The Kingdom of Spain has a population of 46 million, the capital is Madrid. The borders of the country are naturally created by geographic features. Rent a car and explore this beautiful country. The busiest airport in Spain is the airport of Madrid (Barajas), with 50,8 million passengers in 2008, being the world's 11th busiest airport. Car rental at Madrid airport is possible to book online before the trip online.
The Airport of Barcelona (El prat) is also important with 30 million passengers. Don't forget to check out the car hire specialists online like Izzirent. The most convenient way to assure your car is to pre book online and pick up desired car rental at Barcelona airport upon arrival. Barcelona airport is one of many locations where car rentals are pre booked in advance for 6 – 8 months, specially May and summer peak season from June to September.
The Escorial monastery was put up in 1584 by Philip II for the memory of Saint Lawrence, who was a Christian martyr. The old and deeply religious king lived here the final years of his life. The royal rooms are actually in the church. His bedroom is located right next to the main altar. The structure complex is monumental, it's a kind of blend of a monastery and a royal palace.
The architecture of Barcelona is dominated by Antony Gaudi's mind-blowing Art Noveau style. The Expiatory Church of the Holy Family (Sagrada Familia) is maybe the most inspiring and mind-boggling church in Christianity. It is not completed yet, the construction started on 1886. The construction is funded by the steep price of the visitor tickets. It reflects the passionate religiousness of the Spanish people. The church features organic, plant-like structures, it seems as if the building stones were alive.
The cuisine of Spain is basically Mediterranean, it uses a lot of seafood, olive oil, hot spices.
Car hire in Spain is a good way of travelling the country. Spanish road system is mainly centralized, with 6 highways connecting Madrid to Basque Country, Catalonia, Valencia, Andalusia, Extremadura and Galicia. Additionally, there are highways along the Atlantic (Ferrol to Vigo), Cantabrian (Oviedo to San Sebastian) and Mediterranean (Girona to Almeria) coasts.
You can also travel to the remote places quickly by car. Other important landmarks include the historical centre of Cordoba, the Alhambra, the Cathedral of Burgos, buildings of Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona, and the old city of Santiago de Compostela. The palaeolithic paintings in Altamira are worth seeing by car. This place is one of the most important site of prehistoric art, it is located in the Cantabrian Mountain. It was discovered in 1868, and eleven years later scientists found beautiful painting in one of the inner caves. 600 paintings and 1500 drawing was found in the cave. The biggest cave is the hall of bulls, it contains four big scale paintings. The prehistoric man painted bison, mammoths, boars, deer. The also found the tools in the clay ground.
The copy of the cave has been opened for visitors in 2001, this is the Altamira Museum, which is the property of the Spanish state. The preservation of the original paintings is the reason of the duplication.
Altamira is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as Palaeolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain. 17 additional caves decorated with palaeolithic painting were added to the list in 2008. These paintings represent the culture of whole Europe, from the Ural to the Iberian Peninsula, from 35,000 BC to 11,000 BC. Given the fact that the modern man spotted Europe for the first time around 40,000 BC, these paintings can be considered as the first impressions of the European continent. The deep caves conserved the paintings, while potential open air paintings are washed away by the rain.
