marine corridor that extended from the Gulf of Cadiz to Alicante between the present Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. These seabeds were uplifted to an elevation of over 1300 meters during the Tertiary era, resulting in a modest mountain range of flat-lying limestone, which is rare in Andalucia. Later, a series of fractures, cracks and faults at right angles (generally NW-SE and NE-SW) were exploited by erosion and produced the alleys between large blocks of limestone visible today.

Dolmen of Menga in Antequera at Avenida de Malaga, 5
It is one of the largest known ancient megalithic structures in Europe. It is 27.5 metres (90 ft) long, 6 metres (20 ft) wide and 3.5 metres (11 ft) high, and was built with thirty-two megaliths, the largest weighing about 180 tonnes (200 tons). A very rare singularity, in megalithic buildings, is the presence of a deep and narrow well in the bottom of the chamber. It presents in the first orthostat of the corridor a series of anthropomorphic engravings in the form of a cross as well as a star.

Dolmen of Viera in Antequera at Avenida de Malaga, 5
The dolmen is covered by a mound or tumulus 50 metres (160 ft) in diameter. Like most Iberian tombs, it is oriented slightly south of east (96°), situated precisely so that at the summer solstices the sunlight at daybreak illuminates the burial chamber.

Dolmen of Romeral in Antequera at Cerro Romeral
Tholos de El Romeral, also known as Cueva de Romeral (Cave of Romeral) and Dolmen de Romeral, is a megalithic burial site built circa 1800 BCE.

Pena de los Enamorados in Antequera on carretera de Granada
The megalithic structures are presented in the guise of the natural landscape (buried beneath earth tumuli) and their orientation is based on two natural monuments: La Penna de los Enamorados and El Torcal. These are two indisputable visual landmarks within the property.

Alhambra in Granada at Generalife 2
It constitutes the best example of Nasrid art in its architecture and decorative aspects. The Generalife Garden and its vegetable farms represent one of the few medieval areas of agricultural productivity. These palaces were made possible by the existing irrigation engineering in Al-andalus, well established in the Alhambra and Generalife with technological elements known and studied by archaeologists. This constituted a real urban system integrating architecture and landscape, and extending its influence in the surrounding area with gardens and unique hydraulic infrastructures.

El Albayzin in Granada on Camino Viejo del Fargue
The residential district of the Albayzin, which constitutes the origin of the City of Granada, is a rich legacy of Moorish town planning and architecture in which Nasrid buildings and constructions of Christian tradition coexist harmoniously. Much of its significance lies in the medieval town plan with its narrow streets and small squares and in the relatively modest houses in Moorish and Andalusian style that line them.

Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady in Baeza on Plaza de Santa Maria
The site, like the land, alternated between mosque and church during 12th and 13th centuries. The apse still maintains Gothic tracery, but in the 16th-century a major reconstruction by Andres de Valdelvira in Renaissance-style created the present church.

Old University in Baeza at Calle Conde Romanones, 1
This monument dates from the late 16th century. The most important part of the building is its courtyard.

Holy Chapel of the Saviour in Ubeda on Plaza Vazquez de Molina
The chapel is an excellent example of the plateresque style and is the most beautiful private religious building of the Spanish Renaissance.

Vazquez de Molina Palace in Ubeda on Plaza Vazquez de Molina
It is considered to be one of the best examples of the Renaissance architecture in Spain.

Aragon community [capital = Zaragoza]

Church tower of Salvador in Teruel at Calle el Salvador, 7
Its more elaborate decoration and details, together with a more evolved structure than that of San Martin Tower, which it imitates, leads us to regard it as the more recent of the two (that is to say, after 1315-1316).

Tower and church of San Pedro in Teruel at Calle Hartzembusch, 7
It is a 14th-century Mudejar style construction. The tower is in brick set with ceramic tiles. The outside of the church is also decorated with tiles, with a polygonal apse reinforced with tower structures. The interior comprises a single nave with ogive vaulted ceiling and side chapels. The church's main altarpiece is in Renaissance style.

Cathedral of Santa Maria de Mediavilla in Teruel at Plaza de la Catedral, 3
The Cathedral of Teruel has its origins in the church of Santa Maria de Mediavilla, upon which work started in Romanesque style in 1171 and ended with the erection of the Mudejar tower in 1257. In the second half of the 13th century, the Morisco alarife Juzaff restructured the old Romanesque work and endowed the building with three Mudejar naves of masonry and brick.

Church tower of San Martin in Teruel at Calle San Martin, 1
Like other structures in Teruel, it is a gate-tower decorated with ceramic glaze. The road passes through an ogival arch.

Parish-Collegiate Church of Santa Maria in Calatayud at Calle Sta. Maria, 5
Of the original Mudejar construction, the church retains the cloister, tower and apse.

