Luckily, Stockholm’s museums continue to draw crowds, even if those crowds now have to pay to get in. The Stockholm tourist board boasts that the city has over 70 museums, and for the Cheapos out there, some are still free to the public. Many museums offer free entry to children, which tends to be anyone under the age of 19. (Just be sure to ask before you waltz in.) Others offer discounts for students and retirees. Still, others open their doors free to the public for a few hours every week.

Related: 5 budget tips for keeping things cheap in Stockholm

Our top Stockholm free museums

Here’s a quick rundown of ten museums in Stockholm that are easily reachable by bus or subway. All ten are free to the public no matter your age or the day for that matter. So check-in at one of our favorite hotels and start exploring:

1. Dance Museum (Dansmuseet)

The Museum for the Performing and Visual Arts focuses on dance and theater from various cultures; they even offer live performances at times. Check the upcoming calendar for the latest events.

2. The Living History Museum (Forum för Levande Historia)

This living history museum provides a haunting look at crimes against humanity (the Holocaust for example) that aims to remind people of the past in order to avoid such events in the future.

3. Färgfabriken

This space is a gallery that works with contemporary art of various forms. Färgfabriken offers plenty of exhibitions as well as workshops for those interested in getting their hands dirty.

4. Haga parkmuseum

Quite a distance from the city center, the Haga parkmuseum describes the history and architecture of the surrounding park. The park itself is beautiful and includes the ruins of Gustav III’s unfinished castle.

5. Kulturhuset

The famous Kulturhuset offers temporary exhibitions throughout the year (we’ve written about it before), everything from photography, theater, and comic books. Not all exhibitions are free, but there is always something open to the public.

6. National Library of Sweden (Kungliga biblioteket)

This museum, also known as the National Library of Sweden, is home to the Codex Gigas, often referred to as the Devil’s Bible. Unfortunately, the Codex Gigas is not viewable by the public; however, the collection of historical documents is still impressive.

7. Magasin 3

You’ll have to take the bus to get out there, as it’s located near an industrial shipyard. However, the location of the Magasin III art museum only adds to the atmosphere and the various contemporary art exhibitions that are displayed.

8. Museum of Medieval Stockholm (Stockholms medeltidsmuseum)

The Museum of Medieval Stockholm offers a look at Middle Ages Stockholm set in an underground building just a stone’s throw away from the royal castle. The only visible remains of Stockholm’s medieval city wall are located, still intact, in the museum. There is even a medieval tunnel from the museum to the castle, which is very much closed to the public.

Stockholm City Museum is another freebie that shouldn’t be missed! Photo: arjanrichter

9. Stockholm City Museum (Stockholms Stadsmuseum)

Stockholm’s City Museum provides a quick look at the history of Stockholm from the past to the contemporary issues dominating the city today. If you’re new to the city, it’s a great place to get your bearings.

10. Tullmuseum

This Swedish Customs Museum offers plenty of exhibitions about the history of customs in Sweden. Of course, when it comes to customs, it tends to be the smuggling that is interesting, and the museum focuses much of its efforts on smuggling and anti-smuggling displays.

The post 10 free museums in Stockholm appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

With the big milestone coming up, we’ve compiled a list of 10 ways to explore the history of the Wall, its construction, dismantling, and the reunification of Germany. And good news for budget travelers, almost all of these are free to visit!

1. Visit the Berlin Wall Memorial

Starting point for any deeper understanding of the Berlin Wall is the Berlin Wall Memorial, near S-Nordbahnhof. Before exiting the station, study the informational displays in the stairwell and station foyer telling the story of the Bahnhof and others like it which became “ghost stations.” (The GDR blocked access for its citizens to certain sections of Berlin’s S-Bahn network which could have served as a direct escape route to West Berlin.)

Above ground, you’ll find indoor and outdoor informational displays, including historical films, original documents and numerous broadcasts and interviews detailing the events leading up to the the Wall’s construction, reactions and dramatic events—including numerous escape attempts—around its construction in August 1963, what the division of the city meant for its residents (especially those in the shadow of the Wall, as here in Bernauer Str.), and what the city looked like in the days and months after the Wall came down.

