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Overview[]
Spain offers a wide variety of tourism opportunities and excellent weather that makes it a year-round attraction due to its southern latitude. Verdant hills, beautiful coasts, and cities with tremendous history give you many choices. Madrid and Barcelona are the largest cities you should visit, while Ibiza ranks among the best islands for young people who want to find a party.
Stats[]
- Anthem: Marcha Real
- Area: 505,990 km
- Language: Spanish (official and majority) and some smaller linguistic groups such as Basque, English and Catalan.
- Drives on the: Right
- Calling code: +34
- Population: 46,449,864 (2015 estimate)
- NUTS Region: ES
History[]
Overview[]
| Year | Event |
| 206 B.C | Hispania (Spain) becomes part of the Roman Empire. Rome rules it for 500 years. |
| 1492-1502 | Christopher Columbus arrives in the New World, beginning an era of exploration and conquest. Roman Catholicism is established as Spain’s state religion. Within 10 years, most Jews and Muslims are forced to convert or leave. |
| 1588 | British forces defeat the Spanish Armada, or navy. Spain is no longer a sea power. |
| 1811 | Venezuela declares its independence from Spain. |
| 1810 | Mexico declares its Independence from Spain in 1821. |
| 1898 | In 1898, Spain gives up control of Cuba |
| 1931 | Spain becomes a republic. Five years later, the country is plunged into civil war. |
| 1938-1975 | General Francisco Franco emerges as the war’s victor. He rules as a dictator until his death in 1975. |
| 1955 | Spain the UN. |
| 1982 | Spain Joins NATO. |
| 1986 | Spain Joins the EEC. |
| 1992 | The 500th anniversary of Columbus’ voyage to America is celebrated around the country. |
| 1992 | The summer Olympic Games are held in Barcelona. |
| 2004 | A series of explosions at a train station in Madrid leaves 191 people dead and 1,460 wounded. |
| 2010 | Spain becomes President of the European Union. |
Spain's powerful world empire of the 16th and 17th centuries ultimately yielded command of the seas to England. Subsequent failure to embrace the mercantile and industrial revolutions caused the country to fall behind Britain, France, and Germany in economic and political power. Spain remained neutral in World Wars I and II but suffered through a devastating civil war (1936-39). A peaceful transition to democracy following the death of dictator Francisco FRANCO in 1975, and rapid economic modernization (Spain joined the EU in 1986) gave Spain a dynamic and rapidly growing economy and made it a global champion of freedom and human rights. The government continues to battle the Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) terrorist organization, but its major focus for the immediate future will be on measures to reverse the severe economic recession that started in mid-2008.
Spanish Polities[]
- Kingdom of Spain (1700–1808)
- [Napoleonic] Kingdom of Spain (1808–1813)
- Kingdom of Spain (1813–1873)
- Republic of Spain (1873–1874)
- Kingdom of Spain (1874-1931)
- Spanish Republic (1931-1939)
- Spanish State (1936-1978)
- Spanish Republic: Government-in-exile (1939-1977)
- Kingdom of Spain (From 1978)
Hotels and lodging[]
Holidays in Trujillo - Trujillo is a beautiful town in Extremadura, western Spain. Trujillo Villas Espana is a luxury rental villas in Trujillo.
Independent-hotels.info Spain A selective directory of small independent hotels in Spain with character and a friendly welcome.
Vacapedia.com - Thousands of holiday homes in Spain
OctopusTravel.com - Hotel in Spain and all over the World
Hotel Rice, Avda. Reyes Católicos 30, ES-9001, Tel. +34 947 222 300, Fax. +34 947 223 550, [1]
Son Mercadal Camí de Son Pau, s/n, tel. +34 971.181307, email=info@son-mercadal.com fax=+34 971.181300 [2] Authentic rural finca or farmhouse at Porreres near Palma.</sleep>
Hotel Sauce - Hotel Sauce is right in the centre of the historic, artistic and commercial centre of the city of Zaragoza located near the Plaza del Pilar, in the heart of the city.
Hotel Sabinas - The Sabinas Short term Apartments in Central Zaragoza. Based in the heart of Zaragoza next to Plaza del Pilar there are separate Zaragoza apartments ideal for both leisure and professional visitors.
Casa rural Alzinar in 07570 Artà, Mallorca, a huge house in the countryside for up to 6 guests. Splendid views and a big pool for a relaxing holiday.
Attractions[]
Spain is the second most visited country in the world (after France) and it is not just because of its perfect weather and nice beaches so many people choose to visit this country every year. For people interested in culture there are many great possibilities like the famous museums in Madrid where you can find to artists such as Goya, Velasquez or Picasso, Barcelona with its many wonders like the Gaudi park, Granada the incredible Moorish fortress Alhambra (runners up in the new 7 wonders competition) and there are so much more to see all over Spain.
Shopping[]
Jamón (ham) is one of the best thing you can buy in Spain.
