Spain: A destination for cultural gap year travel

While more commonly associated with weekend breaks and package holidays, Spain is also a great country to visit during a gap year adventure.

Nadine Hallak, travel expert at Cheapflights.co.uk, noted that some areas of the Mediterranean nation are "vital" for culture vultures, and lovers of food, drink and the arts.

And visiting the Iberian Peninsula during a gap year trip gives people more time - enabling them to experience the 'real' Spanish culture while visiting hidden gems off the normal tourist trail.

In addition to the usual tourist meccas of Barcelona and Madrid, she suggested the La Rioja province in northern Spain as being worth visiting, in particular its capital Logrono.

This is the areas of the country that produces Rioja wine, and it is also famous for sumptuous traditional cuisine, Ms Hallak noted.

"We’d also recommend San Sebastian for walking trails and traditional Basque country tapas," she added.

"Santiago de Compostela is an old town with a famous cathedral, which is the final point of The Way of St James, a walk for pilgrims which runs throughout all of Europe."

And Oviedo in Asturias - an old town with another cathedral masterpiece - is another popular choice for culture vultures, Ms Hallack said.

A number of Year Our members organise structured gap year programs in Spain, including Art History Abroad, WAVA, GVI, CESA Languages Abroad and Real Gap Experience.

See the different gap year destinations on offer.