Spring break in Spain

[The Patriot]

Spring break in Spain

02-24-2012 05:30 AM

Published:
Fri, 2012-02-24 13:27


Spring break in Spain


Heather Joy


feature_story_photo:
The titanium sheet-covered Bilbao Guggenheim Museum, Spain. Photo courtesy of www.guggenheim-bilbao.es






Spring break in Spain

Heather Joy
Spend Spring break exploring two of Spain’s northern cities that offer tourists fun in the sun, museums and more.
Start on the coast in Santander at the Maritime Museum of Cantabria housing an aquarium, a vast whale skeleton, and various exhibits and displays on shipbuilding, sea voyages and cartography. After exploring the museum, step out onto one of the 11 beaches in Santander to enjoy a stroll or participate in one of the many water sports offered throughout the year, from snorkeling to sailing.
Next visit the Municipal Museum of Fine Arts, with works by Flemish, Spanish and Italian artists. In the same building is the Biblioteca y Casa-Museo de Menendez Pelayo, a 50,000-volume library amassed by Spanish scholar and literary critic Marcelino Menendez Pelayo.
From there you can walk to the cathedral, restored to its original 12th-century style after a damaging fire in 1941. Under the cathedral is the Church of Santìsimo Cristo, the oldest preserved building in Santander. Archaeological excavations show evidence of Roman occupation and of an early abbey. Glass flooring enables visitors to see through to the older structures underneath the existing building.
The municipal park, Parque de Matalenas, has woodland and meadow areas for walks, a public golf course and a zoo complete with kangaroos, deer and a sparkling lake.
From here travel along the coast to Bilbao and start your exploration at the titanium sheet-covered Bilbao Guggenheim Museum, which opened in 1997. In addition to its private collection, it shares with New York and Venice part of the world’s largest private collection of modern and contemporary art. While visitors are welcome to explore the museum on their own, guided tours are offered four times a day.
Art lovers also will enjoy the Museum of Fine Arts, with a great gallery that holds more than 6,000 works, including sculptures, paintings, drawings and engravings. The art-through-the-centuries collection is presented in chronological order, starting from the 12th century.
Another museum worth a visit is the Estuary of Bilbao Maritime Museum. Exhibits include Bilbao shipping company boats, models of locally built vessels and an impressive collection of watercolor paintings.
Located in Bilbao’s old quarter is the Museum of Basque Archaeology, Ethnography and History. Visitors can learn about the sea, fishing, the weapons industry, and local traditional crafts and trades.
While in the old quarter, go to one of the many bars and taverns to enjoy pintxos, a local appetizer, and wine before sitting down to a delicious local-specialty cod dish.
A must-see in the city is the Gothic Santiago Cathedral, the oldest building in Bilbao dating to the 14th century. Visitors can walk around the cathedral’s three naves, covered with ribbed vaults, and discover the ornately-styled Gothic choir stalls and cloister. The Basque Country travel guide singles out the cathedral’s stained-glass windows and Renaissance and Neoclassical doorways.








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