The Memorial also reflects on the short history of its own existence, including the struggle to maintain the existing section of border strip with original Wall pieces given residents’ animosity, the interference of neighboring parishes and the profit-driven desire to develop as much of this newly open land as possible.

From a specially constructed viewing tower, you can look down into the memorial for a better sense of the entire border complex, view the small chapel constructed from the rubble following the 1986 destruction of a church which stood on the same spot, enveloped by the Wall for nearly three decades and imagine the current memorial park landscape in its former militarized state.

The interpretive park ends at U8-Bernauer Str., but you may choose to extend your walk to Mauerpark, the meeting point of three Berlin districts. On Sundays, this lively strip is host to a popular flea market, chock full of original Berlin souvenirs; in the afternoons, free and friendly karaoke steals the show on the amphitheater stage.

Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer, Bernauer Str. 119. Outdoor displays accessible at all times, indoor displays 9:30 AM to 7 PM (summer), to 6 PM (winter), closed Mondays, free admission. S-Nordbahnhof, U8-Bernauer Str.

A memorial dedicated to freedom, the East Side Gallery features restored murals that graced the Wall before the fall. Photo: Antonio Campoy

2. Visit other bits of the Wall

Other places to view original segments of the Wall include Berlin’s East Side Gallery (running along the Spree between S-Ostbahnhof and S-Warschauer Str.) or the Topography of Terror (between Potsdamer Platz and Checkpoint Charlie). There are numerous Wall pieces which have now been sprinkled around Potsdamer Platz and Leipziger Platz, generally not in their original location.

3. Explore the German Historical Museum

To understand better the parallel developments in West and East Germany following the end of World War II, including the events leading to reunification, visit the German Historical Museum’s permanent exhibition. An entire floor is dedicated to this period, and visitors to the well-designed display get an excellent sense of the events leading to the division of Germany, as well as the significance of the erection of the Berlin Wall and the inner-German border for the GDR economy and East-West German relations in the mid- to late-20th century.

Deutsches Historisches Museum, Unter den Linden 2. Open 10 AM To 6 PM daily, admission €8/4. S-Friedrichstr., S-Hackescher Markt, S-Alexanderplatz, bus stop Unter den Linden/Staatsoper.

4. Trace the path of the Wall

Where was the Wall located? Well, in the center of Berlin, the former path of the westernmost element of the Berlin Wall security complex is often marked by a cobblestone line, regularly inset with copper plates stating, “Berliner Mauer 1961-1989.” You can easily pick up this line running behind the Reichstag and around the Brandenburg Gate, past the Holocaust Memorial, up to Potsdamer Platz, then past the Topography of Terror and Checkpoint Charlie to points beyond.

It may be difficult to believe it today, but anywhere you’re standing in the Potsdamer Platz area—now home to the Sony Center and numerous other highrise developments—was once entirely empty, fully contained within the Berlin Wall complex.

In other sections of Berlin, the Wall perimeter wasn’t marked with the cobblestone line. The Wall border followed the sector boundaries between West and East Berlin (which typically followed the borough or Bezirk boundaries which even today divide the city into its various districts), which is why one of the city’s most important stretches can be found in the Bernauer Str., the boundary between the districts of Mitte (East) and Wedding (West).

The truly dedicated can study this map carefully in order to understand whether they are in West or East Berlin at any given moment. If you’ve found a boundary but aren’t sure which side you’re on, you can safely guess that the side closest to the Fernsehturm (TV Tower) on Alexanderplatz is probably the “East.”

5. Cross between East and West Berlin at Friedrichstrasse station

If you find yourself confused and lost by the complicated design of the Friedrichstrasse train station, this is not without reason. One of the city’s transportation hubs, the station was redesigned to maintain separate passenger flows for eastern and western travelers after it became an essential border crossing between East and West Berlin following the Wall’s construction. You can see a giant model of this elaborate system in the bright blue Tränenpalast, or Palace of Tears, just outside the station next to the Spree canal.

