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Time Zone: GMT +1
Dialling Code: 34
Electricity: 220V ,50 Hz
Weights & measures: Metric

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Nearby Cities to Visit

Gibraltar

Tax - Free Gibraltar is only 51 minutes drive away from Puerto Banus. Don't forget your passport. When you first see the Rock of Gibraltar, its impressive stature that towers isolated above the surrounding countryside, causes great impact. It has had this effect on people for many thousands of years. Gibraltar is a beacon which signals the position of the Strait of Gibraltar, the narrow neck which separates Europe from Africa and provides the only link between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Watch the monkeys that roam on the rock and do some shopping.

Africa is only 12 miles away and and visible on a clear day. A trip to Tangier by ferry is a must if time permits.

Tangier, Morocco

A trip to Tangier is possible but probably best done with an overnight stay in Morocco. Although the outbound ferry journey is pretty reliable getting back is more unpredictable as delays are possible if your ferry is full. Local tourist agents can book this for you. It will offer you an unforgettable stay, visiting the Kasbah, the modern City, hunting for bargains in authentic Moroccan Souk and Bazaars with an English speaking guide. Moroccan lunch is included in most packages.

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 Alhambra.

The Alhambra palace is a must-see. Set against the stunning Sierra Nevada and surrounded by cypress and elms, it's an escape into Granada's Moorish past. There's a lot to see, including the Alcazaba, the Palacio Nazaries (Nasrid Palace) and the Generalife gardens, so allow at least an afternoon.

Seville

One of the first people to fall in love with Seville (or Sevilla if you prefer) was the poet-king Al-Mutamid, and the city's ability to dazzle has not abated since. It takes a stony heart not to be captivated by its exuberant atmosphere. The people are stylish, confident, ancient, proud, yet also convivial, intimate and fun-loving.

In keeping with the slow-burn nature of the city's charms, two great monuments - the Muslim Alcazar and the Christian cathedral - reveal most of their glories only once you're inside them. These, along with many other buildings and areas around Seville, are World Heritage Sites.

Cadiz

Cadiz is one of Europe's oldest inhabited cities, founded about 1100 BC by the Phoenicians it has been one of Spain's principal ports ever since. With it's grand open squares, narrow alleyways and 18th century houses it has a tremendous atmosphere, slightly seedy and rather mysterious.

The city is legendary for its Carnaval festivities in February/March and attracts visitors year round for its excellent weather and golden pebble-strewn beaches.

Jaen

Jaen is one of the 8 provinces within Andalucia. It takes it's name from it's capital. The natural wealth of the province makes this the province with the greatest surface area of protected wilderness in the whole of Spain. In the provinces four nature parks you will find villages with a rich cultural heritage and many colourful traditions.

The Cathedral rises in the heart of the old city which comprises of a maze of old streets, oozing atmosphere. The main facade of the cathedral is a massive tableau of stone, flanked by two towers. Inside, don't miss the 18th century choir and the seats dating from the 16th century. The cathedral with it's 26 metre high towers, dwarfs the city. The Cathedral can be visited, free of charge and is well worth the effort. Outside the Cathedral is a square that makes a perfect resting place to admire the architecture.

The Arab Baths are of the best preserved in the country. The visit is free, under tight security and the visit combines several museums. There is a good guide available in English that explains the history and the workings of the baths. They were discovered in 1913 and declared a national monument in 1917.

Almeria

The province of Almeria is situated in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula, on the shores of the Mediterranean. It covers an area of 8,774km and comprises of a great many geographic contrasts, including long beaches with small coves, desert areas and others with a varied vegetation, and high mountains with extensive plains. The passing of time has also had a great influence on the landscape. In Almeria it is therefore possible to find modern and bustling tourist centres as well as those natural areas where man has scarcely left his mark. Almeria enjoys a warm and dry Mediterranean climate, with little rain and a large number of hours of sun per year (more than 3,000 hours). The temperatures throughout the year are mild, reaching no lower than an average of 13ºC in winter, and no more than an average of 25ºC in summer. This mild climate allows the visitor to enjoy all the possibilities available within the province at any time of the year.

