Spain has it all - year-round warm weather, beautiful historic architecture and (most importantly) a number of fantastic football grounds to visit.
With daily flights from low-cost airlines such as Ryanair and EasyJet, getting over to Spain has never been easier or cheaper. With flight times of around 2 and a half hours, it's easily done in a long weekend too.
So, pack your bags, book your airport parking through https://parkos.co.uk/, and enjoy some of these magnificent stadiums that Spain has to offer!
Valencia's Mestalla is one of the oldest and grandest stadiums in Spain. First opened in 1923, it has a current capacity just short of 50,000.
It has hosted a number of prestigious events including all 3 of Spain's group matches at the 1982 World Cup. It also hosted all of Spain's pre-final games in the 1992 Olympics as the host nations went on to win the gold medal. The Copa Del Rey final has been held at the Mestalla 10 times.
Being 100 years old, the status of the ground has been under much discussion with the club having started construction on a new stadium back in 2007. Construction work has been halted several times due to financing issues, but we can expect that the Mestalla's days are numbered - if you want to experience a match there, you'll need to organise it soon!
The biggest stadium in Spain is also the biggest football stadium in Europe. Barcelona's Camp Nou has a capacity of just under 100,000 which will be increased over the next few years as the club looks to moderise the stadium.
These plans include adding an extra 13,500 seats which would take the overall capacity to over 110,000. This would make the Camp Nou the 3rd largest stadium in the world after 1st May Stadium in North Korea (114,000) and Narendra Modi Stadium in India (132,000). Other improvements include facilities upgrades and covering the entire stadium with a roof.
Camp Nou was first opened back in 1957 and boasts a record capacity of 120,000 set in a 1986 European Cup quarter final against Italian giants Juventus. It hosted 5 matches at the 1984 World Cup and is the most-visited stadium on our website outside of the UK.
Spain's capital city is home to another of the country's oldest and most grand stadiums - Real's Estadio Santiago Bernabeu has recently undergone a refurbishment, aimed at modernising the stadium and improving the match day experience for fans. The work cost the club over €500m.
The Bernabeu is the 2nd largest football stadium in the country with a current capacity of 81,000. This is some way short of the club's record attendance, set back in 1956 when 129,690 people packed into the ground to watch Los Blancos take on Italian side Milan.
The stadium has hosted a number of high-profile matches including 3 games at Euro 1964 (one of which being Spain's 2-1 victory over Soviet Union in the final), 3 matches at the 1982 World Cup (including Italy's 3-1 victory over West Germany in the final).
The Bernabeu has also hosted 4 European Cup/Champions League finals (1957, 1969, 1980, 2010) as well as the 2018 Copa Libertadores final between River Plate and Boca Juniors.
My daughter's first ever football match - Orlando City v Atlanta United, August 2019. Written for Izzy to read when she gets old enough. Vamos Orlando
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