It was here that many West Berliners exited the GDR; the name refers to the tears that were shed as families affected by German division were forced to say their goodbyes. The building now houses an excellent historical exhibition on border crossings, with eyewitness accounts from those who left East Germany legally and illegally, those who visited and passed through rigorous controls, those who smuggled, and those performing the controls.

Grenzerfahrungen – Tränenpalast at Bahnhof Friedrichstr., Reichstagufer 17. Open 9 AM to 7 PM weekdays (closed Mondays), 10 AM to 6 PM weekends and holidays, free admission.

6. Look away from Checkpoint Charlie

Checkpoint Charlie remains, however, the most infamous of all Berlin crossing points. The third of three around the city nicknamed by Allied soldiers after the first letters of the military’s phonetic alphabet (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie), Charlie was reserved for foreigners and military personnel entering East Berlin and thus played a role in nearly every East-West spy novel or movie set during this period.

To gain an accurate picture of the crossing, don’t gawk at the replica booth flanked with sandbags and men in costume uniforms; stand instead with your back to the spectacle and stare down Friedrichstr. This entire intersection—everything between the Zimmerstr. to where the highrise buildings begin—made up the historical checkpoint; you’ll note this is an area far larger than the tiny booth would lead you to believe. Today, much of this area is surrounded by fencing covered in an informational historical exhibit which is worth reading further.

Checkpoint Charlie, corner of Zimmerstr. and Friedrichstr. Accessible all hours, no admission. U6-Kochstr.

7. Visit an East German apartment

Traveling on the U5 subway line eastward from Alexanderplatz, you will find yourself driving into the deepest heart of GDR Berlin: through the districts of Lichtenberg and Marzahn, buildings take on the characteristic heights and pre-fab construction styles once (and still) ubiquitous across the GDR. Your ride ends in Hellersdorf, at U-Cottbusser Platz, where one of Berlin’s housing management companies has maintained an original—once highly coveted—three-room apartment with authentic furnishings.

The apartment was typical for the area; more than half of the 42,000 apartments built in Hellersdorf, developed quickly to meet the needs of young families with small children, were perfectly identical to the one on display.

Museumswohnung in der Platte, Hellersdorferstr. 179. Open Sundays from 2-4 PM (other times by arrangement), free admission. U5-Cottbusser Platz.

8. Consider everyday life

Through traditional and multimedia displays, including original media and recent interviews with former GDR citizens, a museum in the Kulturbrauerei in Prenzlauer Berg highlights the chasm between the Socialist utopia promoted by the GDR government and the everyday realities of life for those on the ground, with a special focus on the way the government exerted control over its citizens. The display includes a large collection of original GDR-designed products, including, of course, a pristine Trabi automobile.

Alltag in der DDR – Museum in der Kulturbrauerei, Knaackstr. 97. Open 10 AM to 6 PM (to 8 PM Thursdays), closed Mondays, free admission. U2-Eberswalder Str.

9. Study the Stasi files

To understand the degree to which the GDR exploited its own citizens in the maintenance of control and the methods used to repress and monitor suspected dissidents, you may appreciate the informative exhibition on the state security apparatus known as the Stasi, housed near Checkpoint Charlie. The information center at BStU-Bildungszentrum is curated by the state agency which maintains the Stasi file archive; here historians, researchers, and citizens can request access to the information painstakingly collected and documented by the SED apparatus.

Stasi Exhibition – Bildungszentrum BStU, Zimmerstr. 90. Open daily 10 AM to 6 PM, free admission. U6-Kochstr.

10. Take a guided tour of the Berlin Wall

Rent Mauerguide, a GPS-guided audio tour providing comprehensive information on the Berlin Wall and nearly every location discussed in this article. €10/day (€8/4 hours), students receive €3 discount. Pick up/drop off at Bernauer Str., Brandenburg Gate, or Checkpoint Charlie.

