Cordoba, one of Andalucia’s loveliest cities, has just added one more reason to spend the night.

A new initiative has been introduced in Cordoba promoting night-time visits to their Mosque-turned-Cathedral. Its called the Soul of Cordoba “El Alma de Cordoba” and allows a limited number of visitors each evening to experience an extra special illuminated autoguided visit to one of the most singular religious buildings in the world. The “Mezquita-Catedral” is a UNESCO ‘World Heritage Monument and in our opinion one of the must see sites in Europe. 

Cordoba’s period of greatest glory began in the 8th century after the Moorish conquest, and by the 11^th century the city had had become the centre of a great realm renowned for its artistic and intellectual predominance and its liberal tolerance of other religions. After the Christian conquest, In the 13th century, under Ferdinand III, Cordoba’s Great Mosque was turned into a cathedral. The structure was maintained and several chapels were built. Later the heavy, incongruous Baroque choir was sanctioned in the very heart of the mosque by Charles V in the 1520s. Artists and architects continued to add to the existing structure until the late 18th century, making the Mezquita an intriguing architectural oddity with styles spanning 8 centuries.

The Alma de Cordoba night-time visit costs 18 Euros and begins from 8pm to 10:30 depending on the time of year. The visits  last approximately one hour. Ask us to include this in your next customized trip plan for Southern Spain.

www.elalmadecordoba.com

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Several of Spain’s well-loved classic hotels are planning temporary closure for extensive refurbishment during the next two years. One is Seville’s Alfonso XIII Hotel (operated by Starwood), which is aiming to reopen in March 2012 in time for Holy Week and the Spring Fair.  In Granada, the Alhambra Palace Hotel will be closing for its face-lift in November 2011. Finally, we report that San Sebastian’s emblematic Hotel Maria Cristina (run by Starwood) is also about to close doors temporarily for extensive renovation, from October 9, 2011 through June 30, 2012. Several other celebrated hotels are also due for temporary closure at dates still to be announced. Valesa Cultural Services can keep you up-to-date with these developments.

Spain’s newest museum,  The Museum of Human Evolution is due to open in the northern city of Burgos on July 13, 2010. The location of this museum is important as it is located just 10 miles/15,km from the world famous archaeological site of Atapuerca. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Atapuerca’s excavations have revealed remains of one of the most significant settlements of the first Europeans. The human fossils recovered from Atapuerca so far constitute 85% of all the world’s fossils from the period known as the Middle Pleistocene.( 781—126 thousand years ago)

Undoubtedly the Museum will be a global reference point for prehistory, both on a scientific level and in terms of education and dissemination. Atapuerca Palaeontologist Juan Luis Arsuaga stated to El Pais Seminal “This is a unique museum in the world. There is nothing like it. During its conception, our team had decided that we did not want a museum of prehistory, of fossils and bones. We wanted a museum of the living, not of the dead. For this reason the building is very bright, the architecture is very open, like a huge glass box..”  The museum will also have exhibits which will interpret what the findings at Atapuerca can help us understand about ourselves. It will also be a center for research.

Another important factor in differentiating this museum from others is that the museum will show authentic fossils, contrary to many museums which exhibit copies while the original pieces are kept in safes. Among several, one of the treasures of the museum is Skull 5 known as ‘Miguelon’. It is one of the most complete human fossil skulls in the world, found in 1992 at Atapuerca and dated at 400,000 years old. 

Burgos is a plesasant city to visit, along with its charming old quarter with its many churches and convents, it is home to an extraordinary Cathedral, considered one of the finest examples of Spanish Gothic art.  A visit to Burgos would fit nicely into a route including Madrid, the Rioja wine region and the northern cities of Bilbao and San Sebastian or even west to Galicia. For those interested in pre-history, we also recommend visiting the Altamira cave museum (near Santillana del Mar and Santander).

Atapuerca Links:

Museo de la Evolución Humana – http://www.museoevolucionhumana.com

Palaeontologist Juan Luis Arsuaga’s website:  http://www.atapuerca.tv/

Atapuerca Foundation: http://www.atapuerca.org/

http://www.fundacionsiglo.com/atapuerca/datos_en.html

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/atapuerca.html

In early June the Culture Ministry and the Altamira board of directors unanimously approved the reopening of the Altamira Cave which has been closed to visitors since 2002. The cave, located in northern Spain near Santander is known as the “Sistine Chapel of Prehistoric Art”. It is decorated with vivid depictions of bison and other animals dating back 15,000 years, a testament to the artists’ skill in using rock formations to accentuate perspective.

