Tell us what your favorite film genre is and we’ll tell you which is the perfect getaway for you

Typically, the first question is usually “Beach or mountain?”. The answer can lead to drama in a bad relationship or a simple “okay, but next year we change”, if things are in order. We are going to propose another variable that, in reality, unfolds into many options. “Western or historical?”, “romantic or horror comedy?”, “science fiction or documentary?”. As you can guess, the possibilities are innumerable, but if you are clear about it, in the coming months you could consider, why not, a cinematographic trip aboard the AVE.

Travel to Seville if science fiction is your thing

On April 21, 1992, the first AVE in history in Spain left the Atocha station. His destination, Seville, where that same year the famous Universal Exposition was held. Seville is so wonderful, of course, that its streets can serve as a setting for any genre. One of the most unexpected, perhaps, is science fiction. In September 2000, a gigantic team disembarked in the city of the Guadalquivir to shoot some scenes of Star Wars, the Clone Wars. Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen They walked through the Plaza de España, which for the occasion became Theed, the capital of the planet Naboo. The Plaza de España was built on the occasion of the Ibero-American Exhibition of 1929 and appears in many other films. One of them is lawrence of arabia, a work of art, which will allow you to choose this city if you prefer historical cinema (or adventure cinema, which is everything in that monument to cinema).

Horror in Barcelona

In 2023, fifteen years have passed since the High Speed ​​connection between Barcelona and Madrid. It’s as good a time as any to visit a city that needs few excuses to plan a trip. Now, if you want to follow our game, we propose Barcelona in the key of terror. Just one year before the AVE arrived in the city, Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza were shooting their second film together: [REC]. Camera in hand, they overwhelmed all the moviegoers who passed through the theaters to “enjoy” 80 minutes of pure anguish. The streets of Barcelona are the protagonists of the film, but the action takes place, above all, at number 34 of the Rambla de Catalunya. The property continues to receive visits today from the many fans of a film that managed, with a budget of one and a half million euros, to raise more than 30 million dollars. Do you want more horror? Sitges is less than 40 minutes from Sants station.

A walk through history in the streets of Toledo

Of course it is impossible not to think of Toledo as the scene of any historical recreation. The Cathedral, the walls, the Alcázar or even any of its cigars make perfect settings for blockbusters with many soldiers and great battles. But, on this occasion, without leaving historical recreation, we remember a recent film about a past that doesn’t fall that far either. In 2019 Alejandro Amenábar filmed in Toledo As long as the war lasts, in which he recounts the tribulations of Miguel de Unamuno and the doubts about his initial support for the uprising. Of course, Toledo has room for all cinema, starting with the historical (The Conspiracy of the Escorial), the drama (The Skin I Live In) and even apocalyptic science fiction (Terminator: Dark Fate). It is impossible to find an excuse not to get on an AVE to Toledo.

Animated adventures in Grenada

The truth is that the AVE stations are an infinite inspiration for film directors, whatever their favorite genre. The truth is that almost everything suits Granada, just like Toledo before, but for our trip we have chosen a film that might surprise you: Tadeo Jones 2, the secret of King Midas. The intrepid archaeologist of everything to a hundred (but who always ends up triumphant) is forced to travel to Granada to rescue Sara, kidnapped by one of those evil rich men who populate his films. Fortunately, animated fantasies do not leave traces in the cities through which they pass. Otherwise, we very much doubt that the Alhambra would still be standing at this point. We almost forgot: Tadeo’s cousin, Indiana, also passed through the province, to film Indiana Jones and the last crusade in 1989.

Drama in our city of light

Valencia is, by definition, light. Also joy and color. The mastery of directors resides, sometimes, in completely transforming the settings in which they shoot to make them accomplices, if not protagonists, of their scripts. That is what Pedro Almodóvar did in 2004, to turn Valencia into the outdoor set of that drama in which Lluis Homar, Gael García Bernal and Fele Martínez dedicate themselves for just over an hour and a half to playing with our hearts in Bad Education. The AVE will take you from Madrid to Valencia in, more or less, the duration of the film and there you will be able to walk around its scenes. Avenida Reino de Valencia, Plaza de San Luis Beltrán and, above all, the beautiful house of Trencadís.

No matter what genre you are a fan of, the AVE takes you to destinations capable of welcoming them all. You just have to want to enjoy the trip and let the cities tell you, as you walk, their own movies. You’re going to love it.