Europe's oldest painting is a faint red dot in a cave in Spain, according to an article in The Guardian: Red dot becomes oldest cave art
The 40,000-year-old painting (perhaps a primitive form of the About.com logo?!), found in a cave in El Castillo, Cantabria, is 4,000 years older than any previous art found in Europe. There are paintings at ten other sites in Northern Spain, some of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, of a similar age.
The discoveries suggest that Neanderthal man was not as simple as had previously been suggested.
Cantabria is a small region, sandwiched between the Basque Country and Asturias. The biggest appeal in the region is the Picos de Europa mountain range. There are cheap flights to Santander and good transport links to the rest of the north coast.