Describing tourist attractions in Spanish

• Use the impersonal verbhay to talk about about things to do on holiday.

• Question words can be used to find out what people think about holidays.

• This guide contains a video comprehension and reading practice.

Useful vocabulary for national events includes:

Useful vocabulary to describe the type and location of tourist attractions includes:

Useful verbs to describe what you like to do on holiday include:

For example:

Durante mis vacaciones me divierto mucho. – During my holidays I have a good time.

Me gusta pasarlo bien en de vacaciones. – I like to have a good time on holiday.

Siempre compro muchos recuerdos cuando estoy de vacaciones. – I always buy a lot of souvenirs when I’m on holiday.

Prefiero tomar el sol y leer cerca de la piscina. – I prefer sunbathing and reading by the pool.

Impersonal verbs in English include verbs such as ‘one does’ or ‘one goes’. Although these sound very formal in English, they are used a lot more commonly in Spanish.

The most common impersonal verb in Spanish is hay which means ‘there is’ or ‘there are’.

For example:

Hay un hermoso pueblo en la montaña. - There’s a pretty village in the mountains.

Hay que followed by the infinitive is an impersonal way of saying ‘One has to do something’.

For example:

Hay que visitar la Sagrada Familia en Barcelona. - One has to visit the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.

To turn any Spanish verb into an impersonal verb, use the pronoun se and the he/she form of the verb.

For example:

Se necesitan euros. One needs euros.

If there is a subject in the sentence, use the singular verb ending (the he/she ending) for a single subject, and the ‘they’ verb ending for plural subjects.

For example:

Se habla español en México. - Spanish is spoken in Mexico.

Las tiendas se abren a las nueve. - The shop opens at nine.

The following modal verbs often are used with the impersonal se:

• se puede – one can

• se debe – one must

• se necesita – one needs

For example:

Se puede ir al restaurante. -One can go to the restaurant.

Se debe ver el castillo. - One must see the castle.

Se necesita su pasaporte. - One needs one’s passport.

Find out more about impersonal verbs in the Impersonal verbs in Spanish guide.

Watch these two short videos of Sasha talking about the Spanish festivals of La Tomatina and La Feria de Abril de Sevilla and answer the questions.

Useful vocabulary to describe tourist attractions includes:

Useful adjectives to describe tourist attractions include:

For example:

Hay una plaza grande cerca del parque. – There’s a big square near the park.

Hay un puente donde se puede ver arquitectura famosa. – There’s a bridge where you can see famous architecture.

La ciudad es alegre por la noche. – The town is lively at night.

Desgraciadamente las calles son sucias. – Unfortunately the streets are dirty.

El hotel fue caro, pero fue increíble y hermoso. – The hotel was expensive but it was incredible and beautiful.

All Foundation Tier vocabulary listed in this guide can be found on the vocabulary sheet below.

There are three different ways to ask questions in Spanish.

1. You can ask questions using question words, such as ‘How much is …?’.

2. You can ask questions with a declarative sentence, such as ‘I would like … please’.

3. You can invert - swap the order of the verb and the subject to form a question, such as ‘Can I have …?’.

Remember

When writing any type of Spanish question, don’t forget the upside-down question mark ¿ at the start of the sentence.

The questions words in Spanish are:

Notice that the question words all have accents. This indicates that that syllable needs to be emphasised when speaking.

For example:

¿Cómo se dice ‘beach’ en español? - How do you say ‘beach’ in Spanish?

¿Por qué no te gusta el castillo? - Why don’t you like the castle?

¿Cuánto cuesta? - How much does it cost?

¿Dónde está el museo? - Where’s the museum?

How to say ‘how much’ or ‘how many’

¿Cuántos? and ¿Cuántas? mean how much/how many?

¿Cuántos? is used when the word following it is masculine plural.

¿Cuántas? Is used when the word following it is feminine plural.

For example:

¿Cuántas playas hay en Alicante? - How many beaches are in Alicante?

¿Cuántos hoteles hay en la ciudad? - How many hotels are in the town?

You can ask questions by making a declaration of what you want.

When stating what you would like, for example, use ‘quisiera’ which means ‘I would like’.

For example:

Quisiera ir a la playa hoy - I would like to go to the beach today

However, when asking if you can have something, you would be more likely to use ‘podría’ plus an infinitive. For example:

¿Podría comprar tres entradas por favor? - Can I buy three entrance tickets please?

Common declarative question phrases include:

For example: Me gustaría visitar el castillo. - I would like to visit the castle.

¿Puedo ir al servicio, por favor? - Can I go to the bathroom please?

¿Podría tener un café con leche por favor? - Can I have a white coffee please?

Find out more about asking questions in Spanish in the Asking questions guide.

Read this leaflet advertising day trips from Benidorm.

Viajes González - Excursiones turísticas desde Benidorm

1. Excursión en autocar a Valencia - Valencia tiene muchos monumentos históricos como la catedral, además de los famosos edificios modernos de la Ciudad de los Artes y las Ciencias. La visita incluye también entrada gratis al museo de las Fallas.

2. Excursión en autocar a Guadalest - Visita uno de los pueblos más antiguos e históricos de España con su increíble castillo. El pueblo está situado en una región rica en cultura tradicional y tiene vistas preciosas a la montaña.

3. Excursión al parque temático (El Mundo de los Dinosaurios) - Pasa un día en este parque exótico con más de 30 modelos de tamaño real de estos animales prehistóricos. Hay también parque infantil, zona de picnic y un cine 3-D.

4. Paseo marítimo a la Isla de Benidorm - Un viaje tranquilo en barco hasta la isla, donde hay servicio de bar/restaurante. Desde la isla se pueden disfrutar de las magníficas vistas a toda la costa.

Now read what sort of trip these people are looking for and decide on the best excursion for each person.

Click or tap on the image below for a list of useful vocabulary to use when talking about tourist attractions.

Useful vocabulary for talking about tourist attractions includes:

For example:

A mi madre le gusta probar comida tradicional. – My mother likes eating traditional food.

Mi lugar favorito fue la playa conocida. – My favourite place was the well-known beach.

La ciudad tiene un antiguo castillo y un palacio precioso. – The town has an ancient castle and a beautiful palace.

All Higher Tier vocabulary listed in this guide can be found on the vocabulary sheet below.

Parece que is an impersonal verb that means ‘it seems that’.

For example:

Parece que es interesante. - It seems to be interesting.

Vale la pena means ‘it’s worth it’.

For example:

Aprender español es difícil pero vale la pena. – It’s difficult to learn Spanish but it is worth it.

Vale la pena followed by the infinitive means ‘it’s worth doing something’.

For example:

Vale la pena ir a Argentina. – It’s worth visiting Argentina.

Click or tap on the image below for a list of useful Higher Tier vocabulary to use when talking about tourist attractions.

Now you have revised the important vocabulary and key grammar points for talking about tourist attractions, why not have a look at the Describing free time activities in Spanish guide.