Cue the abuse. I'm bound to upset a few residents with this post, so, here goes...

Though Spain is a great country, filled with fascinating places to visit, not every city is worth a visit. There, I said it.

Whenever I meet tourists traveling through Spain, I try to ask them where they're heading to next. Most people have great itineraries - Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Granada and Valencia are the most common ones.


But sometimes I wince when I hear where people are heading. "Why are you going there?" I ask. "Dunno", comes the reply, "Looks like a good place to stop."

I blame the guidebooks. Their writers often seem to be afraid to be honest about some of Spain's less interesting cities. If you believed Lonely Planet or the Rough Guide, every city in Spain is worth visiting. Often the writer lives in the city in question and so knows the hidden gems that are so well hidden, the tourist won't find them. Or maybe they're worried they'll be called philistines for missing a city's subtle charm.

I think it's time for a little honesty, so I decided to write this list of cities in Spain that are not really worth a visit. OK, they may be great places to live. There may be some fascinating places in the vicinity. Some of them may even occupy you for half a day. But there are far, far better places to visit than these cities:

Worst Cities in Spain