It was perhaps due to the beautiful scenery or the geographic situation that many different civilizations came to Almeria in the course of history. Important archaeological remains discovered in the province have helped researchers understand and realize the existence of very ancient cultures. Cueva Ambrosio, Los Letreros, Los Millares and El Algar are all landmarks in the prehistoric evolution of Spain. Almeria also contains traces of the Tartessos, Phoenicians, Greeks and Carthaginians. The Romans, who arrived here from about the 3rd century BC, named the capital Almeria Portus Magnus, and dominated the area until the late arrival of the Visigoths in the 7th century. Nevertheless, the influence of the Arabs, who held these lands for nearly eight centuries, was the most important of them all. Following the first Yemeni settlements in the vicinity of Pechina (the Bayyana of the Arabs), the Moslems, Christians and Jews succeeded in living together in harmony.

The construction of the Alcazaba (Moorish citadel) by order of Abderraman III where what had been, until then, the port of Bayyana, was to lead to the birth of the present-day Almeria.

The new city, Al-mariya (Mirror of the Sea), enjoyed great maritime and commercial activity and soon became the region's capital, taking the place of Bayyana. During the time of the Moslems, both culture and art flourished, even following the break-up of the Caliphate of Cordova into different independent kingdoms. Two important kings of Almeria were Hairan and Almotacin.

The process of the Christian conquest meant that Almeria became part of the Kingdom of Castile towards the end of the 15th century (1488-89). Thus began a time characterized by the arrival of new people from other parts of Spain, the attacks by corsairs, the revolt of the "Moriscos" (Moslem converts to Christianity) and their subsequent expulsion, and a series of violent earthquakes. There was also a strong artistic upsurge which was the reason for the construction of many churches in the different areas in the province. In the 19th Century, Almeria experienced a great boost in the field of mining, especially lead (from the Sierra de Gador) and iron (Seron-Bacares). The present port and railway line were built towards the end of the 19th century, thus facilitating the movement of travellers and goods.

The increasing remains of different civilisations have helped to enrich the personality and culture of the people of the province. Nowadays, one can still enjoy a varied folklore and a large number of popular festivities, all inherited from the past. Local craft industries produce a variety of skillfully-fashioned articles made from pottery, marble, esparto grass, etc. Another inheritance from the past is found in such gastronomic specialities as red peppers, seafood soups, "las gachas" (a kind of porridge made with flour, water, salt, milk and honey), and "los gurullos".

Spanish History

At the crossroads between Europe and Africa, the Iberian Peninsula has always been a target for invading races and civilisations. The Romans arrived in the 3rd century BC but took two centuries to subdue the peninsula. Gradually Roman laws, languages and customs were adopted. In 409 AD, Roman Hispania was invaded by a massive contingent of Germanic tribes and by 419 a Visigothic kingdom had been established. The Visigoths ruled until 711, when the Muslims crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and defeated Roderick, the last Goth king.

By 714, the Muslim armies had occupied the entire peninsula, apart from the mountainous regions of northern Spain. The Muslim occupation of southern Spain (which the Spanish called Al-Andalus) was to last almost 800 years. During this period, the arts and sciences prospered, new crops and agricultural techniques were introduced and palaces, mosques, schools, gardens and public baths were built. In 722, at Covadonga in northern Spain, a small army under the Visigothic king Pelayo inflicted the first defeat on the Muslims. Symbolically, this battle marked the beginning of the Reconquista, the reconquest of Spain by the Christians.

By the end of the 13th century, Castilla and Aragan had emerged as Christian Spain's two main powers, and in 1469 these two kingdoms were united by the marriage of Isabel, princess of Castilla, to Fernando, heir to the throne of Aragan. Known as the Catholic Monarchs, they united all of Spain and laid the foundations for the golden age. In 1478, they established the notoriously ruthless Spanish Inquisition, expelling and executing thousands of Jews and other non-Christians. In 1482, they besieged Granada, and 10 years later the last Muslim king surrendered to them, marking the long-awaited end of the Reconquista.

Spain developed an enormous empire in the New World, following Columbus' arrival in the Americas in 1492. Gold and silver came flooding into Spanish coffers from Mexico and Peru as the conquistadors claimed land from Cuba to Bolivia. Spain monopolised trade with these new colonies and became one of the most powerful nations on earth. However, this protectionism hindered development of the colonies and led to a series of expensive wars with England, France and the Netherlands.

