Inland Spain

CULTURE

Another famous route is the Way of Saint James which, before reaching Santiago de Compostela (Galicia), takes you through parts of Aragón, Navarre, La Rioja and Castile-León. An unforget- table spiritual experience and a pilgrim- age showing you incredible cultural and artistic gems along the way. The routes through the prettiest towns in Spain take you to delightful places like the Medieval town square in Chinchón, in Madrid, and incredi- ble castles, city walls and churches in towns of Castile-León, such as Astorga (León), Ciudad Rodrigo (Salamanca) and Medinaceli (Soria). The Hemingway Route will take you to Pamplona (Navarre) where you can dis- cover the places which the Nobel prize- winner fell in love with and where he re- turned a total of nine times. Another fascinating possibility is the Se- pharad Route , an invitation to explore Jewish Spain and its most important monuments. There are over 20 places

of interest along this route. Special mention should go to Toledo, the city which was the spiritual and administra- tive centre of western Jewish culture for centuries. In Cáceres and Segovia you can also take a stroll through the delightfully restored Jewish quarters. CULTURAL ACTIVITIES AND PERFORMING ARTS Inland Spain offers an amazing selection of cultural activities related to music, theatre, film and more. Here are a few suggestions. The first major festival of the year on Spain's cultural calendar takes place in Logroño (La Rioja). This is the Actual Escenario de Culturas Contemporáneas , a contemporary per- forming arts festival including concerts, theatre performances, film premieres and exhibitions. In March, Pamplona (Navarre) becomes a world centre for documentary films with the Punto de Vista International Documentary Film Festival , with activities in different parts of the city for all kinds of audiences.

MATADERO MADRID

35

Photo: Hiberus ©Madrid Destino