About Spain and the Area

DATES: Courses start the first Monday of each month; other dates on request.  ** In Mallorca, add $50 per week
*2008 Natl Holidays (no class): Mar 21 & 24, May 1 & 18, Jun 19, Jul 18, Aug 25, Oct 12, Nov 2, Dec 20 - Jan 4, 2009
(There are also City and Regional holidays - request a list after you have selected your study city.)

Alicante

Alicante pearl of the Mediterranean, enjoys a wonderful climate year round with splendid beaches that earn the Blue Flag Awards from the EU every year. The Postiguet beach is in the very town centre. The area, inhabited well before the Romans, is of vital importance in the modern economy of Spain, and famous leisure destinations are not far. Because of it's significance and location, the Alicante International Airport has excellent links with many European cities. With 500,000 inhabitants, Alicante offers the advantage of a medium-sized city with a cultural life, a young and dynamic university and a booming economy with century-old traditions like the San Juan Festivities or the "Moors and Christians" celebrations, a revival of the Reconquista battles. The vast majority of people speak Spanish with no regional accent unlike Barcelona where Catalan becomes dominant.

Barcelona

Barcelona is one of the most beautiful and exciting cities in the world. It has a huge number of attractions including a city centre which retains its medieval street plan; some stunning modernist architecture including several buildings by Gaudi - Spain's most famous architect; dozens of museums including one dedicated to Picasso, another to Miro and yet another to Barcelona's world famous football club. There are two major arts festivals during the year, one in the summer and one in the autumn, and there are concerts and shows of different kinds happening all the time. Barcelona is almost as lively at night as it is during the day and it has a unique, exciting atmosphere, which provides the visitor with a truly unforgettable experience.

The city enjoys an almost perfect climate making it an ideal place to be at any time of the year. It even has its own sandy beaches, which are less than 15 minutes away from the school. The city's geographical position also makes it the easiest Spanish city to reach from the rest of Europe and there are direct flights from most cities in the world to its prize-winning international airport.

Madrid

The lady of Spain - Madrid. Spain's capital city thrives on an enchanting mixture of traditions and modernism. In this city of close to three and a half million people one can find the Palacio Real where the crown jewels, antiques and priceless tapestries of the Royal Family are kept. The world renown museum, the Prado, displays works of such great Masters as Goya, El Greco, Velazquez among others. Aside from its traditions Madrid is filled with "la movida:"- a passion for the nightlife that fills the city until dawn.

Malaga

Malaga is the capital of the Costa del Sol, with a population of about 450,000. Its situation, first-class tourist attractions, constant blue sky and Mediterranean Sea, warm hospitality, folklore, mild climate and wide variety of night sports and restaurants make Malaga an ideal setting for spending your time learning Spanish and enjoying yourself. Located at the heart of Andalucía, Málaga has excellent transportation connections with Granada, Seville, Córdoba etc. The Málaga International Airport is only 20 minutes drive from the school.

In Málaga you will learn pure Spanish (Castillian) not a mixture of Spanish and Catalán, Basque or Valenciano!. The city also boasts excellent sports facilities: Golf, water sports, horse riding, skiing, hang-gliding, etc. Málaga is a totally Spanish City. You will eat pella and Gazpacho, you will drink Rioja and Sangria, listen to flamenco and Falla and Dance Sevillanas.

Pto.Sta.Maria

El Puerto de Santa Maria remains hidden from international tourism and has been able to preserve its own Andalusian and Spanish atmospheres. The Spanish customs of the flamenco dance and bullfighting have their origins in this coastal location. A town of about 60,000 people, El Puerto de Santa Maria is located in southern Spain on the Cadiz Bay It is the closest beach from Seville and enjoys over 300 sunny days a year. Strategically located, the cities of Cordoba, Coto de Donana, Gibraltar and Jerez are within a day's journey.

Salamanca

Salamanca is host to the largest University in Spain, is a students' city. Its famous Plaza Mayor is the center of the city, with its sidewalk cafes, bars, and restaurants. Salamanca is a small town and it can be crossed on foot from end to end. Monumental churches, unique buildings, streets oozing with history... Salamanca offers all of this and much more. Salamanca's climate is continental. Very dry, with cold winters, some freezing nights, and bearably warm summers. Salamanca is part of Old Castile and is located within a short distance from Segovia, Avila, Burgos, Santiago de Compostela, Leon, and Madrid, of course, which is just 200 kilometers away.

San Sabastian

A family resort town of long standing, San Sebastian rests on the bay of La Concha in northwestern Spain, is surrounded by rolling low hills and has three very nice beaches. The average temperature in summer is around 22Cº/72Fº, with winter coming in at 8Cº/47Fº. The town offers endless possibilities to enjoy your free time: lively nightlife, the Alde Zaharra or Parte Vieja (Old Part) , romantic walks along the beach, the Castle or the Wind Comb, excursions, museums, exhibitions, 40 cinema theatres, cultural centres, and the congress centre just to name a few.