Maps and transportation[]
Getting to Spain[]
International trains run from the channel ports and Paris to destinations throughout Europe. Eurostar is a service provided by the railways of Belgium, the UK and France, operating direct high-speed trains from London to Paris and to Brussels. There are direct trains between Madrid–Paris and Madrid–Lisbon, as well as Barcelona–Paris, Barcelona– Zürich or Milan and Barcelona–Geneva. These services are called Estrella, Talgo or Train-Hotel. On other international services to and from Spain, a change of train is necessary. However, work on the AVE route between Madrid and Barcelona has been completed in February 2008 after which the French border connection is expected to be fully operational by 2010 and it will be possible to connect with the French TGV and the rest of the high-velocity routes in Europe. Motorail services run between Paris and Madrid. The main route from the UK is via France. The main motorways to Spain from France are via Bordeaux or Toulouse to San Sebastian and via Marseille or Toulouse to Barcelona and the Mediterranean coast. A number of coach operators offer services to Spain. In the UK, Eurolines, departing from Victoria Coach Station in London, serves more than 20 destinations in Spain.
Exploring Spain[]
¿Viajamos juntos?[3] online community for ride sharing in Spain.
Practical information and resources[]
Restaurants[]
Be warned that dinner starts late in Spain. Most restaurants don't open for dinner till 9PM and rarely fill up til 10PM. However, touristic areas have adjusted to tourists form northern countries, so you can eat much earlier and in many places even all day. Spain is known for it's hams (jamón ibérico or jamón serrano), tapas, and sea food. Also the coastal red wines (tinto) must be tried. the world's oldest restaureant is in Madrid
Reservations[]
It is recommendable to make a reservation previously. With the smartphone app or on the website of MyTable you find a complete restaurant directory of restaurants in Spain and whole Europe. You can search by name, location, kitchen style, price range, etc.
So when you are travelling around and don’t know where to go, just search for the right place nearby (the app detects your actual location and makes proposals). Or if you want to try the special local food, search for the kitchen type you like. Or search for any other feature which is important to you (terrace, child-friendly, dogs allowed, etc.).
You can make your reservation directly online and you‘ll get the confirmation by email or sms.
Also, you can see the restaurant’s menu, as well as ratings and recommendations of restaurants written by other users.
MyTable services are available in English, German, French, Italian and Spanish.
Text with links to user-reviews on other pages[]
Nightlife[]
The Spanish are great partiers. Discos and bars open late and stay open till 5 AM in the larger cities. Ibiza is known to be one of the top 10 party islands in Europe and is a favorite of British bachelor parties. At all the cities you can find bars and discos that open late and stay open until the morning. In the center of Madrid, Valencia, etc.
Photo gallery[]
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Everything else[]
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keep and eye out for pickpockets that are attracted to areas with large amounts of tourists.
Spain is a nation in Europe. Spain's powerful world empire of the 16th and 17th centuries ultimately yielded command of the seas to England. Subsequent failure to embrace the mercantile and industrial revolutions caused the country to fall behind Britain, France, and Germany in economic and political power. Spain remained neutral in World Wars I and II but suffered through a devastating civil war (1936-39). A peaceful transition to democracy following the death of dictator Francisco FRANCO in 1975, and rapid economic modernization (Spain joined the EU in 1986) gave Spain a dynamic and rapidly growing economy and made it a global champion of freedom and human rights. The government continues to battle the Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) terrorist organization, but its major focus for the immediate future will be on measures to reverse the severe economic recession that started in mid-2008.[1]
Spanish Autonomous Communities[]
- Autonomous Community of Andalusia
- Autonomous Community of Aragon
- Principality of Asturias
- Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands
- Autonomous Community of the Basque Country
- Canary Islands (From 1982)
- Autonomous Community of Cantabria
- Autonomous Community of Castile–La Mancha
- Autonomous Community of Castile and León
- Catalonia (From 1979)
- Autonomous Community of Extremadura
- Autonomous Community of Galicia
- Autonomous Community of La Rioja
- Madrid (From 1983)
- Region of Murcia
- Chartered Community of Navarre
- Valencian Community
- Ceuta (From 1995)
- Melilla (From 1995)
Neighbouring Nations[]
- Andorra
- France
- Morocco
- Portugal
- Gibraltar
External resources[]
Add links to other sites here.
- Villas & holiday rentals in Spain
- Spain Guide
- Property in Spain
- Car Hire in Spain
- Spain Review
- Spain Vacation Rentals
- World Travel Online: Spain Tourism & Tourism directory with travel related information and links to advertisers.
- Spain travel & tourism information
- Discover Spain's best kept secret travel destination: Almeria
- Airports In Spain
- Luxury Real Estate Barcelona
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Tips for: backpackers • business travelers • luxury/exotic travel • hitchhikers • families • seniors • LBG travelers • pet owners |
- ↑ The CIA World Factbook