I’m currently on a trip around Europe and in between the site seeing and airport transfers, trying to keep a little record of my travels – who I meet, what I see, etc. etc.  I have taken loads of photos but I know everything will merge into one gigantic city experience by the time I get them developed and so thought I could write down my impressions to make it all a little more coherent.  So here goes…  So far I’ve been from London, through Paris and Montpellier (where I met a great group of American people learning French) and now am in Madrid.  Anymore and I am going to begin to forget it all and so it is here I choose as my starting place to write.  The city is BIG.  Everything.  I love it but to be honest, am looking forward to the relative tranquillity of my next stop in Salamanca.  I’m staying in one of the hostels Madrid and like in Montpellier, it is something which has made the stop over special – a great chance for meeting people!  There are a lot of Spanish in the city who have come for various events (being the capital, it has so much to offer in terms of music and entertainment) but the majority have a decent level of English from school or a language course abroad (in the bed next to me, there’s a girl who’s just finished one of the “cursos ingles Nueva York” and speaks English better than I do!  But it’s not all Spanish people – like any other capital city, Madrid is very cosmopolitan.  There’s a young group of Italian students who are so much fun – we’ve taken it upon ourselves to see as much of the Madrid nightlife as possible in the next few days (Club Low is our favourite so far) and a French guy here to prepare for a “Sejour linguistique en Bolivia“.  He talks of nothing but South America, I would love to be able to extend my travels and go to visit him once he’s settled – if it is half as good as he describes, I’ll have a ball! After Spain (of which I still have to see Salamanca, Barcelona and the beaches of Cadiz), it’s up to Berlin and from there, Holland.  I am reasonably flexible though and so if anyone has any tips (I am interested in Euro cities with plenty to do), then please let me know!

Santiago de Compostela in Galicia is just above Portugal, in northern Spain.  It's a fantastic city. 
The cathedral there houses the remains of Saint James the Apostle and it is the destination for pilgrims.  There is a huge square outside the cathedral where you can sit and watch the pilgrims arrive and it is heaving with people from all over the world who are so happy to be there.
It is a university city, I was there at summer school with my own university and stayed at the university campus, accomodation may be available over Easter, but there are many places to stay. 
The cathedral plaza has a Parador, a beautiful luxurious hotel.  This is an historic building with beautiful, leafy courtyards containing fountains, so secluded and tranquil.  It was originally built by Fernando and Isabel to house pilgrims who travelled arduous, lengthy pilgrimages to the cathedral and it retains the character of the period. 
This is a lively place, full of entertainment.  Las Brujas, all kinds of street entertainers, I was walking home from the local hostelries at 3 a.m. and found a "living statue" just standing on a pedestal in the lane...nobody near him, just doing his thing...
I loved the city and plan to return there in the coming year.  Good luck with your trip, enjoy...

Well You should definetly visit Toledo to the south. And in my opinion Seville should be on your list. It has a wonderful historic and cultural wealth and their people are the coolest I've met in España!

this could funny.

Joe why would you recommend that people avoid your home country?  You think its thats bad?

BTW, I've always wanted to visit Rosslyn Chapel.

I would like to spend my hard earned money visiting a nation that has thrived under unchallenged communism.  Which one would you recommend Comrade?

That is because the kind of  people who post pictiures are probably nationalists who want to sell the country, or they are the bourgeoise who dont represent the majority. 

Here is what you would be likely to see if you travel even half a mile out of the cities.





Notice the words on the graffitti, it tells a story

Of course you know fine well there is no communist countries in Europe, so why bother ask ?  Seems like a waste of a post to me.

My English fine.  That is why i am able to notice this thread is about travel tips in Europe.    But if you persist on digression, then so be it.  I am still relatively young and not well travelled as yet, however i will pass on the recommendation that i often recieve, visit Cuba.  Although you may reside in the "most free country on the planet" and so be banned from visiting Cuba.  Now there is an oxymoron if i ever saw one.