Berliner Unterwelten e.V. offers a two-hour Under the Berlin Wall (M) underground walking tour for €13/€10. Starts near S-Gesundbrunnen at 3 PM on Fridays and Sundays, with tours every weekday at 3 PM during the summer.

Fat Tire Bikes offers a five-hour Berlin Wall and Cold War tour for €24. Starts from S-/U-Alexanderplatz at 10:30 AM on Mondays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays (summer).

Berlin on Bike offers Berlin Wall or Wall Eyewitness tours—the former €19, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 11 AM; the latter €25, Saturdays at 10 AM Both 3.5-hour tours start at the Kulturbrauerei (U2-Eberswalder Str.).

The post 10 ways to explore the history of the Berlin Wall appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

EuroCheapo is teaming up with airberlin and visitBerlin to offer this unique “Fall of the Wall” trip giveaway. Join the country in celebrating the end of a political division and the beginning of a peaceful reunification.

Spend the weekend of November 7-9 visiting artistic exhibits, touring the former Wall, taking in some theater, and experiencing the illuminated helium balloon installation along the former Wall’s border. And those are just a few of the festivities you could partake in. Read about many more here.

One lucky winner will receive:

• Two round-trip tickets on airberlin from the US to Berlin in November 2014.

• Complimentary accommodation for three nights in central Berlin, courtesy of visitBerlin.

How to enter

To enter to win, simply fill in the form below. By entering this contest, you will also be subscribing to EuroCheapo’s “Weekly Cheapo” newsletter.

On July 16th, we’ll randomly draw the name of one lucky winner. It’s that simple. Hopefully, you can join the party this November in Berlin. Good luck!

Sorry, this contest has now ended.

Contest rules

• Winner will be randomly chosen on July 16 and contacted by email. Winner will be given 24 hours to respond to the notification email. If no response is received within 24 hours, this entry will be voided and EuroCheapo will draw another winner.

• Winner receives two Economy Class seats on airberlin from any airberlin US departure airport to Berlin Tegel, valid for November 2014 travel.

• Three nights accommodation will be provided in a Berlin hotel or hostel (private room with bath).

• Participants must be at least 18 years old at date of entry. Other rules and restrictions apply. Contest is open to the public.

• By entering this contest, you are also subscribing to EuroCheapo’s “Weekly Cheapo” newsletter.

• Only one entry will be permitted per person.

• Current EuroCheapo newsletter subscribers and past contest participants are not automatically entered into the contest, and must fill out the form above to be entered into this contest.

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We’ve also compiled a list of the best books on Barcelona, so Cheapos can pick something up to read on the train or in your hotel room to get a deeper understanding of one of Europe’s greatest cities.

Altaïr
Gran Via Corts Catalanes, 616

This is THE spot for travel guides, travel novels, travel gear and meeting fellow travelers in Barcelona. Like all the shops on this list, most of the books here are in Catalan or Spanish, but you’ll also find some English goodies. Altaïr’s bulletin board allows travelers to meet other folks who are globe-trotting solo and want company.  I always marvel at their listings, and I have a friend who has gone on several exotic voyages after meeting people through the Altaïr board. You never know!

Laie
Pau Claris 85

There are quite a few branches of this bookshop around the city. A favorite of mine is on Pau Claris under Cafe Laie. Here’s how you visit: browse the bookshop, purchase a title that catches your eye and read it upstairs over a cup of coffee.

FNAC

Pl. Catalunya 4

A biggie and definitely not indie, but it’s still worth mentioning because of their enormous selection of English titles and frequent special events. You want a best seller for the beach? You’ll find it here. Also, FNAC is easy to locate. It’s right on Plaza Catalunya in the center of town. Apart from books they’ve got music, technology, a cafe and a convenient concert ticket sales counter. Plus, check their calendar, because they often put on art exhibits, offer free concerts, and invite authors to read at the store.

Garb a book off the shelf and then head upstairs to the cafe at La Central. Photo: Garret Ziegler

La Central
Elisabets, 6

An exceptional choice for books on art and hipster guides to the city is La Central. With several stores in Barcelona and Madrid, count on spending at least a few hours flipping through their offerings. I recommend the shop in El Raval.

