My second favorite mode of transportation was the cable car (el funicular or el teleférico). I took one in Porto to get to the top of a mountain! It was kinda like riding a roller coaster, but there was only up and it was a lot slower. It’s a small cable car that goes up a track so you don’t have to climb up all the steps. I’m scared of heights so this was a little scary, but a fun new experience.
I think the main modes of transportation in the different regions of Spain really reflect the geography of that area. For example, Sevilla is a small and flat city so it makes sense to walk everywhere. I can’t think of a single hill in the entire city. It’s an ancient city, so they haven’t built an underground metro out of concern for the safety of the monuments and historic buildings. Southern Spain is also known for being a lot more relaxed and laid-back than northern Spain, and I think walking around everywhere reflects this attitude, too! People aren’t really in a rush to get anywhere anytime soon, which is really different than in the U.S.
On the other hand, in Porto, the cable car was popular because it’s a city with a million hills. In fact, the whole city is on the side of the mountain so you’re constantly climbing up hills. In Madrid, the city is so big it’s impossible to walk everywhere. They have an amazing system of trains, buses and metro lines that connect every single corner of the city. It’s been so fun trying out all these different systems of public transportation because I love learning the systems of each new city.