Santa Tecla Church in Cervera de la Canada at Calle Barrio Nuevo, 22
This church-fortress is the work of the master builder Mahoma Rami, and adjoins the tower of a previous castle standing on the site.

Church of the Virgin in Tobed at Plaza la Virgen, 16
Nearly all the characteristic Aragonese mudéjar elements, both structural and decorative, can be found in this church at Tobed. These include the typology of the fortress-church, exteriors profusely decorated with geometric brick patterns and ceramics, bell-towers that in size and shape recall Hispano-Islamic minarets, extensive interior painted wall decorations and stuccowork in oculi and windows, and a magnificent painted ceiling on the underside of the choir loft at the foot of the building, not to mention the little peculiar and odd element of the carillon on the north wall.

Cathedral of the Saviour in Zaragoza at Plaza de la Seo, 4
La Seo was built on the site of the ancient Roman forum of Augustus and of the main mosque of the Moorish city of Saraqusta, elements of whose minaret form part of the current tower. The construction began in the 12th century in the Romanesque style, and underwent many alterations and expansions until 1704, when the Baroque spire completed the tower.

Parish Church of San Pablo in Zaragoza at Calle San Pablo, 42
The original 14th-century edifice had a single nave with four bays with vaults and flying buttresses, with chapels, ending with a transept and a pentagonal apse. In 1343 a Mudejar tower was added, originally near the entrance, but now enclosed in the main body of the building. In the 15th century, two aisles were built. Later, until the 18th century, several chapels were opened on the right side, the front and the back of the church.

Aljaferia Palace in Zaragoza on Calle de los Diputados
The structure holds unique importance in that it is the only conserved testimony of a large building of Spanish Islamic architecture of the era of the Taifas (independent kingdoms). So, a magnificent example of the Caliphate of Cordoba, its Mosque (10th century), and the Alhambra of Granada in Al-Andalus must be included in the triad of the Hispano-Muslim architecture the Aljaferia of Zaragoza (11th century) as an example of the realizations of the taifa art, in the intermediate time of independent kingdoms previous to the arrival of the Almoravides.

Lost mount in Torla + Broto + Fanlo + Puertolas + Tella-Sin + Bielsa @
The model of the habitat of the Pyrenees – Mont Perdu with its villages, fields and meadows, as the basis of a seasonal migration of men and animals to the high pastures during the summer season, is an outstanding example of a type of transhumance that was once widespread in the mountainous regions of Europe, but which today is rare.

Asturias community [capital = Oviedo]

Primitive Way of St. James from Grandas de Salime till Villaviciosa
Some pilgrims who were following the Northern Way along the coast from the Basque Country, close to France, decide to divert their way towards the Primitive Way in the town of Villaviciosa.

Monastery of San Salvador de Cornellana in Salas at Calle Calles Nuevas, 7
The Monastery of San Salvador was founded in 1024 by Infanta Cristina, daughter of King Bermudo II and Queen Velasquita, who retired to this convent after the death of her husband, Ordoño. On the death of the Infanta, her descendants gave the monastery to the monks of Cluny in 1122 so that they could establish a Benedictine monastery here.

Cave of La Pena de Candamo in San Roman at Carretera de Grullos a Penaullan, Km 4
It opens at the base of a limestone hill and consists of a small gallery that leads into a large room, completing about 70 meters in length. The artistic space (part of the Graecian and reaches the end of Magdalenian) is located in the Hall of the Engravings, with six panels.

Monuments in Oviedo see detail
In the 9th century the flame of Christianity was kept alive in the Iberian peninsula in the tiny Kingdom of the Asturias. Here an innovative pre-Romanesque architectural style was created that was to play a significant role in the development of the religious architecture of the peninsula. Its highest achievements can be seen in the churches of Santa Maria del Naranco, San Miguel de Lillo, Santa Cristina de Lena, the Camara Santa and San Julian de los Prados, in and around the ancient capital city of Oviedo. Associated with them is the remarkable contemporary hydraulic engineering structure known as La Foncalada.

Church of San Salvador de Valdedios in Villaviciosa at Valle de Boides
The church stands in the Boides valley (Villaviciosa), the place where Alfonso III of Asturias was detained when he was dispossessed by his sons, and where there used to be an old convent governed by the Benedictine Order, substituted in the 13th century by the Cistercians.

Cave of Covaciella in Cabrales
Discovered by chance in 1994, it contains the best conserved representation of bison anywhere in Asturias, due to the fact that the cave was sealed up for thousands of years. Its 40-metre gallery has paintings dating back more than 14,000 years.

Paleolithic Cave Art in Llonin
After a small vestibule, the cave forks into two parts: the right-hand one leads to a narrow gallery ending above the principal panel and the left-hand one enters a large, fairly high chamber with an enormous debris cone.

Northern Way to Santiago from Cave Pindal to Castropol
Many stretches of the camino are next to the sea and you will have the occasion to dip into the sea in the summer months in some unspoilt beaches.

