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Rick Steves' Spain

Updates since the 2010 edition:

Spanish Hotel Trains (Elipsos) between Madrid or Barcelona and Paris, Zurich, or Milan will be cancelled for several fall travel days and delayed or rerouted on other dates through early December. It's always wise to reserve well ahead for these trains, and doing so now will also help you confirm that the service you want is running.

Barcelona

Hotel Reding's discount for Rick Steves readers, which includes breakfast, is good only for reservations booked directly through the hotel.

Hostal Residencia Neutral has a new website and email address: www.hostalneutral.es, info@hostalneutral.es.

Madrid

The "Greater Madrid" map on page 318 lists the wrong Metro stop for the Estación Sur de Autobuses. The correct Metro stop is Méndez Álvaro.

Local guide Susan Jarabo's correct email address is susanjarabo@yahoo.es (note last two letters).

Granada

Hotel Anacapri now offers free Wi-Fi for Rick Steves readers (ask for access code in reception), as well as 15 minutes free use of the computer in the lobby.

Updates since the 2009 edition:

A new high-speed Alvia train now connects Barcelona with San Sebastian, Bilbao, and Irun (on the French border). The train runs once daily, taking only about 6 hours, with stops at Pamplona and Zaragoza, leaving in early morning from Barcelona and later afternoon from the eastern ends.

Barcelona

Free museum days: The Picasso Museum and the Frederic Marès Museum are free on Sunday afternoons, and the City History Museum are free all day on the first Sunday of each month and Sunday afternoons.

We no longer recommend the two Internet places listed in the 2009 edition (one has closed; the other has gone downhill). Instead, try Navega Web, which has hundreds of computers for accessing the Internet and burning pictures onto a CD. It's conveniently located across from La Boquería market, downstairs in the bright Centre Comercial New Park (daily 10:00–24:00, Ramblas 88-94, tel. 933-179-193).

Due to renovations, the exterior of Casa Amatller is partly obscured by scaffolding, but you can still pop inside the elaborate entrance hall for a peek (at #41 on the Block of Discord in the Eixample).

The official operating times for the Magic Fountains at Montjuïc are as follows:

In the summer (May–Sept), the fountains run Thu–Sun 21:00–23:30, with choreographed music shows at 21:30, 22:00, 22:30, and 23:00 (fountains don't run Mon–Wed). In the winter (Oct–April), the fountains run Fri–Sat at 19:00–21:00, with shows at 19:00, 19:30, 20:00, and 20:30 (fountains don't run Sun–Thu; also, the fountains typically shut down for six weeks of maintenance work sometime in winter). However, the schedule has been unpredictable recently, and might unexpectedly change. You can try to confirm the schedule in Barcelona, but readers report that even locals can be mistaken about when it's running.

The correct email for Hotel Atlantis is info@hotelatlantis-bcn.com.

Restaurant Elisabets is closed in August (as well on Sundays).

Casa del Molinero, in the Barri Gòtic, no longer serves food.

In Montserrat, the last cable car up to the monastery departs at 17:45 in Nov–Feb (not at 18:00).

Basque Country

Bilbao / San Sebastián

A new Pesa bus connects the Bilbao airport directly to San Sebastián (hourly, 1-hour trip, €15, pay driver, bus stops in front of airport). The bus stops in San Sebastián at Plaza Pio XII.

Camino de Santiago

Pamplona

Private guide Francisco Glaría's new email is francisco@gesrural.es (€140/half-day up to 4 hours, tel. 948-383-755, mobile 629-661-604).

Burgos

A new train station, Burgos Rosa de Lima, has opened north of the city, replacing the previous Burgos station. See the Deutsche Bahn website for current schedules. It's beyond a reasonable walking distrance from central Burgos — take a taxi (€7 Mon–Sat, €11 Sun) or catch a bus to Plaza España (Mon–Fri only, no buses Sat–Sun, hourly, from station: leaves at :15 after each hour 8:15–22:15, from Plaza España to station: leaves at :45 after each hour 7:45–21:45). The city has plans to run more frequent buses, and weekend buses, in high-season months.

Salamanca

The TI at Plaza Mayor is now open Sunday until 14:00 year-round.

The TI at Casa de Las Conchas is now open daily July–mid-Sept 9:00–20:00 (reduced hours off-season).

Entry to the tower at the Old and New cathedrals is free on Tuesdays from 10:00 to noon.

The Church of San Esteban museum is now open Mon–Tue 16:00–20:00, Wed–Sat 10:00–14:00 & 16:00–20:00, and Sun 10:00-14:00 (shorter hours in winter).

Entry to the Convento de las Dueñas is now €2. The convent is now open Mon–Sat in summer 10:30–12:45 & 16:30–18:45, in winter 11:00–12:45 & 16:30-17:30, closed Sun.

The Petit Palace Las Torres now offers free Wi-Fi and Internet access, and loaner bikes for guests.

The correct website for Hostal Las Vegas Centro is www.lasvegascentro.net.

Hotel Don Juan has closed.

Madrid

The Prado has moved Goya's "Dark Period" paintings. They are now on the ground floor in rooms 66 and 67.

With the current economic downturn, Madrid's big hotels are close to empty and desperately discounting. To get the best price, email big business-class hotels and let them bid for your business.

Hotel Liabeny has a new email address: info@hotelliabeny.com.

Northwest of Madrid

El Escorial

When deciding between your entrance-ticket options (either the €8 visita libre ticket or the €10 visita guiada ticket), keep in mind that the visita libre ticket does not allow entry into the Royal Pantheon crypt (unless you rent the audioguide).

