Spain Extremadura 2026: Inspiring Travel Ideas

A Gallery Dedicated to the Enigmatic Tartessian Culture in Badajoz

On May 8, 2025, King Felipe VI inaugurated the new Protohistory Gallery at the Badajoz Archaeological Museum. It’s home to over 400 artefacts, including the faces from the Turuñuelo site (Extremadura), the first human-faced figures from the Tartessian culture.

The surprising Turuñuelo faces, whose discovery was one of the most important finds in recent times in Spain, are a fundamental part of this gallery, but many other valuable pieces from different areas and periods are also on display. These include funerary vessels, Phoenician jewelry, glass, alabaster, and iron tools.

Visitors can also see ivories with Egyptian influences, exquisite goldsmith’s jewellery like earrings from Cancho Roano, and some of the oldest stone inscriptions on the Iberian Peninsula. A collection of Greek ceramics and decorated Bronze Age stelae further enrich the exhibition. Additionally, the “Turuñuelo feet,” the oldest Greek sculpture in Iberia made from Athenian Parthenon marble, is a notable display.

+ info: https://planvex.es/web/2025/05/trip-tartessus-from-badajoz/

International Festival of Classical Theatre of Mérida

During July and August, the Roman Theatre of Mérida will host the Mérida International Classical Theatre Festival, in this World Heritage city and capital of Extremadura. This event is the oldest classical theatre festival in Spain and is considered the most important of its kind. Furthermore, it is the oldest continuously operating theatre in the world.

For its 72nd edition, performances will take place at the Roman Theatre of Mérida and in other Roman arenas across Extremadura.

A Paradise for Birds and for those who love Nature

Regardless of whether one is in the countryside or a town, Extremadura is considered one of the best places in Europe for birding. And not only in the spring, but throughout the year, making it quite different from other destinations.

There is no shortage of evidence for this: 74% of Extremadura is included in the inventory of Important Birds Areas, which is exceptionally high for both Spain and Europe. An impressive 369 species of birds (resident, summer and winter visitors) have been recorded. There are over 50 protected areas, including Monfragüe National Park, International Tagus Natural Park and Sierra de San Pedro Natural Park, key refuges for the conversation of some of the most threatened species on the continent, like the Spanish Imperial Eagle, Black Stork and Black Vulture.

With these natural resources, Extremadura has specialized in offering services to both national and international tourists who are interested in birds, insects and plants, not forgetting the opportunities for them to enjoy other attractions such as the culture, heritage and gastronomy.

Birding in Extremadura Club

Accommodation, professional guides, activity holiday companies, travel agencies, interpretation centers and tourist offices in the region have come together in the Birding in Extremadura Club, a pioneering initiative in Spain and an example of collaboration between the public and private sectors that seeks to promote birding tourism and offers quality services to the client.

Birding Routes in Extremadura – Click on link, when it loads, click bottom right to view full screen – https://issuu.com/extremadura_tur/docs/birding_routes_in_extremadura

Catalogue of Professional Services – Click on link, when it loads, click bottom right to view full screen – https://issuu.com/extremadura_tur/docs/birding_club_professional_services

FIO 2026, the largest fair of this kind in southern Europe

Extremadura Birdwatching Fair (FIO) is a meeting point for professionals and nature enthusiasts in the unique environment of Monfragüe National Park (province of Cáceres). It will celebrate its 21st edition from February 27 to March 1. This event has put Extremadura on the European map of nature tourism and, in just a few years, it has become a point of reference for the sector in and outside Spain. It is, in fact, the largest fair of its kind in southern Europe.

Gastronomic Routes in Extremadura

Enjoy a variety of flavours and experiences through gastronomic routes in Extremadura. You will find a huge range of sustainable and quality products. Make sure you don’t miss the Iberian Ham Route (Ruta del Ibérico Dehesa de Extremadura), one of the great jewels of Extremadura’s gastronomy (the acorn fed cured Iberian Ham), the Cheese Route (Ruta del Queso), The Olive Oil Route (Ruta del Aceite) or the Ribera del Guadiana Wine and Cava Route (Ruta del vino y el Cava Ribera del Guadiana).

You can be a cheesemaker or even a shepherd for a day, visit cheese factories or cured ham drying factories, enjoy nature in its purest form and watch the Iberian pigs running free and eating acorns on the Dehesas (oak tree meadows). You can also visit olive oil mills and learn how the olive oil is made using traditional ways.

Wineries and endless experiences are waiting for you in Extremadura, all of them accompanied by stunning nature, breath-taking heritage and wonderful food experiences.

Extremadura Gourmet – Click on link, when it loads, click bottom right to view full screen

https://issuu.com/extremadura_tur/docs/extremadura_gourmet_en

‘Dehesa de Extremadura’ Iberian Route – Click on link, when it loads, click bottom right to view full screen – https://issuu.com/extremadura_tur/docs/rutadeliberico_experiencias_en

Extremadura Olive Oil Route – Click on link, when it loads, click bottom right to view full screen

https://issuu.com/extremadura_tur/docs/rutadelaceite_experiencias_en

Catalogue of Professional Services – Click on link, when it loads, click bottom right to view full screen – https://issuu.com/extremadura_tur/docs/directorio_rutas_gastronomicas