SPAIN - The Facts

Size: 194,897 square miles (504,780sq km)
Capital: Madrid
Language: Castilian Spanish, Catalan, Galician, Basque
Currency: Euro
Weather: In Madrid, winters can be freezing and summers can be very hot
This enormously varied country has a bit of everything, beaches, mountains, sophisticated cities, sleepy towns and villages and resorts that never sleep.

Spain - Attractions

Madrid

The capital's most famous attractions are its three museums, the Museo del Prado with its fabulous Goya and Velázquez collection; the Reina Sofía with lots of modern art and Thyssen which has just about everything. They're all close to each other and one ticket covers the lot. Although it's Europe's fourth largest city, the centre, a mixture of narrow old streets and grand boulevards, can be explored on foot with lots of beautiful parks and gardens to relax in. El Retiro Park, near the Prado was once the Palace garden and has an interesting statue of a grinning Satan. To get a good view of the city head for the The Moncloa observation tower in the university district. Built to monitor traffic snarl ups, it offers panoramic views of all the other things going on in Madrid.

Barcelona

The centre of Catalan culture is one of Spain's most stylish and art conscious cities. It was home to painters such as Dali and Picasso and the work of the architect Antoni Gaudi is everywhere. A visit to the Museu Picasso is a must. The artist donated around 2,500 pieces of work to the museum which show how his work developed and changed over time. To find out what Gaudi was about head for La Sagrada Familia. The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya provides an excellent insight into Catalan culture. There's also a Bullfight Museum and a Hearse Museum.
Seville

One of the best times to visit this most Spanish of cities is Semana Santa, the week before Easter, when it has some of the most spectacular traditional processions. The city has loads of Moorish monuments and gardens, the biggest cathedral in the world and it's the place for flamenco and bullfights. The large student population means there's heaps of great nightlife.

Granada

The Islamic fortress of Alhambra is on every visitor's list so get there early to avoid the crush. It is an incredible place of stunning art, architecture and restful gardens. The city itself is worth taking a wander round and is a good base excursions into the Sierra Nevada, Spain's highest mountains.

The Balearic Islands

The largest of these Mediterranean islands is Mallorca which pulls in around 3 million visitors a year. The Bay of Palma is where the high rises and party goers are concentrated. If you want to get away from the resorts, the north and east of the island have good beaches and a real variety of scenery. Menorca is much quieter and much windier. Ibiza is a non stop party island, famed for its nude beaches and excess of clubs.

The Costas

The Costa del Sol is one of the busiest holiday regions in Spain, with resort towns such as Marbella, Torremolinos, Málaga, and Nerja. The sea's warm and there's as much good weather as you could hope for. The towns are largely ugly high rise developments, but if you're after a party atmosphere this is the place to go. The Costa Blanca is best known for Benidorm but there are a whole lot of smaller resorts too. You don't have to go far inland to find pretty towns and villages with some excellent mountain walks. The Costa Brava north of Barcelona is rocky, twisty and less developed than some of the other coastal regions; Costa de la Luz either side of Cadiz is on the rougher Atlantic coast and also relatively uncrowded.

Galicia

The north west of the country is green, wet and wild, a complete contrast to the popular picture of hot, dry Spain. Santiago de Compostela is a beautifully preserved medieval town. The coast has excellent sandy beaches and is often described as being like the west of Ireland without the rain.

Spain - Activities

Hiking

Spain is an extremely mountainous country and there are lots of varied walking opportunities. The best hiking areas are in the north throughout The Pyrenees and The Picos de Europa. One of the best known long distance routes is the Camino de Santiago. This 460 mile route has been trod by pilgrims for the last 1,000 years. There are refugios along the way. The countryside surrounding many of the beach resorts also offers good walking outside the very hot season. The trails are not always obvious or marked, however there are a number of English language books with detailed maps and descriptions available.

Climbing

Steep sided mountains and deep gorges offer a wealth of climbing opportunities all over the country. Particularly spectacular is the El Chorro Gorge in Andalusia, which is up to 1,300 feet deep and has over 200 routes with bizarre names such as The Policeman Stole My Walkman and Mama Wants to be a Bullfighter. The gorge has a rusty, crumbly walkway along part of its length which fills up with hundreds of strollers despite the fact it looks ready to collapse.

Skiing

The most reliable snow is in the Pyrenees where the best known resort is Baqueira-Beret. Candanchu/Astún has a reputation for tough runs and there are a number of smaller resorts such as Formigal, Panticosa, and La Molina. Sierra Nevada, which used to be called Sol y Nieve is close to Granada and can often be too warm for good snow. However as it relies on completely different weather patterns from the Alps and Pyrenees, it can have excellent conditions when they are suffering. On a good day you can see right across to the Atlas Mountains in Morocco.

Water Sports

Water-skiing, swimming, sailing and windsurfing are everywhere along the coast and it's easy to hire equipment and arrange lessons. Tarifa on the Straits of Gibraltar is host to the world windsurfing championships. The lakes in Castilla and Extremadura also have good windsurfing facilities. The northern coast around Bay of Biscay has some excellent surfing, particularly around Mundaka where deep tubes up to 12 feet high attract surfers from all over the world.

White-water rafting

This has really taken off in parts of the Pyrenees, particularly on the Noguera Pallaresa River which offers 28 miles of the foaming stuff starting from the villages of Llavorsí or Sport.

Spain - Entertainment

Madrid nightlife involves a lot of moving on from bar to bar, known to Madrileños as la marcha. The possibilities are endless and the busiest streets are between Puerta del Sol and Plaza de Santa Ana. The University quarter has lots of student bars, clubs and cafes. Things don't get going until after midnight and can continue until around 6 am. The English language In Madrid is good for listings, or you can just go with the flow.
In Barcelona the street strolling starts early - often straight after work although no one eats till around 10pm, after which they carry on strolling between bars and clubs.

The holiday resorts are places where there's a ferocious determination to have a good time, so they're bursting with bars, clubs and cafés and have something going on whatever the time of day or night.

This is a country of festivals, most of them with religious connections. One of the most concentrated fiesta periods is Easter Week when many towns have processions and celebrations. The start of Lent, usually in February, is marked by Carnivals. Late April is the time for Spring Fairs and more parties.

Moros y Cristianos, a re-enactment of the Spanish fighting the Moors, take place in many parts of Southern Spain. (The Christians win every time!)
Isidro is the patron saint of Madrid and Fiesta de San Isidro is the city's biggest party lasting a full week in May.

One of Europe's most spectacular equine events, the Feria del Caballo, takes place in Jerez during May. Thousands come to watch the displays of horsemanship as well as bullfights and flamenco.

The feast of Corpus Christi is celebrated at the end of May throughout Spain. Seville's processions are particularly impressive with evil bogeymen, carnival animals, giants and dragons accompanying the Host through streets covered with aromatic herbs.

St John's Day, June 24th, is celebrated in most parts of the country. The night before is marked with bonfires and firework displays.

Running the bulls at Pamplona is one of the country's most famous events and takes place over 10 days in July. Bulls chasing people through the streets is just part of the Fiesta de San Fermín, but the one people remember. Smaller bull running events are held in many other towns in Spain at different times of the year.

La Tomatina, the world's biggest tomato fight, is held in Buqol near Valencia the last Wednesday in August. It attracts up to 30,000 people who are provided with truckloads of very ripe tomatoes to throw at each other.