Spain and Portugal for Visitors

Introduction and Highlights
The province of Huelva is one of the least known corners of Spain, holding some authentic treasures for the visitor. Its greatest attraction is its half of the Costa de la Luz (the other half being in the province of Cádiz). The province's main claims to fame are its nature reserves, particularly Doñana National Park, the most important wetland in Europe; Christopher Columbus, who planned and launched his voyage of discovery here; its gastronomy, including magnificent seafood and the exquisite and expensive jamón de Jabugo, as well as surprisingly good and unusual wines; its mines and mineral resources, exploited for so many years by different incarnations of the English-owned Rio Tinto Company; and the fact that it was here during World War II that one of the greatest espionage ploys of all time culminated (while few people remember what Operation Mincemeat was about, most have seen the magnificent 1956 film based on it, The Man who Never Was).

Geography
Huelva lies to the east of the River Guadiana and its estuary, which mark Spain's southern border with Portugal. It is Seville's natural outlet to the sea and popular with the inhabitants of that province and others in Andalusia as a holiday or weekend break destination. In addition, it has become fashionable in recent years, paradoxically because it was once considered one of the least interesting corners of Spain, meaning that developers and speculators largely left it alone. In consequence, it now has some of the finest, least spoilt stretches of coast in the Mediterranean (to use the term very loosely; the Costa de la Luz is not the Med at all, but the Atlantic). Much of this shoreline has an attractive, characteristic mixture of long, white-sandy beaches backed by dunes, often pine-wooded.

Behind the coast, Huelva is a broad, featureless plain, the Tierra Llana until the province's countless sierras begin to rise to the north. These can be considered spurs to the great Sierra Morena and are the source of both the province's rich mineral ore and the silt which forms the plain - Huelva is a lot bigger than it was during the Tartassos civilization of around 3,000 years ago

Places in Huelva
The city of Huelva itself is not the most enticing place in Spain, but because of its past has a number of peculiar features of interest to students of industrial history. What is more, archaeological finds suggest that it is the oldest city in the country, founded before the peak of the Tartassos civilization. That does not make Huelva a place to stay for very long - a much better plan is to rent a car and move about, or adopt one of the attractive if unsensational fishing villages and resorts on the Costa de la Luz as a base to explore from: for example, Isla Cristina, La Antilla or El Rompido in the west, or Punta Umbria nearer Huelva. To be close to Doñana, there is only one really convenient option, Matalascañas (Sanlúcar de Barrameda or Chipiona in Cádiz on the other side of the Guadalquivir look close on the map, but are not well communicated). Unfortunately, most accommodation in Matalascañas is in the form of second homes and holiday apartments, so you are advised to plan ahead if you want to stay in one of the scarce hotels or hostals.

Huelva Links
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