Cave Pindal in Pimiango at Caserio San Emeterio, 2
It is 300 metres long and has Palaeolithic cave paintings on one of its walls. It is in a stunning location with cliffs running down to the sea. Inside is one of the most beautiful examples of Palaeolithic art to be found in the region, with a duo comprising a horse and bison as the main motif. It has images of a fish and a mammoth, representations that are infrequent in the Palaeolithic art of the Cantabrian coast, which makes them particularly interesting. From the technical point of view, the engraving work mixes together shades of red and black.

Rock Art Center of Tito Bustillo in Ribadesella on Avda. de Tito Bustillo
The cave was inhabited by humans (cro-magnon) before the year 10,000 BC. Due to the collapse of the rock, the original entrance to the cave was sealed thousands of years ago, which made it possible for preservation of objects, tools and wall paintings that were discovered in 1968. Based on those objects found in the cave, it is known that there was a significant human presence during the Magdalenian culture of the Upper Palaeolithic, but the cave was probably inhabited before that time.

Church of Santa Maria in Soto de Luina
The tower is completed with a stone cornice and feline gargoyles. The Baroque altarpieces date from the 18th century.

Cantabria community [capital = Santander]

Northern Way to Santiago from Castro Urdiales to San Vicente de la Barquera
The Camino del Norte enters Cantabria at Castro Urdiales on the border, and winds along the coast through a variety of villages to Santander. The Cantabrian capital, with it's huge natural harbour, is a pretty town with a sweeping seafront and lively culture. From here, the path heads west through picturesque villages like Santillana de Mar and Comillas, to reach the border with Asturias.

Church of Santa Maria Assunta in Castro Urdiales on Calle Sta. Maria
The exterior of this Cantabrian church, with its flying buttresses and pinnacles, closely resembles the classic French Gothic style.

Covalanas Cave in Ramales de la Victoria at Barrio el Mazo, 27
The gallery on the right houses the graphic cave wall expressions. After two small series of dots, 65 meters from the entrance, the first animal forms appear. Moving on from this spot, the red figures are depicted to the right and left along the main gallery and inside a small bypass. Eighteen hind in all, a stag, a horse, an auroch, a possible hybrid type figure and three rectangular signs, apart from small dots and lines are arranged on friezes.

Cave of the Garma in Ribamontan al Monte at Omono, 27
In the upper hall there are human burial sites, while on the intermediate level there are a large number of palaeontological remains, mainly bones. However, the most important remains are on the lower level, where you can see three, intact areas with many examples of painted art. Special mention should be made of a highly realistic black horse, and of a host of symbols painted in red. Close by there are also representations of goats, bison and panels with hands.

El Pendo Cave in Escobedo at Barrio el Churi
It contains a major ensemble of ornamental items associated with early occupation by Homo sapiens. Furthermore, its "Frieze of Paintings" is outstanding. It is a panel measuring 25 metres in length visible from any point in the main hall, containing some twenty figures painted in red. It shows 12 deer, a goat, a horse and various other symbols, all drawn using the contour technique.

Monte Castillo in Puente Viesgo on Carretera de las Cuevas
The El Castillo cave contains decorations in red ochre in the forms of hand stencils dated to about 35,000. One red disk in El Castillo has been dated to before 40,000 years ago in a 2012 study, making it the oldest known dated cave decoration.

Cave Hornos de la Pena in San Felices de Buelna at Lugar Barrio Jain, 543
The truly underground or interior area, accessed by a low-lying, narrow passage that opens out into different sectors of medium proportions, houses the greatest artistic treasure. Hornos de la Peña displays one of the most complete series of engravings in the Cantabrian region.

Collegiate church of Santa Juliana in Santillana del Mar on Plaza del Abad Francisco Navarro
Over the course of the 11th century it was transformed into a collegiate church, although the building visible today dates from the 12th century.

Paleolithic Cave Art in Altamira on Avenida Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola
It is renowned for prehistoric parietal cave art featuring charcoal drawings and polychrome paintings of contemporary local fauna and human hands.

la Liebana way to Santiago from San Vicente de la Barquera to Monastery of Santo Toribio de Liebana
The 72km Camino Lebaniego, which begins at the fishing port of San Vicente de la Barquera and ends at the monastery of Santo Toribio de Liebana, just beyond Potes, is one of northern Spain's lesser-known pilgrimage routes. It's also the most picturesque.

Chufin Cave in Riclones at Diseminado Celis, 134
The cave, small size, has some deep sentillez subtle engravings and paintings from red deer, goats and cattle that are represented very schematically.