Recommended Barcelona Reads

Now that you know where to get your guides, novels, and non-fiction, it’s time to grab a book off the shelf and read up on Barcelona. Here are a few titles I recommend in a more or less chronological order. Leaf through these publications listed below before or during your trip to Barcelona to get a deeper look into the city.

Start with: “Cathedral of the Sea” by Ildefonso Falcones for some page-turner historical fiction.

Then try: “Shadow of the Wind” by Carlos Ruiz Zafónto to get an idea of what the Gothic Quarter and Tibidabo were like. Again, this is high-drama fiction and a best seller.

Next up: “As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning” which is a beautifully written biography by Laurie Lee.

Finally some classics: Hemingway’s “Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises”, Orwell’s “Homage to Catalonia”, a must-read, and Richard Wright’s “Pagan Spain” for another view.

The post Barcelona’s best bookshops, and a reading list for travelers appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Leipzig was not the best place to be 200 years ago this week. From October 16-19, 1813, European history was shaped in the meadows just south of the city. Over 500,000 soldiers fought over the future of their continent.

Related: Leipzig budget travel guide

October 1813

The Battle of Nations was one of the decisive conflicts — many would say the most decisive one — of the Napoleonic Wars. France had triumphed over five opposing coalitions, before stumbling at Borodino in 1812 (where Napoleon may nominally have won but his forces suffered grave losses in the process) and then being defeated at Leipzig in October 1813.

Outside the impressive Monument to the Battle of Nations.

Some 110,000 men lost their lives at Leipzig. A similar number suffered terrible injuries. The citizens of Leipzig were not mere onlookers in the conflict. In the days and weeks after the battle, the city endured major epidemics. Richard Wagner’s father died from typhus in Leipzig that fall, and before long the Wagner family had left the city. We can but speculate how the course of musical and operatic history might have evolved if the Wagner family had stayed in Leipzig.

Recalling the victims of war

The Battle of Nations is recalled in Leipzig today in a number of monuments. The most beautiful is the Russian Orthodox church at the northern margin of the former battlefield. The church, dedicated to the 14th-century Metropolitan Alexej of Moscow was built by workers from Russia and its opening coincided with the centenary of the Battle of Nations. In the victorious coalition at Leipzig, Russia paid the highest price in terms of war dead.

But the most striking is the more secular memorial erected by the German authorities to also mark the centenary of the battle. At the time, it was Europe’s largest monument and it remains mightily impressive today. There are the predictable flaming swords and firebrands of war. But there are also intensely beautiful sculptures inside the monument where the Hall of Fame has eight huge death masks, attended by sixteen warriors with their heads lowered in mourning.

The monument to the Battle of Nations

The monument is a short tram ride southeast from the city centre. It is worth going at a time when the interior is open to the public, as you can then climb up through the galleries to reach the viewing platform on top of the monument. It affords a magnificent panorama of Leipzig. Opening times are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily in summer (and from just 10 a.m.-4 p.m. from November through March).

This monument alone is good cause to make tracks for Leipzig. But there are many more besides and we shall look at other features of the city in two further articles this month on Leipzig.

The post 200 years on, Leipzig recalls the Battle of Nations appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Horst Sindermann, one-time member of the GDR politburo, recalled the events of fall 1989 in Leipzig a few years later. “We were prepared for everything,” he said. “But not for candles and prayers.”

Related: Leipzig budget travel guide

Leipzig city center with the tower of St Nicholas’ Church in the background.

Praying for change

The peace prayers at Leipzig’s St Nicholas’ Church have a history that dates back over 30 years, but it was only in late 1989 that they caught the attention of the international media. Here was a grass-roots revolution in the making. On successive Mondays there were arrests of activists and others involved in the peace prayers. On October 7, 1989, the GDR celebrated the fortieth anniversary of its foundation. Two days later, the Leipzig evening vigil with candles and prayers attracted huge crowds as never before.

