![Gaudi's Park Guell in Barcelona.](http://web.archive.org./web/20180906000424im_/http://www.traveller.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/v/6/h/q/image.related.TravellerThumbnail.300x200.gms84a.png/1479789150485.jpg)
Twenty things that will shock first-time visitors to Spain
No one speaks English, it's amazingly cheap and Barcelona's not that dodgy.
No one speaks English, it's amazingly cheap and Barcelona's not that dodgy.
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Madrid is a mix of old and new; high culture and fun.
In Spain, the locals need no excuse to relish the finer things in life.
Penedes, one of Europe's oldest viticultural heartlands, is an absurdly pretty place.
Magnificent, though likely a once-in-a-lifetime indulgence for this traveller.
It had been 12 years between visits to Barcelona - a place she had vowed never to return to. But was her bad experience a fault with the city or with her youth?
Want a real Barcelona experience? These are the things travellers should check out.
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Incredible art is placed front and centre on the Spanish stage, with architecture born from rebellious and creative spirits such as Dali, Picasso and Gaudi. Throw Roman ruins, Islamic architecture and gothic cathedrals into the mix, and you have an enthralling destination. Cities are linked by diverse landscapes; mountain ranges, Mediterranean coastlines, and rustic villages that cling to dusty hilltops, not to mention the food... oh the food.