Spain is home to over 8,000 towns and villages.

And in 2011, a national association set out to crown the most beautiful.

Here are the first 15 they chose — and it's no surprise why... 🧵 1. Albarracín (Teruel, Aragón)

A pink-hued medieval village wrapped in walls and perched above a gorge.

Declared a National Monument in 1961 and often called the most beautiful village in Spain.

There are 3,000 abandoned towns scattered across Spain.

Along with leper colonies, haunted mansions, and hotels from the past.

Here are 20 of the most fascinating places the country left behind… 🧵 1. Canfranc (Aragón)

One of Europe's grandest abandoned stations, tied to WWII espionage and Nazi gold shipments.

Restored and reopened in 2023 as a luxury hotel.

The year was 1808.

Napoleon’s forces surrounded Zaragoza, expecting a swift and easy victory.

What followed was one of the deadliest urban battles in European history. And it began 217 years ago today... 🧵 Napoleon’s armies swept across Spain. Madrid had fallen. Most cities gave in.

But in Zaragoza — a fiercely religious city in Aragón — the people chose to resist.

Spain’s coastline isn’t just beaches and bars.

It’s home to some of the most enchanting seaside towns in Europe.

Here are 20 of the very best — scattered along the most diverse coast on the continent... 🧵 1. Cadaqués (Catalonia)

A whitewashed coastal gem surrounded by rocky hills —

And once the muse of Salvador Dalí, who kept a house in nearby Portlligat.

Spain produces over half of the world’s olive oil.

More than Italy, Greece, and Turkey COMBINED.

But the real magic? The quality. And how it helps Spaniards live longer than anyone else in the EU… 🧵 Olive oil has been part of Spanish life for over 3,000 years.

Brought by Phoenicians, expanded by the Romans, and perfected over centuries.

The Spanish word for olive oil — aceite — comes from the Arabic "az-zayt", meaning “the olive juice.”

The most beautiful monasteries in Spain... 🧵

1. Monastery of San Juan de la Peña (Aragón) 2. Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial (Community of Madrid)

Today marks 7 years since the world lost Anthony Bourdain.

A chef, a traveler, and an enthusiast of Spain.

Here are my 20 favorite insights — on food, life, and Spanish culture — from every episode he filmed in Spain... 🧵 1. On the Irresistible Allure of Spain — and Granada

“Any reasonable sentient person who looks at Spain, comes to Spain, eats in Spain, drinks in Spain — they’re going to fall in love. Otherwise, there’s something deeply wrong with you. This is the dream of all the world. The dream is to live in Granada. Work in the morning, have a one-hour nap in the afternoon, and go out at night. Go out and see your friends, eat tapas, drink red wine, and be in a beautiful place.” - Anthony Bourdain

(Parts Unknown: Season 2, Episode 2: Spain)

The Italian Renaissance didn’t arrive in Spain through Madrid or Barcelona.

It took root in two tiny towns hidden in the hills of Jaén.

Their architecture changed the course of Spain. And I'll visit them for the first time next month...🧵 Úbeda and Baeza, just 9 km apart in Jaén province, flourished in the 16th century during Spain’s Golden Age.

Thanks to wealthy noble patrons and connections to the royal court, they became open-air showcases for Italian Renaissance ideals.

Spain isn’t just plazas, tapas, and wine —

It’s a gallery of ancient civilizations.

And these 20 artifacts bring its history to life... 🧵


1. Lady of Elche

A 4th-century BCE Iberian limestone bust featuring an elaborate headdress, possibly representing a priestess or goddess.

Discovered in 1897 near Elche, it is now housed in the National Archaeological Museum in Madrid.

I asked my audience a simple question...

Spain or Italy — and why?

Here are the 20 most thoughtful, hilarious, and balanced replies... 🧵 1. "There are around 250k Italians living in Spain, while around 20k Spaniards living in Italy. But we are brothers. We love each other. So wherever you choose to reside, you can vacation in the other."

They call it Dry Spain.

A land of sweeping plains, long shadows, and endless skies.

Today, Spain celebrates Castile-La Mancha — a region that is anything but empty... 🧵 As the country's third-largest region —

Castile-La Mancha sprawls across the heart of Spain.

Today, Spain celebrates the Canary Islands.

One of the most fascinating regions on Earth.

It’s hard to do a place like this justice, but here’s my best shot... 🧵 When people picture Spain, they think of flamenco, paella, and mainland cities.

But 1,000 miles southwest, off the coast of Africa, lie a series of islands that feels like an entirely different planet.

Can a building impose cosmic order on the chaos of the world?

Philip II of Spain thought so.

El Escorial was his answer — a palace, monastery, and royal tomb inside the largest Renaissance building in the world... 🧵 Built in the 16th century by Philip II, El Escorial was a project like no other:

To commemorate victory over France. Honor a martyred saint. Project Spain’s global power.

And serve as the king’s personal sanctuary.

The year was 722.

Exactly 1,303 years ago today.

A band of rebels made their last stand in the mountains of Asturias — sparking a resurgence that would shape European history forever… 🧵 A decade earlier, the Muslim armies of the Umayyad Caliphate had crossed into Iberia from North Africa.

In just a few years, they crushed the Visigothic Kingdom — defeating King Roderic and claiming nearly the entire peninsula.

Long before the Enlightenment, an intellectual revolution was already underway.

Rewriting the rules of war, empire, and economy.

This is the story of Salamanca. The oldest university in the Hispanic world... 🧵 Set in the golden sandstone city of Salamanca, the university’s Plateresque façade glows in the Castilian sun.

But what happened inside those walls is what made it legendary.

Think you know Spain?

Here are 20 things Spaniards say foreigners don't understand about their country... 🧵 1. "That total strangers can talk to each other in the streets as if they were friends or relatives. A friend of mine worked for 20 years in Brussels and when she came back to Spain she told me: 'You never feel lonely in Spain, even if you're on your own.'"

France gets the glory. Italy gets the flair.

But on this International Wine Day, it’s time for Spain to get the love it deserves.

Here’s to 3,000 years of winemaking... 🧵🍷 Spain’s love affair with wine began over 3,000 years ago.

The Phoenicians first brought vines to southern Spain around 1100 BCE.

The Romans expanded it. And after the fall of the empire, monks kept the tradition alive.

The oldest court in the world isn’t in Athens or Rome.

It’s in Valencia, Spain —

And it’s been settling irrigation disputes for more than 1,000 years… 🧵 This is the the Water Tribunal of Valencia.

Founded in the 10th or 11th century, it is not just the oldest court in the world...

But the oldest democratic institution in Europe.

The most iconic landmarks in Spain that no longer exist...🧵

1. Leaning Tower of Zaragoza 2. Palacio de Indo (Madrid)

Built nearly 1,000 years ago in a remote Catalan valley —

These churches form the greatest concentration of early Romanesque art in Europe.

Let’s walk through Vall de Boí’s 9 UNESCO-listed masterpieces… 🧵 1. Sant Climent de Taüll

The crown jewel of the valley.

Built in 1123, Sant Climent de Taüll is famous for its fresco of Christ Pantocrator — one of the most iconic religious images in all of Europe.

A hand raised in blessing. A gaze beyond time.

A love letter to the most famous museum in Spain... 🧵 The Prado opened in 1819 with just 311 paintings from the Spanish royal collection.

Today, it houses over 8,600 paintings, 7,600 drawings, and thousands of sculptures, prints, and historic documents.

But it was never supposed to be a museum…