Demonstrations on the streets of Leipzig

Amid an atmosphere of remarkable calm and intense concentration (but coupled with anxiety about how the authorities would react), thousands of Leipzig citizens peacefully demanded a new future for their country. The fragile flame of democracy and change was tended in the small candles carried by each participant.

If there was one turning point in the fate of their country, it was that Monday evening in Leipzig. Violent confrontation was averted, and the more intelligent members of the politburo quickly realized that power was slipping inexorably from their hands.

Recalling the peaceful revolution

Light filled the streets of Leipzig that Monday evening, and the events of 9 October 1989 are nowadays recalled each year in Leipzig’s Festival of Lights. This evening will be something special in Leipzig, but as nothing compared with 9 October 2014 when the GDR’s peaceful revolution will be recalled 25 years on. The city’s inner ring road will be closed to traffic and a series of performances and processions will recall the strong sense of community daring that characterized October 9, 1989.

An echo of 1989: the Monday demonstrations in Leipzig still take place.

For more details about the 2014 events, go to www.leipziger-freiheit.de/lichtfest.

Monday evening demonstrations continue

This evening’s events in Leipzig will be more modest in scale. If you cannot make it today, you can still catch the spirit of protest in Leipzig by visiting Leipzig any Monday evening. The peace prayers still take place at St Nicholas’ Church, perpetuating a long Leipzig tradition. It is a strong reminder that social injustice was not eradicated by the events of 1989.

The post Living History: Leipzig’s Festival of Lights on October 9 appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Because most visitors enter the memorial from the western end at Ebertstrasse, they are unaware that the massive field also hides a large informational exhibition, built under the memorial itself. Although you should certainly take time to feel lost in Eiseman’s maze-like construction, entrance to the museum is most easily found by walking along its outer perimeter to the Cora-Berliner-Strasse on its eastern side. A satellite image of the area makes the information center’s entrance more visible.

You’ll want to plan at least an hour to visit the underground exhibition and fifteen minutes to wander through the undulating stelae.

The exhibition is free of charge and presented in both German and English. Saturdays at 3 p.m., the center also offers a free English-language tour. Summer hours: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; winter hours 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.. Closed Mondays. The memorial is accessible 24 hours per day.

Nearby, you’ll also find two other memorials to Nazi-persecuted groups: homosexuals and the Sinti and Roma. Both are located in the Tiergarten, within short walking distance of the Holocaust memorial. Use this link to find their exact locations.

The post Site of Remembrance: Germany’s Holocaust Memorial in Berlin appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Northern Ireland’s Titanic Belfast is in this rarefied category. The museum provides information about the Titanic itself, the Belfast shipyards where it was built, and, more impressive yet, the social and cultural milieu of Belfast in the early 20th Century. The museum is edgy, even experimental, while remaining firmly, smartly tailored to children’s shorter attention spans and desires for novelty from room to room.

Museum overview

Titanic Belfast opened to much media fanfare in March 2012. The sizable museum is distributed across nine galleries in all. My personal favorite is probably the very first, a gallery titled Boomtown Belfast, devoted to the city of the early 1900s. The gallery provides a rich sense of Belfast at this historical point, reproducing news stories from the era and operating an interactive floor. And if that seems too heady, the following gallery involves an actual ride through a dark, richly animated space depicting shipbuilding during the era of the Titanic.

There are innovative displays throughout the building, but the first two galleries may just take the cake. The building itself is also an impressive architectural oddity, conceptualized by London-based CivicArts / Eric R Kuhne & Associates with Belfast’s Todd Architects as Lead Consultant. The building is covered with several thousand 3D aluminum plates at dramatic angles; reflective pools at ground level render the construction even more dramatic.

The modern building is almost as interesting as the displays within.

Visitor information

Titanic Belfast can be found in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter, a regeneration scheme of a district with many facilities for tourists. There are walking tours provided by Titanic Tours Belfast, which focus on important Titanic historical sites, the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland, W5 Interactive Discovery Centre, a science and discovery center, and Belfast Sea Safari, a sightseeing speedboat tour.

