Huelva
Huelva is a province of southern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Andalucia. It is bordered by Portugal, the provinces of Bajadoz, Sevilla, and Cadiz, and the Atlantic Ocean. Its capital is Huelva.
The city of Huelva is located along the Gulf of Cadiz coast, where the Odiel and Rio Tinto rivers merge. Of great importance as a fishing port as well as for its industry, Huelva is mainly an industrial city. Also it's the centre of one of the largest concentrations of beaches in Spain. Talking of water, there are twelve caves with underground lakes under the hill beneath the Aracena castle.Huelva may lack the region's star attractions of other provincial capitals, but once you get past the industrial sprawl on its outskirts, the centre is a pleasant place with many pretty plazas, absorbing historical monuments and, as you'd expect from a city with a bustling port, a wealth of seafood bars and restaurants.
The mineral wealth of the area north of Huelva brought Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans who, along with the later arrivals of the Moors, left their archaeological mark on the city. Visit the Museo de Huelva to see evidence of their stay in Huelva.
Exploitation of copper deposits much later by British interests made Huelva into something of a boom town. Many grand buildings were erected in the late 19th century and the early 20th century, like the Casa Colon, the imposing Gran Teatro and the Clínica Sanz de Frutos.
The province contains Palos de la Frontera, and Moguer, where Christopher Columbus sailed out of on his first voyage in 1492, and shares the Parque Nacional de Donana with Sevilla province. In fact, Christopher Columbus is Huelva's favourite son and his monument stands proud in the city. He started his travel to America from the nearby Palos de la Frontera. There you may still visit the monastery where he prepared his travel, alongside with a reconstruction of the port and the three famous ships.