Monastery of Santo Toribio de Liebana in Camaleno on Avenida Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola
The most important building is the gothic church, whose construction began in 1256, though it has been remodeled several times since. It is built on the site of a pre-Romanesque and a Romanesque building (perhaps Asturian or Mozarabic in style). It has the clarity of line and space, and the surrounding decoration that characterises the architecture of San Bernardo. the church is rectangular in plan with three aisles, a tower at the foot of the central, widest aisle, and three polygonal apses. Its facade is similar to that of the Abbey of the Holy Bodies, the cathedral of Santander. Its doors in the southern wall are Romanesque in style and possibly predate the building inside. The principal door, the Puerta del Perdon (Door of Forgiveness) is only ever opened during each Jubilee Year when Saint Turibius' day coincides with a Sunday.

Castilla la Mancha community [capital = Toledo]

Hayedo De La Tejera Negra Natural Park in Cantalojas @
Ancient and Primeval Beech Forest.

Historic Walled Town of Cuenca see detail
Built by the Moors in a defensive position at the heart of the Caliphate of Cordoba, Cuenca is an unusually well-preserved medieval fortified city. Conquered by the Castilians in the 12th century, it became a royal town and bishopric endowed with important buildings, such as Spain's first Gothic cathedral, and the famous casas colgadas (hanging houses), suspended from sheer cliffs overlooking the Huecar river.

Historic City of Toledo see detail
Successively a Roman municipium, the capital of the Visigothic Kingdom, a fortress of the Emirate of Cordoba, an outpost of the Christian kingdoms fighting the Moors and, in the 16th century, the temporary seat of supreme power under Charles V, Toledo is the repository of more than 2,000 years of history. Its masterpieces are the product of heterogeneous civilizations in an environment where the existence of three major religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – was a major factor.

Old Town of Almaden at Calle Subida al Castillo Nte., 10
The castle (as is the case with most castles) was built on the highest part of the village and lets you enjoy gorgeous sunsets over the hills that cast a golden light on the weather-worn red tile roofs of the homes in Almadén's historic district.

Castle Mine in Almaden on Calle Bajada al Pozuelo
Mercury, the living silver of the Romans, is shown at the park in all of its aspects: the extraction of its mineral, cinnabar, mercury sulphur, its transformation in the metallurgical furnaces, its physical and chemical properties, its uses, and of course, its eternal history.

Royal Forced Labour Prison in Almaden at 1, Plaza Manuel Meca
Nowadays, only the basement of the building, which have been recovered and integrated into the building of the Mining and Industrial Engineering School of Almaden (EIMIA) are partially preserved. The archaeological site consists of a central aisle with cells on the sides, being the walls preserved to a height of two meters.

San Rafael Royal Mining Hospital in Almaden at Calle Hospital, 1
The hospital, ahead of its time, was able to efficiently treat hydrargyrism (acute poisoning) and fidgeting (a neurological syndrome), both illnesses were brought on by prolonged exposure mercury. It had a sauna and a beach. An entertaining first look at the customs and daily life of the miners and their families. A look at the prison cells where the detainees that worked in the mine lived.

Bullring in Almaden at Plaza Toros, 1
A very special enclosure due to its hexagonal shape formed by houses.

Castilla y Leon community [capital = Valladolid]

Archaeological Site of Atapuerca in Ibeas de Juarros at Ctra. Logrono km 97
The deposits of the property are dated from the Pleistocene with the deposits of the Trinchera del Ferrocarril, (Gran Dolina, Galeria-Tres Simas, Sima del Elefante) and the Cueva Mayor (Sima de los Huesos), and from the Holocene period (El Portalon de Cueva Mayor, Galeria del Silex, Cueva del Silo, Cueva del Mirador). There are also archaeological sites of other periods from Prehistoric Times (Paleolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age) to the Middle Ages and later.

Cathedral in Burgos on Plaza Sta. Maria
It is a comprehensive example of the evolution of Gothic style, with the entire history of Gothic art exhibited in its superb architecture and unique collection of art, including paintings, choir stalls, reredos, tombs, and stained-glass windows.

Picos de Europa National Park in Soto de Sajambre at Refugio de Montana Vegabano
Beech forests of Castilla y Leon: the beech forests of Cuesta Fria and Canal de Asotin are in Leon's share of the Picos de Europa National Park. The park hiking route “Through the villages of Sajambre” covers the beech forest area and is an easy walk.

Hayedos de Picos de Europa - Canal de Asotin in Posada de Valdeon at Cubiello
See above.

Roman gold mining in Las Medulas + La Balouta + Yeres + Valdebria @
In the 1st century A.D. the Roman Imperial authorities began to exploit the gold deposits of this region in north-west Spain, using a technique based on hydraulic power. After two centuries of working the deposits, the Romans withdrew, leaving a devastated landscape. Since there was no subsequent industrial activity, the dramatic traces of this remarkable ancient technology are visible everywhere as sheer faces in the mountainsides and the vast areas of tailings, now used for agriculture.