There are other reasons to visit Belfast, but this museum ranks near the top. Its ambition is exciting and its exhibitions are fresh and appealing.

Admission to Titanic Belfast is £14.75 for adults and £7.25 for kids aged five through 16. There is a slight discount for online ticket purchases.  From April through September, the museum is open every day from 9 a.m. – 7 pm. From October through March, opening hours are 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. every day. There is parking on site.

The post A Titanic Tale on Display in Belfast appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Echoes of colonial rule

Cast back one hundred years and Spain had just secured (through the Treaty of Fez in the spring of 1912) international recognition for her North African protectorate which extended from Larache on the Atlantic coast to well east of Melilla on the Mediterranean coast. Moroccan independence in 1956 spelled the end of the protectorate, but Spain has clung to two cities on the coast of Morocco, eight offshore islands in the Alboran Sea and one heavily fortified rock connected to the Moroccan mainland by a sandy isthmus.

Many of these fragments of Spanish territory are no-go areas for civilians, but the two cities, Melilla and Ceuta, both make interesting excursions for travelers exploring the western Mediterranean. And each is a potential gateway to Africa – albeit a very unusual introduction to the continent.

Fortress Europe

Both Melilla and Ceuta share common land borders with Morocco, and in each case that frontier is marked by a ferocious border fence, designed to deter migrants from elsewhere in Africa who might otherwise use Ceuta and Melilla as easy routes into the European Union. These are, in a very real sense, gated communities.

That said, there is a high level of contact between the two Spanish cities and nearby communities in Morocco — in Ceuta particularly with Tetouan province and in Melilla especially with Nador province. Yet, for many Africans, the two Spanish cities on the coast of Morocco are a very tangible manifestation of Fortress Europe.

Many faces, many races

Both cities are similarly large, in each case with a population of about 70,000 including an interesting mix of Spanish, Moroccan, Berber, and Jewish settlers. In both cities, you’ll hear a rich mix of languages, recalling the cosmopolitan mosaic of races, cultures and religions that long characterized many Mediterranean ports. In Ceuta, there is even a small Hindi-speaking population.

Travel options

Ceuta has a more industrial feel, as befits a port that handles a wide range of goods and has huge ferries leaving every hour for Spain proper. Melilla is a shade more laid-back, relying heavily on the local fishing industry. Both towns make for a curious first taste of Africa.

Given the choice, make for Melilla rather than Ceuta. During the current winter season, Acciona Trasmediterranea operate daily ferries from both Málaga and Almería to Melilla. The passage time is six to nine hours. Melilla is well placed for onward journeys through Morocco. After a stay in Melilla, it is an easy walk over the border to pick up the Moroccan rail network at Beni Nsar.

Visa questions

Ceuta and Melilla are both part of the Eurozone and both are on the same time zone as mainland Spain (so, depending on the time of year, either one or two hours in advance of Morocco).

Both cities are part of  the Schengen area. Thus, a Schengen visa is valid for entry to both these fragments of Spanish territory in North Africa. However, if you are planning onward travel beyond Ceuta and Melilla into Morocco (and beyond), bear in mind that you will be leaving the Schengen area. A single-entry Schengen visa will thus be canceled as you leave Spanish territory and you will not be able to reenter the Schengen area without securing a new visa. Similarly, make sure that your passport is valid for visa-free travel to Morocco before planning journeys beyond Ceuta or Melilla. And, if it isn’t, then don’t forget that Moroccan visa.

The post Melilla and Ceuta: A touch of Spain in Africa appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

For those looking to experience the lesser-known side of the country, here is why Spain’s southernmost port should be added to your itinerary.

It’s The Epicenter Of Kite Surfing

While once just a tiny fishing village, water sport enthusiasts began flocking to Tarifa once they realized how strong and steady the winds were. Today, it is one of the most popular destinations for windsurfing and kitesurfing in Europe.

When visiting Tarifa, the first thing you’ll notice are the myriad kite surfing schools littering the town, as well as the hundreds of colorful kites zipping over the water.

