edit Spain Travel Guide

• Feria de Abril - a week long fair held in April in the streets of Seville. Along with partying, dancing, and drinking, the traditional costumes and flamenco-style dresses are sure to amuse crowds of all ages.
• Festival de Patios - one of the most interesting cultural exhibitions, 2 weeks when some people open doors of their houses to show their old Patios full of flowers
• Cata del Vino Montilla-Moriles - great wine tasting in a big tent in the city center during one week in May

Visa Requirements

No visa required of EU citizens.

Customs and Immigration

By plane

The busiest airports are Madrid, A Coruña, Palma de Mallorca, Malaga, Murcia, Barcelona, Jerez de la Frontera, Seville, Valencia, Bilbao, Alicante, Santiago de Compostella.

By car

By boat

By train

Check out http://horarios.renfe.es/hir/ingles.html for timetables and prices.

Once the center of a global empire with territories in North, Central and South America, Africa i.e. Equatorial Guinea, and Asia i.e. the Philippines, contemporary Spain has overcome civil war and fascism in the 20th century to stand proud and centered in itself.

Economy

The population of Spain is exhibiting a positive growth in large part due to migrations from economically and/or politically unstable areas of South America and Europe that have either a historical and/or a linguistic attachment to Spain.

Banking

Currency

Credit Cards

Tax

Tipping

A service charge is automatically included in the bill, but a little extra tip is common.

Shopping

Costs

Holidays and Celebrations

Language

Spanish, but it differs in pronunciation and other details from the Spanish spoken in most of Latin America and taught as a foreign language in the United States. It is called Castilian (castellano)and is understood throughout Spain.

The Spanish are very passionate about their food and wine. Spanish food can be described as quite light with a lot of vegetables and a huge variety of meat and fish. The Spanish cuisine does not use many spices.

Types of Restaurants

Restaurants deliver a wide range of food. In coastal areas seafood deserves some attention, especially on the north Atlantic coast. Spanish are very concerned about the freshness of seafood and you may place an order only to have the waiter tell you that he can not serve this dish, because they did not receive this particular seafood freshly that day. It is very unlikely to find dishes prepared from frozen fish in a real Spanish restaurant. Obviously so much freshness has its toll and seafood is quite pricey. Meat products are usually of very good quality, because Spain has maintained quite a high percentage of free range animal. A specialty is "jamón iberico" from free range pigs.

Types of Food

Typical dishes are:

• Mariscos: Shellfish. Best shellfish in the world you can eat in the province of Pontevedra.

• Calamares en su tinta: Squid in its ink.

• Chipirones a la plancha: Grilled Little squids.

• Caracoles: Snails in a hot sauce.

• Pescaíto frito: Delicious fried fish that can be found mainly in southern Spain

• Chorizo: Spain's most popular sausage is made from pork, ham, salt, garlic and pepper and is produced in multitude of varieties, in different sizes, shapes, short and long, spicy, in all different shades of red, soft, air dried and hard or smoked.

• Cheese: Spain offers a wide variety of regional cheeses. The most famous one is the "Queso Manchego"

• Fabada asturiana: Bean stew from Asturias.

• Gambas al ajillo: Prawns with garlic and chile. Fantastic hot stuff.

• Gazpacho Andaluz: Cold vegetable soup. Best during the hot weather. It's like drinking a salad.

• Merluza a la Vizcaina: The Spanish are not very fond of sauces. One of the few exception is merluza a la Vasca. The dish contains hake (fish of the cod family) prepared with white asparagus and green peas.

• Morcilla: Sausages made from pig blood flavoured with anise, it comes as a fresh, smoked or air dried variety.

• Aceitunas, Olivas: Olives, often served for nibbling.

• Lentejas Españolas: A dish made from lentils with chorizo sausage and/or Serrano ham.

• Potajes or pucheros: Garbanzo beans stew at its best¡¡

• Paella: Famous rice dish originally from Mediterranean area. There are different variations: seafood, chicken and rabbit, etc.