Siega Verde Archaeological area in Villar de la Yegua on SA-V-200
The engravings date to the Gravettian culture of the Upper Palaeolithic (circa 20,000 years ago). There are also more recent, anthropomorphic representations, dating to the Magdalenian age (c. 9,000 years ago). There is a total of 91 panels, spanning some 1 kilometers of rock.

Old City of Salamanca see detail
The city's historic centre has important Romanesque, Gothic, Moorish, Renaissance and Baroque monuments. The Plaza Mayor, with its galleries and arcades, is particularly impressive.

Old Town of Avila see detail
Founded in the 11th century to protect the Spanish territories from the Moors, this 'City of Saints and Stones', the birthplace of St Teresa and the burial place of the Grand Inquisitor Torquemada, has kept its medieval austerity. This purity of form can still be seen in the Gothic cathedral and the fortifications which, with their 82 semicircular towers and nine gates, are the most complete in Spain.

Old City of Segovia see detail
Moors, Christians, and Jews coexisted for a long period of time in the medieval city and worked together during the 16th century manufacturing boom. The evidence of this cultural process can be seen in the large number of outstanding monuments in the city, among which, the Roman Aqueduct stands out. Other important monuments can be found in the property: the Alcazar, begun around the 11th century; several Romanesque churches; noble palaces from 15th and 16th centuries; the 16th-century Gothic cathedral, the last to be built in Spain in this style; and the Segovia Mint, the oldest industrial building still existing in Spain.

Cataluna community [capital = Barcelona]

City of Barcelona see detail
Barcelona is certainly the European city where art-nouveau architecture has the greatest presence in the physiognomy and personality of the city.

Archaeological Ensemble of Tarragona see detail
Tarraco was endowed with many fine buildings, and archaeological excavations have revealed parts of the Roman settlement from the foundation of the city in the Republican period (3rd century BCE) to the Early Christian Era.

Monastery of St Mary in Poblet at Plaza Corona de Aragon, 11
This Cistercian abbey in Catalonia is one of the largest in Spain. At its centre is a 12th-century church. The austere, majestic monastery, which has a fortified royal residence and contains the pantheon of the kings of Catalonia and Aragon, is an impressive sight.

St Mary of the Assumption Church in Coll at Plaza Major ag Coll, 6
Its nave, which is not flanked with aisles, is covered with barrel vaulting reinforced by two arches supported by columns without capitals. At the eastern end, there is a semi-circular apse. A quadrangular bell tower with a steeple stands against the south fassade.

Church of Santa Maria in Cardet @
The Romanesque churches and the villages where they stand form an excellent example of a cultural landscape that has flourished in harmony with a natural environment that has remained intact to this day.

Sant Feliu Church in Barruera at Carrer Esglesia, 1
The church has a unique nave, covering a barrel vault with a semi-circular apse in the east. The nave is divided into three bays. The choir is marked by its triumphal arc. It is illuminated by three straight bays. In the north, we find a lateral chapel with a semi-circuar apse doubling the principal apse. Outside the church, the principal apse is decorated with blind arcades and Lombard bands, while the lateral chapel is devoid of any such characteristics.

Church of the Nativity in Durro at Carretera Fornet Durro, 3
The size of this church is testimony to the importance of the village of Durro in the Middle Ages. Particularly of note are the large dimensions of the nave, the bell-tower, carved portal and porch.

Hermitage of Sant Quirc in Durro on Carr. Sant Quirc-durro
The twelfth-century chapel has a single nave and apse with a stone belfry; in its interior was originally decorated by a polychrome Romanesque altar depicting Saint Quirce and Saint Julita, now kept in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya.

Church of Saint Eulalia in Erill la Vall at Plaza de Baix-erill, 3
The most remarkable legacy in Catalonia, the church of Santa Eulàlia, in Erill la Vall, was built in the Lombard-Romanesque style, dates from the 12th century.

Church of Saint Joan in Boi at esglesia parroquial romanica del poble de Boi
The significant developments in Romanesque art and architecture in the churches of the Vall de Boi testify to profound cultural interchange across medieval Europe and in particular across the mountain barrier of the Pyrenees.

Church of Saint Clement in Taull on Plaza del Poble
It is a form of Romanesque architecture that contains magnificent Romanesque art. Other influences include the Lombard and Byzantine styles, which can be seen throughout the exterior and interior of the building.

Church of Saint Mary in Taull at Plaza Sta Maria-taull, 1
The date of construction of Santa Maria is believed to be in 11th century.

Extremadura community [capital = Merida]

Archaeological Ensemble in Merida see detail
The well-preserved remains of the old city include, in particular, a large bridge over the Guadiana, an amphitheatre, a theatre, a vast circus and an exceptional water-supply system.

Old Town of Caceres see detail
Since prehistoric times, people from different cultures have gathered in Caceres and have shaped its strong historical roots. Pre-Roman settlements occupied the original plot followed by the Roman, Arab, Jewish and Christian people.

