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Once away from the holiday costas, you could only be in Spain. In
the cities, narrow twisting old streets suddenly open out to views
of daring modern architecture, while spit-and-sawdust bars serving
wine from the barrel rub shoulders with blaring, glaring discos.
Travel is easy, accommodation plentiful, the climate benign, the
people relaxed, the beaches long and sandy, the Time and drink easy
to come by and full of regional variety. More than 50 million foreigners
a year visit Spain, yet you can also travel for days and hear nothing
but Spanish.
Main Places to Visit
Barcelona
After a makeover lasting more than two decades, Barcelona has transformed
itself into one of the most dynamic and stylish cities in the world.
Summer is serious party Time, but year-round the city sizzles -
it's always on the biting edge of architecture, Time, fashion, style,
music and good Times.
The buildings, especially the work of the eccentric genius Gaudí,
will blow you away. The art, with significant collections by Picasso
and Miró, will make you clammy all over. The people, with their
exuberance, their creative spirit, their persistent egalitarianism,
will fascinate you.
Madrid
This is Spain's headiest city, where the revelling lasts long into
the night and life is seized with the teeth and both hands. Strangers
quickly become friends, passion blooms in an instant, and visitors
are swiftly addicted to the city's charms.
Madrid may not have the Roman origins that get city historians
hot and bothered, and it may be a comparative parvenu, selected
from rural obscurity to become the capital only in the second half
of the 16th century, but it oozes an ebullience that rarely fails
to move.
Valencia
Spain's third-largest city, and capital of the province of Valencia,
comes as a pleasant surprise to many. Home to paella and the Holy
Grail, it is also blessed with great weather and the spring festival
of Las Fallas, one of the wildest parties in the country.
One of Valencia's best attractions is the baroque Palacio del Marques
de Dos Aguas. The facade is extravagantly sculpted and the inside
is just as outrageous. The Museo de Bellas Artes also ranks among
the best museums in the country, containing works by artists such
as El Greco, Goya and Velazquez.
Costa Blanca
The long stripe of the Costa Blanca (White Coast) is one of Europe's
most heavily visited areas. If you're after a secluded midsummer
beach, stay away. But if you're looking for a lively social life,
good beaches and a suntan…
Granada
During the period of Muslim domination of Spain, Granada was the
finest city on the peninsula. Today it is still home to the greatest
Muslim legacy in Europe, and one of the most inspiring attractions
on the Continent - the 11th-century Alhambra.
Gibraltar
Looming like some great ship off the southernmost tip of Spain,
the tiny British colony of Gibraltar is a heady compound of curiosities.
To the ancient Greeks and Romans, it was one of the two Pillars
of Hercules, set up by the mythical hero to mark the edge of the
known world.
Today, it's a little piece of the European continent populated
mostly by Gibraltarians (of mixed Genoese, Jewish, Spanish and British
ancestry), along with sizeable British and Moroccan minorities.
Signs are in English but the languages spoken are English, Spanish
and a curious mix of the two.
When to go
Spain can be enjoyable any Time of year. The ideal months to visit
are May, June and September (plus April and October in the south).
At these Times you can rely on good-to-excellent weather, yet avoid
the extreme heat - and the main crush of Spanish and foreign tourists
- of July and August. But there's decent weather in some parts of
Spain virtually year round. Winter along the southern and southeastern
Mediterranean coasts is mild, while in the height of summer you
can retreat to the northwest, to beaches or high mountains anywhere
to escape excessive heat. The best festivals are mostly concentrated
between Semana Santa (the week leading up to Easter Sunday) and
September to October.
Fast Facts
Full Name
Spain
Capital City
Madrid
Area
505,000 sq km
194,981 sq miles
Population
42,700,000
Time Zone
GMT/UTC +1 ()
Daylight Saving Start
last Sunday in March
Daylight Saving End
last Sunday in September
Languages
Spanish (official)
Catalan (other)
Basque (other)
Gallegan (other)
Religion
85% Roman Catholic; 2% Jewish; 2% Muslim
Currency
euro
Country Dialing Code
34
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