• Pimientos rellenos: Peppers stuffed with minced meat or seafood. The peppers in Spain taste different than all other peppers in Europe.

• Potaje de espinacas y garbanzos: Chick pea stew with spinach. Typical of Seville

• Jamón Serrano: Air/salt cured ham similar to Italian Parma Ham. Ask for "Pata Negra" ham and you will taste the best ham in the world.

• Tortilla de patatas: Spanish omelette. Probably the most popular dish in Spain. You can easily assess how good a restaurant is by having a small piece of its potato tortillas.

• Churros: Typical spanish breakfast or for tea time. Served with hot chocolate drink.

Etiquette

During lunch or dinner, Spaniards do not begin eating until everyone is seated and ready to eat. Likewise, they do not leave the table until everyone is finished eating.

When Spaniards receive a gift or are offered a drink or a meal, they usually refuse for a bit, so as not to seem greedy. This sometimes sparks arguments among especially reluctant people, but it is seen as polite. Remember to offer more than once (on the third try it must be fairly clear if they will accept it or not). On the other hand, if you are interested in the offer, politely smile and decline it, saying that you don't want to be a nuisance, etc. but relent and accept when they insist.

Appearing drunk in public is generally frowned upon.

NOTE: Spaniards have a different eating timetable than most people are used to, spreading meals out over a longer period of the day. The main lunch time starts around 2-3 pm. Most shops and public offices will also close from 1:30 pm to 4:30 or 5 pm. Dinnertime starts at around 9 or 10 pm so don’t be surprised that a restaurant looks completely deserted at 8 pm and crowded at 11 pm. Normally, restaurants in big cities don't close until midnight during the week and 2-3 am during the weekend.

Drinks

The drinking age in Spain is 12.

Sangria is drink made of wine and fruits and usually is made from simple wines.

The wines around Jerez are very high in alcohol and they produce the famous sherry. The most famous wines come from Rioja region. To order a red wine in a bar you have to ask for a "un tinto por favor", white wine "un blanco por favor" and last but not least rose "un rosado por favor".

Young people in Spain have developed their own drinking customs. When having "botellones" (big outdoor parties with drink and lots of people), most of them will be mixing red wine with Coke and drink such mix straight from the Coke bottle.

If you are looking for a more homely sort of accommodation then it is recommended that you look for a Casa Rural. A Casa Rural is the equivalent to a Bed and Breakfast.

A Parador ("inn") is a state owned hotel (rating from 3 to 5 stars). These are a chain of hotels founded in 1928 by the Spanish King Alfonso XIII. The unique aspects of Paradores are their location and their history. Found mostly in historical buildings, such as convents, Moorish castles, or haciendas, Paradores are a beautiful display of the integration of hospitality and history.

Paradores will serve breakfast (about €10) and often have very good local cuisine typical for their region (about €25).

Accommodation prices are a good value, when you consider that the hotels are often found in the heart of scenic areas, varying from €85 for a double room to €245 for a twin room. Two of the most beautiful paradors are in Leon and Santiago de Compostela.

There are plenty of hostels in Spain, mostly in Madrid. Prices can vary from €15 to €25 per night.

Phones

To call home cheap you may opt to buy prepaid calling cards which are widely available in newspapers or groceries stores around the city. Simply ask for a "tarjeta telefonica".

Another convenient alternative is to use call-through services, such as http://www.chollofon.com/. By simply dialing an access number you will enjoy pretty cheap international calls. For example, you can call US and most European countries for only 2ct/min by dialling 901 888 020. You can use it directly from any landline or payphone.

Internet

Crime

Emergency

112 for police, firefighters, ambulances.

Police

Fire Department

Hospitals

Gays and lesbians

Illicit drugs and prostitution

Smoking

By plane

By train

Renfe is the Spanish national rail carrier. Long-distance trains always get in time, but be aware that short-distance trains (called Cercanías) can bear long delays, from ten to twenty minutes, and especially in the Barcelona area.

By car

By bus

Traveling by bus in Spain is usually reliable, coaches are modern and comfortable. You can expect to pay about 8 Euros per 100 km.

By thumb