Royal Monastery of Santa Maria in Guadalupe on Plaza Sta
The monastery is an outstanding repository of four centuries of Spanish religious architecture. It symbolizes two significant events in world history that occurred in 1492: the Reconquest of the Iberian peninsula by the Catholic Kings and Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Americas. Its famous statue of the Virgin became a powerful symbol of the Christianization of much of the New World.

Galicia community [capital = Santiago de Compostela]

Northern Coastal Route to Santiago from Ribadeo to Santiago de Compostela
Compared to the more popular Camino Frances, the Camino del Norte is more scenic and the pilgrim has a more solitary experience here. In terms of facilities, there are less albergues here, especially in the first half of the journey but things improve once one reaches Asturias and especially Galicia.

Cathedral in Mondonedo on Praza da Catedral
It is of Romanesque and Gothic styles. Most of it built between 1219-1243. In the 18th century the facade was remodeled and the towers were added.

Tower of Hercules in A Coruna on Av. Navarra
The Tower of Hercules has served as a lighthouse and landmark at the entrance of La Coruña harbour in north-western Spain since the late 1st century A.D. when the Romans built the Farum Brigantium. The Tower, built on a 57 metre high rock, rises a further 55 metres, of which 34 metres correspond to the Roman masonry and 21 meters to the restoration directed by architect Eustaquio Giannini in the 18th century, who augmented the Roman core with two octagonal forms. Immediately adjacent to the base of the Tower, is a small rectangular Roman building. The site also features a sculpture park, the Monte dos Bicos rock carvings from the Iron Age and a Muslim cemetery.

Monastery in Sobrado dos Monxes on Praza Portal
The present abbey church, now roofed with a number of domes and cupolas, was built at the end of the 17th century, although the Magdalene Chapel (Capela da Madalena or Capilla de la Magdalena) dates from the 14th century. The sacristy was built by Juan de Herrera. The monastery has three cloisters. The kitchen and the chapter house remain of the medieval monastic buildings.

Old Town of Santiago de Compostela see detail
The Old Town of Santiago de Compostela, together with the outlying Santa Maria de Conxo Monastery, constitutes an extraordinary ensemble of distinguished monuments. The squares and narrow streets of the Old Town contain Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Neoclassicist buildings.

Primitive Way of St. James from Santiago de Compostela to A Fonsagrada
The Primitive Way was the path most commonly followed by the people of Asturias and Galicia during the 9th century and a good part of the 10th. It also attracted pilgrims from other parts of northern Spain and Europe.

Roman Walls in Lugo @
The walls of Lugo were built in the later part of the 3rd century to defend the Roman town of Lucus. The entire click to view the details of this site survives intact and is the finest example of late Roman fortifications in western Europe.

Cathedral in Lugo at Praza Santa Maria, 1
This Romanesque structure was completed in 1273.

Islas Baleares community [capital = Palma de Mallorca]

Biodiversity and Culture in Ibiza see detail
The archaeological sites at Sa Caleta (settlement) and Puig des Molins (necropolis) testify to the important role played by the island in the Mediterranean economy in protohistory, particularly during the Phoenician-Carthaginian period. The fortified Upper Town (Alta Vila) is an outstanding example of Renaissance military architecture; it had a profound influence on the development of fortifications in the Spanish settlements of the New World.

Cultural Landscape in Serra de Tramuntana at Calvia + Andratx + Banyalbufar + Deia + Escorca + Pollenca
Millennia of agriculture in an environment with scarce resources has transformed the terrain and displays an articulated network of devices for the management of water revolving around farming units of feudal origins. The landscape is marked by agricultural terraces and inter-connected water works - including water mills - as well as dry stone constructions and farms.

Prehistoric Sites of Talayotic on Menorca near Ciudadela (N39 56 21 E3 53 29 + N39 59 51 E03 54 32) + Ferrerías (N39 57 25 E4 0 25) + Alayor (N39 55 26 E4 3 23 + N39 53 6 E4 6 45 + N39 53 29 E4 9 44) + Mahon (N39 52 52 E4 12 58 + N39 52 26 E4 15 58 + N39 57 19 E4 15 13)
A testimony to the occupation of the island by prehistoric communities, these sites display a diversity of prehistoric settlements and burial places. The materials, forms and locations of structures dating from the Bronze Age (1600 BCE) to the Late Iron Age (123 BCE) show the evolution of a “cyclopean” architecture built with very large blocks of stone.