The cave was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1985 and is considered a masterpiece of Palaeolithic art, along with the Lascaux cave in France.

The Spanish authorities suggest that while the cave may not adapt to touristic uses, it is a heritage sight for all of humanity, a museum and a place for research. They request patience for the moment as requests to visit the museum are not being taken until after the summer. Currently it is being decided how many visitors would be allowed per day in order to protect the paintings. As reported by USA Today, the Spanish scientific research body has recommended that the caves remain closed.

We recommend visiting Altamira II, an exact replica of the cave that opened in 2001 and is located near the original. At the same location there is the Altamira Museum, with its highly informative exhibits on Cantabrian prehistory and cave art.

In the area, we suggest visiting the delightful medieval town of Santillana del Mar, just a couple of kilometres away. For those interested in visiting more caves we suggest a visit to Puente Viesgo, the “Prehistoric Capital of Cantabria.” Visit the Las Monedas Caves and the Cueva del Castillo, where 180 images of  horses, bison, deer, goats and mammoth, dating back 12,000-14,000 years cavort on the walls.

Ask us about private tours with expert guides throughout northern Spain. As an example we are organizing a special cave focused tour of the Archaeology Institute of America. This October the group will be led by world-renowned archaeological author Paul Bahn.

This important festival of classical music and flamenco has been held annually since 1952 in the beautiful city of Granada. Top-class orchestras, musicians and dancers provide memorable spectacles in some of the most attractive settings of the city including the gardens of the Generalife, the Myrtle Courtyard of the Alhambra, the Palace of the Emperor Charles V and the Cathedral. Over 60 events will take place during a period of over two weeks in late June and early July. The whole city takes on a festive air, while only an hour away is the sub-tropical area of Granada’s Mediterranean coastline. Contact VCS if you would like further information on this annual event.

Northeastern Corridor – to the French Border

Construction is currently underway to connect the new high speed line from Barcelona to the French TGV network via the Perthus tunnel under the Pyrenees.The line from Barcelona to Figueres is scheduled to open in 2012, while the line from Figueres to Perpignan is set the open in 2009. France has yet to commit to the construction of the section between Perpignan and Montpellier. As a result trains will use the existing regular railway line north of Perpignan to reach the TGV Network at Montpellier.

The line will be operated by Talgo and Siemens AG train sets, although it require special train sets. The French line Perpignan – Montpellier is electrified at 1.5 kv DC, but Spanish trains use 25kv AC. However French trains are dual-voltage allowing both TGV and regional trains to operate on the line. All Spanish trains are single-voltage.

North-Northwestern Corridors

Bilbao-Vitoria-San Sebastian (Basque Y). This line will connect the three Basque capitals in 2011. Planned connection with Madrid via Valladolid, and with the French border via Irún and Bayonne.

Madrid-Pamplona. It will be operational in 2012. There is a planned extension to connect Pamplona with the Basque line and the French border.

Variante de Pajares. This line will cross a very mountainous area between León and Asturias. Planned extension to connect Valladolid with Oviedo and Gijón.

(Atlantic line AVE high Speedy train). This line will connect all Galician coastal cities, including La Coruña, Santiago de Compostela and Vigo, with the Portuguese border, and eventually, with Porto.

Orense-Santiago de Compostela. Will be the first segment of the line that will connect Galicia and the Atlantic line with Madrid, via Valladolid.

Southwest – Portuguese Corridor

Cáceres-Mérida-Badajoz-Lisbon. This line will connect the two peninsular capitals in 3 hours, connecting the south west region of Extremadura to the High Speed network. This line has been an important matter in bilateral summits during the last years. Spanish track should be completed around 2010 and the Portuguese one around 2015. It is not clear if there will finally be a station in the Spanish town of Mérida.

Eastern Corridor

Madrid-Cuenca-Albacete-Arco mediterráneo (Mediterranean Arc). This line will connect Madrid with Valencia, Alicante, Murcia and Almería. Expected in 2009.

Future Planned Lines

In the short term other connections to the LGV are planned. A new line to France is under construction at La Jonquera in Catalonia with another proposed at Irun in the Basque Country.

Other new lines are under consideration, including a line connecting Soria to the Madrid-Barcelona line at Calatayud. Finally, the Madrid-Barcelona line currently terminates in Barcelona’s Estació de Sants, there has, however, been talk of a new station being built on the other side of the city in La Sagrera.