A stop at the Brecha Market is a must, a traditional market which now a shopping and entertainment centre, but fresh local products are still available. The name "Brecha" refers to the market's location, the point in the old city wall where the Anglo-Portuguese artillery opened up a breach (brecha) during the 1813 siege. Constitución Square, or the "Consti" as the locals call it, is a great place to relax and people-watch.

San Sebastian is not short on festivals either, with something new happening all year round: a Jazz Festival, International Film Festival and Horror Film Festival, and of course Carnival.

Mallorca

The island of Mallorca is the most popular tourist destination in Europe, largely because of the stunning variety of its scenery, its warm Mediterranean climate, the hospitality of the islanders, its rich cultural heritage and the richness and of its food and drink.

The island's airport, on the southern edge of the island, handles more passengers per year than any other airport in Spain and there are flights to most European cities all year round. Mallorca is just 40 minutes from Barcelona by plane while the jet speed hydrofoil crosses from the mainland in just under 4 hours.

Sevilla

Sevilla was one of the earliest Moorish conquests in 712 and, as part of the Caliphate of Córdoba, became the second city of al-Andalus. When the Caliphate broke up in the early eleventh century it was the most powerful of the independent states to emerge, extending its power over the Algarve and eventually over Córdoba itself. This period, under a series of three Arabic rulers from the Abbadid dynasty, 1023-91, was something of a golden age for Sevilla, and it enjoyed a second under the Almohads, as capital of this last real Moorish empire in Spain from 1170 until 1212. In this period the Almohads rebuilt the Alcázar, enlarged the principal mosque and erected a new and brilliant minaret, topped with four copper spheres that could be seen from miles round.

Just ten minutes' walk to the east of the cathedral and centre, the Plaza de España and adjoining María Luisa Park, laid out in 1929 for an abortive "Fair of the Americas", are an ideal place to spend the middle part of the day. En route you pass by the Fábrica de Tabacos, the old tobacco factory that was the setting for Bizet's Carmen. Nowadays it's part of the university. Towards the end of the María Luisa Park, the grandest surviving pavilions from the fair have been adapted as museums. The furthest contains the city's archeology collections and opposite is the Popular Arts Museum, with interesting displays relating to the April feria.

Valencia

Valencia is a city of 750,000 inhabitants situated on the Mediterranean coast with extensive pleasant, sandy beaches and a warm, sunny climate. This climate permits a lively atmosphere in the streets throughout the year. It is almost always possible to find a sunny spot in the open-air in one of its many cafes. If you wish to enjoy the annual fiestas of Valencia at the same time as you learn Spanish, visit the school during the months of March and July. From the 12th to the 19th of March the fiesta of "Las Fallas" is celebrated honoring Saint Joseph. From the 20th to the 31st of July, the Valencia "Fair" takes place. During this period there is great cultural activity in the city with many theater functions, concerts, ballets, firework displays, bullfights, and on the last day, the battle of flowers.

Travel to Valencia is made easy by an excellent international airport. There is also a major railway station connecting Valencia with the rest of Spain while the motor way from France leads straight to the city.

Vejer

Verje de la Frontera Located on the Costa de la Luz in southwest Spain, Vejer de la Frontera is a small, historic town with a population of just 8,000. A stroll through the winding streets of this hilltop village reveals whitewashed buildings with balconies, intimate hotels and guest houses, cafés with terraces, and spectacular views of the beaches of Conil and Zahara. Once an enclave to the Moors, Vejer de la Frontera is enclosed by medieval walls which embrace an abundance of Arabic-influenced architecture.

Vejer and its surrounding areas offer great opportunities for outdoor activities, like horseback riding, bicycling, paragliding, snorkeling, scuba diving, windsurfing, and hiking, not to mention the many fiestas and cultural events scheduled through out the year. Vejer de la Frontera's weather is mild most of year, with lows around 54ºF in winter and 65ºF during autumn and spring. Summers can be quite hot, with highs reaching into the 80s, but breezes from the coast try their best to keep it comfortable.

Vitoria

Vitoria the capital of the Basque Autonomous Community in northwestern Spain, is situated on a wide plain surrounded by mountains and 60 km from the coast. An old town because of its history, a young town because of its development, Vitoria provides ample cultural, environmental and social services enjoyed by its some 220,000 inhabitants.

Within the old quarter of town, which has been declared a Monumental Complex, lie the Gothic churches of Santa Maria, San Vicente, San Pedro and San Miguel, and the Renaissance palaces of Montehermoso and Villa Suso, all of which are well worth a visit. Vitoria is also rich with museums and cultural centers, gardens and pedestrian streets, making it a destination of distinction.