As Inbound Operators specializing in customized trips, we can organize Theme Tours in Spain and Portugal
UNESCO’s list of Cities of Literature includes Granada which inspires many literary trips.
Granada has one of the most unique poem collections in the world. Poets carved beautiful Arabic inscriptions into the walls, ceilings and columns of the impressive Alhambra palaces.
For centuries, UNESCO World Heritage Sites Alhambra and Generalife have inspired many poets and novelists such as Al-Siqundim, Ernest Hemingway, Federico García Lorca, and Salman Rushdie. Granada puts on The International Poetry Festival (FIP) every year and houses the Centro Federico García Lorca.
Other destinations motivating literary trips in Spain and Portugal:
Castilla La Mancha from Don Quixote still has the windmills that inspired Miguel de Cervantes years ago. Considered the first Spanish literary site, the windmills remain a well-known symbol to this day.
“La Casa de la Troya” by Alejandro Perez Lugín describes Santiago de Compostela. Professors used this book during the 20th century when teaching Spanish as a second language, making the book well known abroad. La Casa de la Troya, the building where the main character lived as a student in Santiago, is occupied today by a charming hotel and a museum. It recreates the guesthouse where the novel takes place. One can even pay a visit to the dorms, the kitchen, the study room and the library that still have the furniture and decorations from the early 19th century.
“The Shadow of the Wind,” by Carlos Ruiz Zafrón, inspires visitors to visit the city where it was set: Barcelona. This novel sold over 6 million copies throughout the world, and as a result visitors come from all over to explore the city.
“Annihilation”, the first book of Jeff Vandermeer’s trilogy, “The Southern Reach” used a tower in Sintra as inspiration for the Area X tower-tunnel. This fiction creation was a New York Times bestseller in 2014.
Bookstore lovers also have 2 small paradises in Portugal.
Lisbon: Livraria Bertrand in Chiado is considered to be the oldest bookstore in the world. It opened in 1732 is the original of the present chain in Portugal and Spain. The old shop in Rua Garrett, 73 is still the most beautiful.
Porto: Livraria Lelo & Irmaos is one of the nicest bookstores in the world thanks in part to a spectacular staircase that inspired J.K. Rowling when writing Harry Potter. The author lived in Porto during her youth, taught English at a language school, and visited Livreria Lelo often.
Are any of these an inspiration for Theme Tours in Spain soon?
Or an excuse to make a cultural trip?
