How about exploring some of Spain’s National Parks?

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While banks are not giving much of a return on investment and with property prices showing a marked drop, maybe it is time to turn one’s thoughts to property which, instead of being close to the sea or several golf courses, is within easy striking distance of one or more of the many Spanish universities.
Buying property suitable for student accommodation, within a university city, has long been a good investment. Add to this concept the substantial reduction in property prices in Spain over the past five years and if you hunt around, you could well find some really suitable candidates.
Student registrations are rising each year and although many foreign investors consistently turn to the tourist orientated areas, there is much to be said for property in university cities where there has not been much of an increase in the supply of student accommodation over the last three years, yet the number of students has risen by almost 20% over the same period.
There are some 75 universities in Spain, more than half of which are public and the others are run either privately or by the church. Most universities are concentrated in Madrid, with Barcelona and Valencia following closely behind. Other wonderful university cities to name but a few are Bilbao, Salamanca, Granada and Sevilla.
According to research, student properties in the main Spanish university cities have, over the past few years, typically shown 100% occupancy and during the weeks when universities are out, you can take advantage of your investment and soak up the wealth of history and culture which is right on your doorstep.
Now is a good time to think outside the box and consider investing in one of Spain’s many university cities.
There is so much more to Spain than the ‘costas’ and if you have two or three days to spare, why not head off and stay in one of the many lovely B&B’s or if you really want to soak up some history while you sleep, maybe spend a night in an old castle or monastery.
Paradores de Turismo de España is a chain of Spanish luxury hotels. It was founded by Alfonso XIII of Spain as a means to promote tourism in Spain, with the first establishment opening in Gredos, Ávila, in 1928. A profitable state-run enterprise, the hotels are often in castles, palaces, fortresses, convents, monasteries and other magnificent historic buildings.
They stretch from Galicia in the north-west through Catalonia to Andalusia in the south of Spain, the Canary Islands and to the Spanish cities in North Africa. Prices usually vary according to room, region, and season.
Originally the idea was to build a series of hotels in places which would attract tourism, to some of the most beautiful parts of the country, or to towns which were rich in culture, art and history. The idea was also to refurbish and so make the best of some of the many abandoned artistic and historic monuments.
After 1928, a number of roadside hostels were also built, which were all very similar and which would later be incorporated into the network of Paradores. Almost all of these later establishments have now disappeared and those remaining have been done up completely, such as the ones in Manzanares, Medinaceli, Aranda del Duero and Antequera.
The biggest expansion took place in the ‘60s, coinciding with the boost in tourism the country was going through at the time and with the Spanish transition came a change in management of the Paradores and above all in their dependence on the state. Expansion has since continued to reach the current total of just under a hundred.
Parador de Santiago
At some 500 years old, this is believed to be the oldest hotel in the world.
Parador de Granada
Here as well as taking in the history of the Parador you can also go for a walk around the Alhambra (best to book as entrance is in limited groups)