When Louis XVI was guillotined in 1793, Spain declared war on the new French republic, but was defeated. In 1808, Napoleon's troops entered Spain and the Spanish Crown began to lose its hold on its colonies. Sparked by an uprising in Madrid, the Spanish people united against the French and fought a five-year war of independence. In 1813, the French forces were finally expelled, and in 1814 Fernando VII was restored to the Spanish throne. Fernando's subsequent 20-year reign was a disastrous advertisement for the monarchy. During his time, the Inquisition was re-established, liberals and constitutionalists were persecuted, free speech was repressed, Spain entered a severe economic recession and the American colonies won their independence.

The calamitous Spanish-American War of 1898 marked the end of the Spanish Empire. Spain was defeated by the USA in a series of one-sided naval battles, resulting in the loss of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines - all of Spain's last overseas possessions, in fact. Spain's troubles continued during the early 20th century. In 1923, with the country on the brink of civil war, Miguel Primo de Rivera declared himself military dictator and ruled until 1930. In 1931, Alfonso XIII fled the country, and the Second Republic was declared, but it soon fell victim to internal conflict. The 1936 elections saw the country split in two, with the Republican government and its supporters (an uneasy alliance of communists, socialists and anarchists, who favoured a more equitable civil society and a diminished role for the Church) on one side and the opposition Nationalists (a right-wing alliance of the army, the Church, the monarchy and the fascist-style Falange Party) on the other.

The assassination of the opposition leader Jose Calvo Sotelo by Republican police officers in July 1936 gave the army an excuse to overthrow the government. During the subsequent Civil War (1936-39), the Nationalists received extensive military and financial support from Nazi Germany and fascist Italy, while the elected Republican government received support only from Russia and, to a lesser degree, from the International Brigades, made up of foreign idealists. Despite the threat of fascism, England and France refused to support the Republicans.

By 1939, the Nationalists, led by Franco, had won the war. More than 350,000 Spaniards had died in the fighting, but more bloodletting ensued. An estimated 100,000 Republicans were executed or died in prison after the war. Franco's 35-year dictatorship saw Spain isolated by economic blockades, excluded from NATO and the UN and crippled by economic recession. It wasn't until the early 1950s, when the rise in tourism and a treaty with the USA combined to provide much-needed funds, that the country began to recover. By the 1970s, Spain had the fastest growing economy in Europe.

Franco died in 1975, having earlier named Juan Carlos, the grandson of Alfonso XIII, his successor. With Juan Carlos on the throne, Spain made the transition from dictatorship to democracy. The first elections were held in 1977, a new constitution was drafted in 1978, and a failed military coup in 1981 was seen as a futile attempt to turn back the clock. In 1982 Spain made a final break with the past by voting in a socialist government with a sizeable majority. The only major blemish on the domestic front since has been the terrorist campaign waged by separatist militant group ETA, which is trying to secure an independent Basque homeland. During 30 years of terrorist activity, ETA has killed over 800 people.

In 1986 Spain joined the EC (now the EU) and in 1992 Spain returned to the world stage, with Barcelona hosting the Olympic Games, Seville hosting Expo 92 and Madrid being declared European Cultural Capital. In 1996 Spaniards voted in a conservative party under the leadership of the uncharismatic Jose Mar­a Aznar.

Accused of playing politics following a terrorist attack in Madrid in March 2004 in which 192 people were killed, and held accountable for the unpopular deployment of troops in the overthrow of the Hussein regime in Iraq, Aznar was defeated in the polls in 2004, returning the socialists to power.

Culture

The Spanish invented the novel and the guitar, gave the world flamenco, Picasso and gazpacho and dreamed up some of the world's most fabulously out-there architecture. Their influence on 20th-century art and design has been inestimable, and if all that's not enough, they're relentlessly well dressed, insouciant and have a contagious knack for enjoying life.

The dominant figures of the golden age were the Toledo-based artists El Greco and Diego Velquez. Francisco Goya emerged in the 18th century as Spain's most prolific painter, and he produced some wonderfully unflattering portraits of royalty. The art world in the early 20th century was influenced by a remarkable group of Spanish artists: Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, Joan Miró and Salvador Dali.

One of the world's greatest works of fiction is the 17th-century novel El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha, written by Spain's Miguel de Cervantes. Important 20th-century writers include Miguel de Unamuno, Federico Garcia­a Lorca and Camilo Jose Cela, winner of the 1989 Nobel Prize for literature. Prominent feminist writers include Adelaida Garcia Morales, Ana Maria Matute and Montserrat Roig.