Segovia

The Church of Santos Justo y Pastor closes earlier than listed in the book (now open Tue–Sat 11:00–14:00 & 16:00–18:00; closed Sun–Mon and when the volunteer caretaker, Rafael, needs to run an errand).

The Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Esteban Vicente is now open till 20:00 on Sundays (roughly Tue–Fri 11:00–14:00 & 16:00–19:00, Sat–Sun 11:00–20:00.

Pensión Ferri has closed.

Ávila

The TI that was on Plaza Pedro Dávila has moved to Calle San Segundo, just outside the wall gate, near the cathedral. It also has new hours: daily 9:30–14:00 & 16:00–19:00, no afternoon closure July–mid-Sept.

La Flor Valenciana café has moved, and is no longer within convenient reach for sightseers (keep an eye out for it, however, if walking between the train station and Plaza Italia).

Toledo

There is now a TI on Plaza de Zocodover in the Casa del Mapa (daily 10:00–18:00).

Almudena Cencerrado is a good private guide who enjoys sharing Toledo (tel. 610-765-067, almuzen@hotmail.com).

At Toledo's cathedral, the Visigothic Mass, held in Latin and the oldest surviving Christian ritual in Western Europe, now starts at 9:00 (Mon–Sat).

The Sinagogo Tránsito now costs €3 (free Sat afternoon from 14:00 and all day Sun), and has new hours: Tue–Sat 10:00–21:00, Sun 10:00–14:00, closed Mon.

The Hotel Imperio has changed its email address to himperio@hotmail.es.

Granada

You can now buy the Bono Turístico city pass in advance online, and book your Alhambra visit at the same time, at http://caja.caja-granada.es. The pass covers the Alhambra, cathedral, Royal Chapel, Carthusian Monastery, sightseeing bus, and city buses, plus minor sights and discounts on others (€30, valid for five days).

You can now rent a pre-loaded MP3 player with a fine audio tour covering the entire city including the Alhambra (rent from kiosk on Plaza Nueva).

The Royal Chapel has new hours: March–Oct Mon–Sat 10:30–13:30 & 16:00–19:30, opens Sun at 11:00; Nov–Feb Mon–Sat 10:30–13:30 & 15:30–18:30, opens Sun at 11:00.

The city's exotically tangled Moorish quarter, the Albayzín, has seen an uptick in violent muggings after dark. While still charming and recommended during the day, we now suggest that visitors stay away after nightfall.

Walking tours operated by Cicerone now must have a minimum of five people to run (though low attendance is not likely to be a problem March–Oct). Cicerone offers informative 2.5-hour tours from the City Hall (Ayuntamiento) on Plaza del Carmen (€12, kids under 14 free, March–Oct daily at 10:30, Nov–Feb Wed–Sun at 11:00, small groups; to book a tour, visit the stand labeled "Meeting Points" on Plaza Bib-Rambla, show up on Plaza Carmen, or call mobile 670-541-669 or 600-412-051; www.ciceronegranada.com, info@ciceronegranada.com).

Sevilla

The Sevilla Card now has a cheaper option and a more-expensive version — the pricier one includes the hop-on, hop-off bus and a boat cruise, the other one doesn't. Serious sightseers might get their money's worth with one of the cheaper multi-day cards (€28 or €50/1 day, €32 or €60/2 days, €36 or €65/3 days).

Hostal Córdoba is now called Pensión Córdoba.

The map on page 510 has two mixed-up dots: On the map, the place labeled with an 18-dot is actually Bodega Restaurante La María (listed as number 5 in the key), and the place labeled with a 5-dot is actually where the Lo Nuestro and Rejoneo bars are located (listed as number 18 in the key).

Andalucía

Michelin Map 446 for Andalucía mentioned at the end of this chapter is now Michelin Map 578.

Spain's South Coast

Nerja

The TI has moved — while still about 100 yards from the Balcony of Europe, it's now half a block inland from the big church. New hours: daily 10:00–14:00.

Gibraltar

Spain and Gibraltar have finally worked out a disagreement that concerned Gibraltar's international dialing code; now to call Gibraltar from Spain you can use the same country code you would use from anywhere else in the world: 350 (then 200, for Gibraltar's nation-wide land-line area code).

The ferry to Tangier, Morocco, no longer runs just on weekends, but still runs only a few days a week.

Tarifa

Evasión Internet café has closed.

El Bodegon Restaurante has closed.

Restaurante Souk has new hours: July–Sept daily 20:00–3:00 in the morning; Oct–June Wed-Mon 19:00–1:00, closed Tue).

Morocco

In March 2009, Moroccan phone numbers all added a digit before the city code — either a 5 (for land-line numbers) or a 6 (for mobile numbers). Also, all phone numbers must now include the two-digit area code, even if you're calling from within the same city (Tangier's city code is 39). That means that all Moroccan phone numbers now have nine digits (this includes the new 5 or 6, and the two-digit city code, but does not include the international code or the initial 0 used when calling within Morocco). For example, in our 2009 Spain guidebook, we list the number for Hotel Andalucía in Tangier as 94-13-34. Now, to call this hotel from anywhere within Morocco, you must dial 05-39-94-13-34 (the 0 because you're dailing within Morocco, the 5 because it's a landline, and the 39 because it's Tangier's city code). To call that same hotel from the US, dial 011-212-5-94-13-34 (011 is the international code to dial out of the US system, 212 is the country code for Morocco, 5 is the new digit for the landline, and 94-13-34 is the hotel's eight-digit phone number). To call that hotel from Spain or anywhere else in Europe, dial 00-212-5-94-13-34 (00 is the international code; the rest of the number is the same).

Tangier

Speedline Tours is currently not reachable online.