In the long term the Spanish government has an ambitious plan to have 4350 miles of high-speed rail operational by 2010, with all provincial capitals at most only 4 hours from Madrid, and 6.5 hours from Barcelona. According to the Strategic Plan for train infrastructures developed by the Spanish Ministerio de Fomento Ministry of Public Works, called PEIT, a second expansion program is planned to start in 2010-2011, when the last lines of the first program still under construction begin to operate. This plan has a ten-year scope, ending 2020, and its ambition is to make the 186 mph network reach 6214 miles by the end of that year. This would be the most extensive network in Europe, with several operational links with France and Portugal and is by far the most ambitious high speed rail plan in the European Union.

Critics of this scheme point out that raising the average speed of Spain’s regional trains would achieve a much greater global impact at much less cost. At present, there are some rural lines where average speeds barely exceed 37 mph. The speed between some provincial capitals is little better; for example, it takes some 9h30min to cover the 784 487 miles between León and Barcelona.

On the other hand there has been a great improvement of speed and time with trains that link Madrid with other capitals that do not have direct AVE connections, but that use the high speed line for most of the route, such as Huelva (4h50min), Cádiz (4h55min), Pamplona (2h59min), Logroño (3h40min), Irún (5h19min), Bilbao (4h46min), San Sebastián (5h20min) and Santander (4h25min).

Delta Airlines will offer a new exclusive checkin service at the Port of Barcelona for passengers that have taken a cruise and then fly directly from Barcelona to the USA. Clients will arrive at the port Terminal B on Royal Caribbean, Norwegian or Holland America cruises will enjoy the comfort of this checkin including baggage checkin and boarding card issuing service for their final destination. Additionally there will be checkin available for other clients using Delta’s two direct flights between Barcelona and the US.

Delta offers service from the US to four cities in Spain: Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga and Valencia.

Cooperation between Spain and UNESCO in the field of culture is particularly rich.

Spain, which is represented on the World Heritage List by forty sites, has signed a cooperation agreement with UNESCO to support the activities of the World Heritage Centre. A funds-in-trust was created to finance target projects on the implementation of the World Heritage Convention in other States Parties.

Particularly interested in its living heritage, Spain has ratified the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Two of its expressions have been proclaimed Masterpieces of the Oral Intangible Heritage of Humanity: the Mystery Play of Elche in 2001 and the Patum of Berga in 2005.

Spain is also concerned with its underwater heritage as demonstrated by its ratification of the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage in 2005.

In the field of the art and cultural industries, Spain collaborated with UNESCO in organizing the Universal Forum of Cultures, which took place in Barcelona in 2004.

This country is also an active member of the Global Alliance, which promotes cultural diversity through the strengthening of creative industries. Spain is a generous contributor to the Alliance. The Spanish city of Seville joined the Creative Cities Network in 2006 as the first UNESCO City of Music.

Intercultural dialogue is another area of interest. In this regard, Spain participates in the Slave Route Project and the Routes of al-Andalus and actively supports UNESCO’s programme to promote interreligious dialogue.

According to Spain’s tourism statistics, Catalonia received over 6 million foreign visitors in the first half of 2008 (25% of the total for Spain), followed by the Canary Islands with 15% of the total number of visitors and Andalucia with 14% of the total, Valencia with 10% of the total and finally Madrid with 8%. 27% of visitors were from the United Kingdom, followed by Germany, France and Italy. There is a marked decrease in visitors coming to Spain on packaged tours and a similar increase (approx 7%) in the number of tourists who visit Spain independently. Visitors continue to arrive mostly by air with over 20 million passengers arriving in Spanish airports (3% growth).

It began in 2007 and is expected to end by the end of 2009. The long-awaited refurbishment of the Hotel Palace (formerly Ritz) in Barcelona is almost there. This historic property, in the most central and prestigious part of Barcelona, includes an “optimization” of its architectural infrastructure and soft redecoration of public areas maintaining the beauty and classic nature of the hotel. The Palace also counts on the 1-star Michelin rated Restaurant Caelis, with chef Roman Fornell. Contact Valesa for excellent rates in 2010.

One of our favourite historic properties within Spain’s government run chain of hotels, Paradores, is scheduled for a complete renovation. The Parador of Caceres (south-western Spain) will close in September 2009 and is expected to reopen one year later with 7 more rooms (for a total of 40), after a complete renovation that is expected to cost 4.5 million Euros. In addition to its expanded capacity, the Parador of Caceres plan includes covering two patios so they can be used year-round, more handicapped access, new furnishings and heating system improvements using renewable and recycled sources of energy.