Islas Canarias community [capital = Las Palmas de Gran Canaria]

Sacred Mountains of Gran Canaria in Artenara, Las Palmas at Fallen archaeological site Risco
Located in a vast mountainous area in the centre of Gran Canaria, Risco Caido comprises cliffs, ravines and volcanic formations in a landscape of rich biodiversity. The landscape includes a large number of troglodyte settlements — habitats, granaries and cisterns — whose age is proof of the presence of a pre-Hispanic culture on the island, which has evolved in isolation, from the arrival of North African Berbers, around the beginning of our era, until the first Spanish settlers in the 15th century. The troglodyte complex also includes cult cavities and two sacred temples, or almogarenes — Risco Caido and Roque Bentayga — where seasonal ceremonies were held.

San Cristobal de La Laguna in Santa Cruz de Tenerife
The Canary Islands were a forerunner of America, playing the role of a giver and receiver, and being a melting pot of cultures, which resulted in an indubitable fusion of the contribution of the pre-conquest indigenous people (in ethnographic features and traditional culture) and those from Portuguese, Castilian, and Mudejar architecture and town-planning.

Teide National Park in La Orotava, Santa Cruz de Tenerife at C/ Doctor Sixto Perera González, nº 25
Situated on the island of Tenerife, Teide National Park features the Teide-Pico Viejo stratovolcano that, at 3,718 m, is the highest peak on Spanish soil. Rising 7,500 m above the ocean floor, it is regarded as the world's third-tallest volcanic structure and stands in a spectacular environment. The visual impact of the site is all the greater due to atmospheric conditions that create constantly changing textures and tones in the landscape and a ‘sea of clouds' that forms a visually impressive backdrop to the mountain.

Garajonay National Park in La Gomera on cv5, La Palmita, Agulo
The forest is geographically unique, as remnants of this type of vegetation are only found in the Macaronesian Islands (the Canaries, Madeira and the Azores). This insular laurisilva is characterised by the evolution of a large number of endemic species of fauna and flora, which in some cases are threatened.

La Rioja community [capital = Logrono]

Interior way to Santiago from Brinas to Santo Domingo de la Calzada
Constantly evolving, this serial property includes a magnificent ensemble of built heritage of historical importance created to fill the needs of pilgrims, including churches, hospitals, hostels, monasteries, calvaries, bridges, and other structures, many of which testify to the artistic and architectural evolution that occurred between the Romanesque and Baroque periods. Outstanding natural landscapes as well as a rich intangible cultural heritage also survive to the present day.

Puente De Brinas in Haro at N-124, 44
The Route of Santiago de Compostela has preserved the most complete material registry of all Christian pilgrimage routes, featuring ecclesiastical and secular buildings, large and small enclaves, and civil engineering structures.

Yuso and Suso Monasteries in San Millan de la Cogolla on Calle Prestino
The monastic community founded by St Millan in the mid-6th century became a place of pilgrimage. A fine Romanesque church built in honour of the holy man still stands at the site of Suso. It was here that the first literature was produced in Castilian, from which one of the most widely spoken languages in the world today is derived. In the early 16th century the community was housed in the fine new monastery of Yuso, below the older complex; it is still a thriving community today.

Madrid community [capital = Madrid]

Cultural Landscape in Aranjuez at Palacio Real
The Aranjuez cultural landscape is an entity of complex relationships: between nature and human activity, between sinuous watercourses and geometric landscape design, between the rural and the urban, between forest landscape and the delicately modulated architecture of its palatial buildings.

University in Alcala de Henares on Plaza de San Diego
Founded by Cardinal Jimenez de Cisneros in the early 16th century, Alcala de Henares was the world's first planned university city. It was the original model for the Civitas Dei (City of God), the ideal urban community which Spanish missionaries brought to the Americas.

Landscape of Arts and Sciences in Madrid on Paseo del Prado
The avenue features major fountains, notably the Fuente de Cibeles and the Fuente de Neptuno, and the Plaza de Cibeles, an iconic symbol of the city, surrounded by prestigious buildings. The site embodies a new idea of urban space and development from the enlightened absolutist period of the 18th century. Buildings dedicated to the arts and sciences join others in the site that are devoted to industry, healthcare and research. Collectively, they illustrate the aspiration for a utopian society during the height of the Spanish Empire. The 120-hectare Jardines del Buen Retiro (Garden of Pleasant Retreat), a remnant of the 17th-century Buen Retiro Palace, constitutes the largest part of the property displaying different gardening styles from the 19th century to the present. The site also houses the terraced Royal Botanical Garden and the largely residential neighbourhood of Barrio Jerónimos with its rich variety of 19th- and 20th-century buildings that include cultural venues.

Palace, monastery, subsidiary buildings and gardens in San Lorenzo de El Escorial on Av Juan de Borbon y Battemberg
Built at the end of the 16th century, the Escurial Monastery stands in an exceptionally beautiful site at the foothills of the Sierra de Guadarrama, north of Madrid. It was the retreat of a mystic king, Philip II, and became in the last years of 'his reign the centre of the greatest political power of the time.

