Spain
(Madrid – Barcelona – Valencia)
This visit gives the student an insight into Spanish life and history by visiting Madrid, the Spanish Pyrenees, and Barcelona.
From the grandeur of Imperial Spain, through decline, civil war and fascism and into liberal democracy: students can discover, from the Escorial palace to Madrid’s city plazas, the visual evidence for the history which lies behind modern Spain. Nowadays, Spain is a successful liberal democracy, which has become an economic powerhouse while dealing with terrorism, mass migration, and powerful separatist movements, including in its most prosperous province of Catalonia. Students learn about the historical context and the rich cultural heritage of Spain, and also have a chance to meet separatists and unionists, migrants and native Spaniards – and to reach their own conclusions about how Spain is facing up to the pressures and opportunities of the 21st Century.
The Escorial palace and the Prado gallery speak of Spain’s rich cultural and religious heritage. Madrid is a capital city where we can witness every aspect of Spanish life and in the university city of Toledo we see great examples of Spanish and European history. We head north to the ancient fortified town of Seud’Urgell, guarding the Pyrenees – and also providing opportunities for hiking in the Pyrenees and helping out in one of Spain’s most beautiful national parks.
Finally, we can relax a bit in Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia where we can learn about separatism, but also experience a magnet for tourists with sea, sun and amazing architecture.
Amidst all of this activity, we also make time to visit some of world’s most famous football clubs and to learn about opportunities at Spanish universities.