All About Spain

Spain is perhaps the most relaxed of the Mediterranean countries, where the global economic crises has kept prices low and the locals celebrate the good things in life with long siestas, late dinners, and the camaraderie of an evening tapeo, the collective stroll from tapas bar to tapas bar, nibbling on delightful snacks and sipping a variety of wines along the way before finishing it all off with some churros and hot chocolate.

Madrid and Barcelona
The capital of Madrid has a royal palace to explore, lovely city parks, a fabulous restaurant scene, and more museums—of which the Prado ranks among the world’s very best—than you could exhaust in a week. Bohemian Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia, a semi-autonomous province on the Mediterranean, with a Gothic cathedral, luxuriant seafood dinners, bustling markets, and dozens of spectacular, colorful, playful Art Nouveau buildings and structures by the local masters of Modernisme, chief among them Gaudí, whose gargantuan drip-castle cathedral of Sagrada Famiglia is still being built, a massive public works project of the likes unseen since the late Middle Ages.

Beyond the Big Cities
Spain also offers Roman ruins in Segovia and Mérida; medieval Toledo with its El Greco paintings; the Gothic cathedrals of Salamanca, Burgos, and León; the famous Camino de Santiago pilgrimage trail to Santiago de Compostela; the shiny modern Guggenheim museum of Bilbao in northern Basque country; and countless other small cities and towns blessed with unforgettable attractions. However, if you have to pick just one area to explore, make it Andalusia.

Andalusia
The southern Andalusia region is the land where flamenco and bullfighting were born, the last part of Spain to fall to the 15th century Reconquista—and therefore the one most elaborately decorated with Moorish monuments, from the stunning mosque of Cordoba to the Alhambra Palace above Granada. Seville’s Alcázar is graced with Arab-styled gardens beside a sprawling cathedral converted from a mosque, and around it spread the tangled streets of the historic center where flamenco music spills out of tiny bars late into the night. You can follow the Route of the Pueblos Blancos past whitewashed hilltowns to Jerez in the heart of sherry country, hike in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, or explore the Mediterranean beaches of the Costa del Sol around Málaga or the Costa de la Luz along the Atlantic, just past Gibraltar. If the mainland beaches aren’t enough, railpass holders get 20% off tickets on ferries to the Balearic island, including Ibiza, the hub of Europe’s summertime party scene.

When to Go to Spain: Spain is at its best in spring and autumn, with temperatures mild and crowds thinner than in the summer. Though the country is vast and covers everything from mountains to ocean, this is a southern Mediterranean nation, so summer can get brutally hot—and  overcrowded, especially on the beaches and islands. While winter doesn't put much of a damper on life in the big cities, it can get chilly and damp—and many smaller towns and tourist centers are often shut down completely.

Events and Holidays in Spain: