Pitching up in a Spanish villa for a week or so is an undoubtedly lovely way to spend a holiday but why not combine all that sea and sunshine with a festival, like starting a break in Barcelona with Primavera or staying on after Benicassim to explore Valencia? That’s like having two holidays in one, and we like that.
PRIMAVERA | BARCELONA
The Primavera peeps really know how to put a festival together and the 2018 edition is no different, with the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Lorde, The National, Bjork, Haim, A$AP Rocky, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Migos, Chrvches, Tyler The Creator, Kelela, Four Tet, Mount Kimbie and Floating Points all playing, and believe us, that’s barely even scratching the surface. And you get all of this at the beachside Parc del Forum…beats a muddy field in England any day.
After three days of wall-to-wall music, you’ll probably want to see what else Barcelona’s got going on (although trust us when we say that you’ll have no trouble finding places to carry on the party in this city). We’d start the day with eggs and a Bloody Mary at Milk and then if you can peel yourself off the beach, there are some pretty epic views to be had from both the top of Montjuic and up at Gaudi’s Park Guell – it does take a bit of legwork getting up there but it’s worth it, especially for the ‘gram. Reward yourself with a couple of Barca’s best espresso martinis at Porteno.
[easy-image-collage id=103087]Spanish villas for rent in Barcelona.
BENICASSIM | VALENCIA
It may take you back to your student days – Beni always seemed to be the festival to go on your summer holidays – but that is no bad thing at all, especially when you’ve got Liam Gallagher, Wolf Alice, Travis Scott, Everything Everything, Catfish & The Bottlemen, The Killers and Two Door Cinema Club all hitting stages under the Valencian sun.
Four days of camping defo entitles you to a little break and you’ve got lots to keep you entertained in Valencia. We’d head straight for Oceanografic; yes it’s a major tourist attraction but after Blue Planet we will never say no to an aquarium, especially one as major as this.
You can’t go to Valencia and not have paella; that’s like going to Rome and not having pasta or going up north and not having chips and gravy. As the dish originated in the city, there are loads of places to get it, but we’d go for either Casa Carmela (where it’s served up proper family-style but you definitely need ressies for this one) or La Pepica (where you’ve got the added bonus of beach views). If you can bag a spot on their terrace, Cafe Negrito is a great place to get the beers or jugs of agua de Valencia in.
[easy-image-collage id=103097] Spanish villas for rent in Valencia.