Spain's architecture ranges from prehistoric monuments in Menorca in the Balearic Islands, through to the Roman ruins of Marida and Tarragona, the decorative Islamic Alhambra in Granada, Mudjar buildings, Gothic cathedrals, castles and palaces, fantastic modernista monuments and Gaudi's intricate fabulist sculptures.

Spanish food has a deservedly fantastic reputation, and tapas are probably one of the most civilised inventions since cold beer. Paella, gazpacho and chorizo may be familiar to most Western diners, but Spanish cuisine goes well beyond these, with a smorgasbord of rich stews, soups, beans, seafood and meats, all of which have been influential in Latin American cooking. It's a good idea to reset your stomach-clock when travelling in Spain because lunch, eaten between 1.30 and 4pm, is usually the main meal of the day. The evening meal is lighter and is served between 10 and 11pm.

Spanish films were once synonymous with the work of surrealist genius Luis Bunuel, who spent much of his time abroad. They are now associated with the mad-cap kinky farces of Pedro Almodvar, who has enjoyed huge international success including an Oscar in 1999 for Todo Sobre Mi Madre.

The guitar was invented in Andalucia in the 1790s when a sixth string was added to the Arab lute. It gained its modern shape in the 1870s. Spanish musicians have taken the humble guitar to dizzying heights of virtuosity and none more so than Segovia (1893-1997), who established classical guitar as a genre. Flamenco, music rooted in the cante jondo (deep song) of the gitanos of Andalucia, is experiencing a revival. Paco de Lucia is the best known flamenco guitarist internationally. His friend El Camara de la Isla was, until his death in 1992, the leading light of contemporary canto hondo. In the 1980s flamenco-rock fusion (aka gypsy rock) was developed by the likes of Pata Negra and Ketama, and in the 1990s Radio Tarifa emerged with a mesmerising mix of flamenco, North African and medieval sounds. Bakalao, the Spanish contribution to the world of techno, has its headquarters in Valencia.

Names like Alejandro Sanz, Kiko Veneno, Joaqun Sabina and Enrique Bunbury paint a healthy Pop music picture in Spain. Outside the mainstream charts, DJ Jos de Padilla (the Cafe del Mar compilations), trip-hoppers Najwajean (Najwa Nimri and Carlos Jean), rap/hip-hop guns La Mala Rodriguez and DJ instrumentalists Wagon Cookin (Javier and Luis Garrayalde) have all made an international impression. Though Julio Iglesias must rate as Spain's most successful performer, recent years have seen his equally smooth son Enrique pass him in record sales.

Environment

Spain and Portugal share the Iberian Peninsula, a vaguely square-shaped realm at the far southwestern edge of Europe. Spain occupies some 80% of this peninsula and spreads over nearly 505,000 sq km (194,982 sq mi), making it the biggest country in Western Europe after France. More than half of the country is made up of vast, elevated tablelands the mesetas and five major mountain ranges stretch across the country. In fact, with an average altitude of 650m (2133ft), it's the highest European country after Switzerland. Landscapes range from the deserts of Andalucia to the green wetlands of Galicia, and from the sunbaked plains of Castilla-La Mancha to the rugged snowcapped Picos de Europa and Pyrenees.

Spain's coast is as varied as its interior. The long Mediterranean coast alternates between rocky coves and inlets and flatter, straighter stretches with some long beaches. The Atlantic coast has colder seas and whiter, sandier beaches. The Costa de la Luz, from the Strait of Gibraltar and the Portuguese border, has many long sandy beaches backed by dunes. In the northwest, Galicia is deeply indented by long estuaries, with plenty of sandy beaches. It also has Spain's most awesome cliffs, at Cabo Ortegal and the Serra da Capelada. Along the Bay of Biscay, the Cordillera Cant¡brica comes almost down to the coast, and the beaches are mostly coves and small bays, though still sandy.

Native flora is prolific, especially in the alpine regions.

The prevalence of an 'if you see it, shoot it' philosophy has destroyed much of Spain's wildlife. Critters that you may still come across include red squirrels, chamois, deer, wolves, ibex, genet and a wide range of reptiles. Spain has around 25 breeding species of birds of prey, and it is a haven for water birds thanks to its large wetland areas. Gibraltar is famous for its Barbary macaques, the only wild monkeys in Europe.

The Canary Islands archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, west of Morocco, is an autonomous community belonging to Spain.