Relax at night with a table of tapas.

Easy Access To Morocco

For those who wish to step onto the African continent, you can take a speedy ferry from Tarifa in about 45 minutes. Several ferries leave daily, and are €31 (about $40) each way. You’ll land in Tangier, where you can hire a local guide at the ferry terminal or just wander the streets on your own.

Fresh Seafood

You know you’re getting fresh seafood because you’re right on the coast. Additionally, the small local restaurants of this laid-back Andalusian town use traditional methods to create high quality tapas. Some worthwhile restaurants serving fresh Spanish seafood and tapas include Restaurant Morilla and Bodega La Casa Amarilla on Calle Sancho IV el Bravo and Bar Los Melli on Guzman el Bueno.

Alternatively, Tarifa is also home to many non-Spanish restaurants, like Ali Baba for Middle Eastern, Rosso Pomodoro for Italian and Surla for Sushi, crepes and burgers—for when you’re in the mood for something else.

Hit the beach—and take a kit-surfing class!

Both Atlantic And Mediterranean Beaches

When visiting Tarifa, you’ll be able to swim in both the Atlantic and Mediterranean in one day. There’s Beach Playa Chica which sits on the Mediterranean, while less than a 10 minute walk away is Beach Playa Los Lances on the Atlantic.

In the Old Town, you can also walk out on the dock to have the windy Atlantic on the north side, and the calmer Mediterranean on the south side.

Active Pursuits

Along with being the windsurfing and kitesurfing capital of Europe, it also features opportunities to horseback ride, surfski, surf, scuba dive, stand up paddle board, cycle and hike.

While water sports and horseback riding can be enjoyed at the many beaches, cycling and hiking can be done at one of the local parks or nature reserves. For example, Los Alcornocales Nature Park showcases untouched mountain, beach and forest landscapes, an array of bird and land-animal species and lookout points providing views of Andalusia beyond Tarifa.

Take a ride on a zipline.

Rich History

Tarifa has a rich history that is still visible today. At the end of Tarifa’s main road, Batalla del Salado, you’ll see a giant arch letting you know you’re passing into the old town. Narrow cobblestoned streets, Moorish architecture and whitewashed buildings create an Old-World atmosphere, while sights like Guzman Castle, medieval ruins and 10th-century Arabic city walls are a reminder of the city’s Muslim rule from 710 to 1292.

The Castle of Guzman El Bueno was built in 960 AD and is the site where General Guzman el Bueno’s son was held hostage by the Moors in 1294, wanting him to surrender the castle. The general refused, even tossing his own dagger down to his enemies to show his bravery. Unfortunately, the Moors used the dagger to kill the boy.

Getting There

If you’re flying, you’ll arrive in Pablo Picasso Airport (AGP) in Malaga. From there, you can either rent a car and drive to Tarifa, or opt to take a bus from the city center. To go straight to Tarifa, the bus comes three times per day, at 7:30 a.m., 12:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Your other option is to take a faster bus to Algeciras, which is only 12 miles from Tarifa. There are about 15 buses per day leaving from Malaga to Algeciras. In Algeciras, you’ll walk about 10 minutes to get to the COMES bus station, where you can catch a bus to Tarifa. For more information on how to get to Tarifa, click here.

Cheapo Accommodation

Tarifa is home to many affordable and comfortable accommodation options. The Melting Pot is popular with backpackers, and is right in the center of town walking distance from all activities and attractions. If you don’t want to share a dorm, which costs €13 (about $17) per night, they also offer a double room for €35 (about $45) per night. All rooms include breakfast.

For something a little more upscale but still affordable, Hotel Misiana is a charming, 21st-century hotel that starts at €39 (about $50) per night, including breakfast. And while you won’t find over-the-top luxury hotels in Tarifa, one that comes close is Hotel Copacabana, located just opposite Valdevaqueros Beach and in front of Los Alcornocales National Park. Room rates start at €85 (about $108) per night.

The post Tarifa: Spain’s oft-overlooked destination appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.