Where to base for 1 month in Spain late Summer

[IndigoBluey]

Looking at renting a place on my own for a month in Spain towards the end of Summer mainly for practising my Spanish that I’ve been learning over a few years. Considering booking onto Spanish school too but not fixing location by this. Ideally for beach walks, sampling some good local food, maybe catching the train to nearby towns and cities. I have holidayed plenty in Spain including Salou, Barcelona, Madrid, del Sol, Brava and other places. I just can’t quite figure out where would be best as a base. Has anyone done an extended break in Spain with some good ideas?

I’m not sure @IndigoBluey but I’ll happily keep you company! 😂

San Sebastian if you can find somewhere affordable to rent. Beautiful city.

@MaybeIamJustABitch thanks 🤩 I did wonder if it might be too alone solo but might see if anyone fancies joining for part

I suppose you'd have to consider those parts of Spain that speak the style of Spanish that you know. Catalan is spoken up around Barcelona and that area. Basque is prevalent in the parts of Spain that includes San Sebastian/Donostia, Bilbao and so on. Then there's Galician, Valencian and so on. But ordinary Spanish is also used in these areas, it is dual but there is a slant towards the Regional.

If you use Castilian Spanish I'd have a look at the gorgeous areas around Burgos, Vallodolid, and obviously Madrid, Segovia, Toledo and so on. If you want beaches then have a look at Andalucia and Cadiz. I'm sure you know that there are regional accents too!

Sounds like a great adventure, wishing you luck!

Great information above about the language.

A couple of thoughts.
Do you want mainly Spanish speaking, rather than some/lots English spoken in the community?
Are you ok with high temperatures?
Will you require public transport to get from the airport to the town/village you are staying in?
What is your budget? This will vary wildly, high tourist areas being the most expensive.

Madrid is very different to Salou - which did you prefer?

I did this last Feb/March. Based myself in Nerja which has amazing (free) tapas and a quirky but very friendly Irish bar. They even had paid for drop in Spanish lessons for Brits. Weather wasn't the best but had an amazing time. Have you looked at idealista website, not used it myself yet but you can book out of season apartments there for super reasonable prices and they are fully furnished. I am also free early October..😁🤣

I've not been for years so my suggestions might be outdated but I absolutely adore Ronda in Andalusia. The other place I was very taken with was Mijas (although, not the Donkey taxis!).
How about Granada, so you could explore Alhambra?

What a great decision to have. What about Salamanca? Good language schools.

What have I just read!? “Style of Spanish”? “Ordinary Spanish”?

Do you realise Catalan, Basque, Galician are languages? Not regional variations of Spanish? Or would you say Welsh and Irish are “styles of English” too?

The only accurate wording you used, once, was “Castilian Spanish” - used to make a difference between the Spanish spoken in Spain, and that in Latin American countries.

Catalan is not spoken “up around Barcelona and that area” - it is an official language of the Catalunya, Valencian and Balearic autonomous regions (comunidades). Those regions have almost 15 million people living in them. Valencian is a variation of Catalan but the same language.

I don’t mean to sound aggressive towards you, but your post, wording chosen and/or beliefs about linguistics in Spain are highly offensive and insulting towards those of us who have one of these “styles of Spanish” (😂) as our native languages. It’s enough that up until the mid-1970s they were often banned by the central government for public use, from education settings, literature and written and spoken media.

I suggest educating oneself in the complexities of another country’s history and language heritage, before writing such a post. I am not British, but even I know it would be insensitive to claim Irish is a style of English spoken up around the Belfast area, erasing and diminishing the cultural and historical weight and trauma the language and people carry.

@EstrellaPolar Please do not speak to anyone like that, it is not necessary. You are very angry person by the tone of your post. Again, not necessary. Most non Spanish people will understand exactly what I said.

Oh and I am Irish, and am well versed in colonialism and its effect on language. How did your country get on in South America?

Hasta la Vista baby.

1. Do not speak to anyone like what, exactly? My post was blunt but I do not think disrespectful. Am I not allowed to tell others that their wording is offensive to millions of people?

2. What does colonialism have to do with the different languages used in Spain? I fail to see the link. But to answer your (irrelevant) questions, the Spanish colonialists acted abhorrently in all territories they occupied - not limited to South America.

3. I see you are Irish, so please do answer my question if you will. Do you also refer to Irish Gaelic as a style of English? I am genuinely curious.

Most non-Spanish people would not understand what you have said, no. Because you are implying that Spanish is spoken differently across the country, which is in fact not true. Of course there are accents (which you acknowledge but still separate from the “styles” in certain regions), but someone who hears about this for the first time will come away unaware of the multilingualism that exists in Spain.

Catalan and Galician are as separate a language from Spanish as Portuguese, French or Italian. Do we also call those styles of Spanish? Basque is an indigenous, pre-romance and isolate language as described officially (the only one in Europe) and is practically impossible to learn for non-natives. Think Finnish, Hungarian, Welsh - it has no links to other language groups.

Oh and “hasta la vista” is not a Castilian Spanish expression. Congrats on using it though 😅

I'm wondering to what extent you are going to be able to "practise your Spanish" in a situation like that. You probably don't want to end up like the people described by Juan here:

@samarrange let’s hope I do a tad better than Juan!

I've been to Spanish language schools in Málaga, Córdoba and Valladolid. I'd strongly recommend booking yourself into a course for at least part of your time there, if not the full time. All the language schools I've been to have involved "full immersion" - nothing but Spanish spoken - and as well as lessons, they've arranged sightseeing days away to other local(ISH) places, and local trips to museums, markets etc with the tutors as part of the learning experience.

It can be quite difficult to find people to chat to if you're staying on your own on an unstructured break; you use the same phrases over and over in restaurants etc, and whilst you might practice, it's more difficult to learn that way.

Wherever you go, you can also look for local language exchanges in the evenings. In Málaga I'd recommend Pachange as a well run company who organises just such meetings.

If you stay in one of the old cities accessible from Madrid (eg Toledo, Segovia, Salamanca, Valladolid), you won't get the beaches but you will get a more "Spanish" experience as IME there are far fewer English speaking tourists there, and shopkeepers, hoteliers etc are less likely to speak English (I was last there 3 years ago).

Málaga is a great base for the south - you can easily do day trips to Seville, Granada, córdoba, Ronda, Cadiz, and up and down the coast. There will be more English spoken there.

I am not the only person to find the accent in northern Spain very much easier to understand that that in Andalucia and that may sway your decision, depending on how confident you are in understanding spoken Spanish. However I also feel that if you can master the Andalucia accent, then you'll understand Spanish anywhere! (Well maybe not Buenos Aires but that's another story!)

Barcelona you may want to rule out as although Spanish is widely spoken. Catalan is what locals speak. Although it is good to speak Spanish there a x there are lots of Spanish schools but be aware most of Spain closes for August so you may be unlucky. It's great for beaches, culture , eating out alone etc.

Madrid will be stupid hot in August and of course no sea to get a cool off.
San Sebastian will be cooler