Casita del Infante in San Lorenzo de El Escorial on Carr. de Robledo
The Casita del Infante is a historic building in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain, constructed as a private home for the Infante Gabriel of Spain, hence its name.

Hayedo de Montejo in Montejo de la Sierra on Calle la Castilla
Ancient and Primeval Beech Forest.

Navarra community [capital = Pamplona]

Hayedos de Navarra in Lizardoia
See above.

Hayedos de Navarra in Aztaparreta
See above.

Pais Vasco community [capital = Vitoria]

Northern Way to Santiago from Muskiz to Irun
In the Basque Country, the Camino de Santiago begins in Irún and follows the coast all the way to the Cantabrian border. Along the way, it passes through pretty coastal towns like Hondarribia, Pasai Donibane and Pasai San Pedro, as well as the larger cities of the San Sebastian, with it's picturesque old town, and trendy Bilbao.

Vizcaya Bridge in Getxo at Maria Diaz de Haro Kalea
The 45-m-high bridge with its span of 160 m, merges 19th-century ironworking traditions with the then new lightweight technology of twisted steel ropes. It was the first bridge in the world to carry people and traffic on a high suspended gondola and was used as a model for many similar bridges in Europe, Africa and the America only a few of which survive. With its innovative use of lightweight twisted steel cables, it is regarded as one of the outstanding architectural iron constructions of the Industrial Revolution.

St. James' Cathedral in Bilbao at Plaza de Santiago, 1
Architecturally, the present building is a mixture of styles: from the 15th century Gothic of the cloister and the main vault, where of special interest are the cloister and the beautiful portal that gives access Correo street (Puerta del Angel), to the ostentatious Gothic Revival fassade and spire.

Santimamine Cave in Kortezubi at Basondo Auzoa, 17
The paintings depict several animals such as horses, goats, deer or dun bears. Santimamiñe features big geological beauty, with lots of stalactites and stalagmites that sometimes unite forming magnificent columns all through the cave's itinerary. On the other hand, there are concretion layers on the walls that form fine calcic carbonate-curtains, sometimes white and sometimes red due to the amounts of iron oxide found in the waters.

Collegiate Church of Cenarruza in Ziortza-Bolibar at Lugar Barrio Goierria-Ziortza, 11
The church, originally built in the 14th century but continually rebuilt until it obtained, in the 15th century, the Gothic style it currently has. In its interior there is a magnificent organ, one of the most ancient in Biscay, and a large group of sculptures. The portico has curious carvings in its beams, and the front door has a group of sculptures representing Jesus Christ and two musician angels.

Ekainberri Cave in Zestoa at Portale Kalea, 1
Ekain is an exceptional work of cave art from the Paleolithic period. These artistic manifestations of Paleolithic hunter-gatherers appear as a worldwide phenomenon. However, the works found in this European Cantabrian cornice, known as Franco-Cantabrian rock art, have been the most fruitful.

Cave of Altxerri in Aia at Laurgain Auzoa Barreiatua, 17
The engravings are well conserved. The paintings, however, have deteriorated on account of the damp. This is why this cave is closed to the public.

Interior way to Santiago in Irun - Salinillas de Buradon
The route was used in pre Roman times as the main route between France and the plains of Alava. It was the Romans who improved it by constructing a roadway up to and beyond what is now called the Tunnel of St Adrian, high up in the Sierra de Urquilla, to facilitate the passage of merchandise through the Sierra. Vestiges of this roadway can still be seen.

Saint Adrian Tunnel in Araia 01250 at Asparrena
The San Adrian tunnel or Lizarrate represents the most outstanding milestone in the historic inland Basque route of the Way of St. James. It consists of a natural cave carved by water erosion in the rock (called Lizarrate, arguably stemming from "leize arrate", 'the stone gate of the cave') with an opening on either side north and south; it also holds an hermitage inside.

Santa Maria cathedral in Vitoria-Gasteiz on Santa Maria Plaza
The Cathedral of Santa Maria rises majestically in the city's old part. It was built in the late 13th century and all throughout the 14th century. Of Gothic style, it was conceived as a church-fortress, with great volume and enclosed appearance, being part of the city's defences.

Valencia community [capital = Valencia]

The Silk Exchange in Valencia at Carrer de la Llotja, 2
Built between 1482 and 1533, this group of buildings was originally used for trading in silk (hence its name, the Silk Exchange) and it has always been a centre for commerce. It is a masterpiece of late Gothic architecture. The grandiose Sala de Contratacion (Contract or Trading Hall), in particular, illustrates the power and wealth of a major Mediterranean mercantile city in the 15th and 16th centuries.

The palm grove in Elche at Passeig de l'Estacio
Currently, in the urban area of Elche there are a total of 97 different orchards containing about 70,000 date palms, mostly in the east bank of the Vinalopo. This number does not include other large plantations located around the city proper. All together, the number may be close to 200,000 palms.