Destination Profile: Spain

Population: 45 million

Capital: Madrid

Major languages: Spanish (Castilian), Catalan and its variant Valencian, Gallego (Galician), Euskera (Basque)

Number of students who studied abroad in Spain during 2008/2009 academic year: 24,169

Popular cities with study abroad programs: Madrid, Barcelona, Seville and Granada

What to see

Madrid: The capital of Spain offers a variety of bustling plazas, museums and historical landmarks. The Paseo del Prado, Puerto del Sol, Plaza Mayor and Plaza Oriente offer views of contemporary Spain in historical contexts. Museums display many famous masterpieces such as Vélazquez’s “Las Meninas” in El Prado Museum and Picasso’s “Guernica” in the Reina Sofia Museum. Another top attraction is the Royal Palace, the former house of the royal family that was modeled after Versailles.

Barcelona: The Plaça de Catalunya is the one of the most crowded streets and is connected to La Rambla, which is always busy with street performers and kiosks. The Cathedral is located in the heart of the city, the gothic district. The Montjuïc is a hill with many things to see from the 1929 International Exhibition and the 1992 Olympics.

Seville: One of the most famous attractions of Seville is the Plaza de Toros, the bullring. My favorite attraction in Seville was the Cathedral and Giralda tower. Another favorite activity of mine was getting lost in the gardens of the Alcazar, the royal palace. The Plaza de España in the Maria Luisa Park has many buildings from the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. Flamenco shows are also popular here.

Granada: The most famous attraction here is the Alhambra, the most characteristic example of Islamic architecture in Spain. At Alhambra, Generalife was the palace of rest and boasts amazing gardens and the Albaicin neighborhood is the oldest section of Granada. Other attractions include the Cathedral and Royal Chapel and the museum Casa de los Tiros.

Spain (specifically Seville) is where I did my study abroad trip (so I may be lightly biased), but this is a country you cannot pass up!