Spain facts, travel guide, geography & history
Facts
Government: Parliamentary monarchy.
Population (est.): 40,398,000.
Capital, population (est.): Madrid, 5,135,000.
Language: Castilian Spanish (official nationwide), Catalan, Galician, Basque.
Monetary unit: Euro. (Formerly peseta).
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Travel guide
Get around
By train;
Renfe is the Spanish national rail carrier. Train system in Spain is modern and reliable, most of the trains are brand new and the punctuality rate is one
of the highest in Europe, the only problem is that not all the populated areas have a train station, sometimes small towns don't have one, in those cases
you need to take a bus. Another issue with the Spanish Rail network is that the lines are disposed in a radial way so almost all the lines head to Madrid.
That's why sometimes traveling from one city to another geographically close to it might take longer by train than by bus if they are not in the same line.
Always check whether the bus or the train is more convenient.
Be aware that short-distance trains (called Cercanías) can experience long delays, from ten to twenty minutes, and especially in the Barcelona area. To be
safe, always take the train before the one you need.
By bus;
Bus travel in Spain is increasingly an attractive option for people traveling on a tight budget. Thanks largely to European Union funding, Spain's road
network has vastly improved over the past twenty years, so bus journeys don't take nearly as long as they used to.
There are lots of private bus companies offering routes to all major Spanish cities. If you want to travel around Spain by bus, the best idea is to go to
your local bus station (Apart from Madrid and Barcelona, most towns and cities have just one) and see what is available.
Traveling by bus in Spain is usually reliable (except on peak holiday days when roads can be very crowded and you should expect long delays on popular
routes). Coaches are modern and comfortable. You can expect to pay about 8 Euros per 100km.
By boat;
Wherever you are in Spain, from your private yacht you can enjoy gorgeous scenery and distance yourself from the inevitable crowds of tourists that flock
to these destinations. May is a particularly pleasant time to charter in the regions of Costa Brava, Costa Blanca and the Balearic Islands as the weather
is good and the crowds have yet to descend. The summer months of July and August are the hottest and tend to have lighter winds. There is no low season for
the Canary Islands, as the weather resembles springtime all year round. If you would like to bareboat anywhere in Spain, including the Balearic or Canary
Islands, a US Coast Guard License is the only acceptable certification needed by Americans to bareboat. For everyone else, a RYA Yacht Master Certification
or International Certificate of Competence will normally do. Although a skipper may be required, a hostess/chef may or may not be necessary. Dining out
is strong part of Spanish custom and tradition. If you are planning on docking in a port and exploring fabulous bars and restaurants a hostess/cook may
just be useful for serving drinks and making beds. Extra crew can take up valuable room on a tight ship.
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Language
Unsurprisingly, the primary language used in Spain is Spanish (español, castellano), but it's more complicated than that. It differs in pronunciation and
other details (and is designated as the Burgos/Castilian dialectic pattern) from the Spanish spoken in most of Latin America (which is designated as the
Andalusian/Sevillian dialectic pattern) and taught as a foreign language in the United States. It is part of the Romance family of languages
(which together with Portuguese, Italian, French, and Romanian constitutes one of the main branches of that family), and is more properly called
Castilian (castellano). It is consistently pronounced (except in the Canary Island where the Andalusian/Sevillain dialectic pattern still predominates) and
almost universally understood throughout Spain, and is the day-to-day language of the majority of Spaniards.
However, despite efforts by Franco in the mid 20th century (and earlier regimes) to impose Castilian upon the the rest of the nation, there are several
other languages and many dialects spoken in various part of Spain. These languages are dominant in their respective regions, and following their
legalization in the 1978 constitution, in several areas they are co-official with Castilian. With one exception (Basque), the languages of the Iberian
Peninsula are all part of a dialect continuum associated with the Romance family of languages (French-Occitan-Provencal, Galego-Portuguese,
Asturian-Spanish) and are fairly easy to pick up if you know Castilian well. Learning a little of the local languages where you will be traveling will help
endear you to the locals.
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Buy
Spain is part of the European Union and the Eurozone; as such it replaced Spanish pesetas with the Euro (symbol: €) in the year 2002. Since it has been
only a few years since the introduction of Euro cash, a few people will still use the old national currency names. For example, it is entirely possible
that a Spaniard would still refer to peseta. They mean Euros and Cents, so just mentally substitute the two.
Do not expect anybody to accept other types of currency, or to be willing to exchange currency. An exception are shops and restaurants at airports.
These will generally accept at least US Dollars at a slightly worse exchange rate. If you wish to exchange money, you can do so at any bank (some may
require that you have an account there before they will exchange your money), where you can also cash in your traveller's cheques. Currency exchanges,
once a common sight, have all but disappeared since the introduction of the Euro. Again, international airports are an exception to this rule.
Credit cards are well accepted. Most ATMs will allow you to withdraw money with your credit card, but you'll need to know your card's PIN for that.
Notice many Spanish stores will ask for your passport, driving license or ID card before accepting your credit card. Although somewhat awkward for people
from Eurozone countries that do not have an ID Card, this measure helps avoid credit card robbery.
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Eat
Cuisine;
The Spanish are very passionate about their food and wine and Spanish cuisine. 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; it relies only on the use of high quality ingredients to give a good taste.
Bars and fast food;
The entry level to Spanish food is found in bars as tapas, which are a bit like "starters" or "appetizers", but are instead considered side orders to
accompany your drink. Some bars will offer a variety of different tapas; others specialize. A Spanish custom is to have one tapa and one small drink at a
bar, then go to the next bar and do the same. A group of two or more individuals may order two or more tapas or order raciones instead, which are a bit
larger in order to share. Tourists are easily spotted when they load their plates full of tapas.
Fast food has not yet established a strong grip on the Spaniards and you will find McDonalds and Burger King only in bigger towns in the usual places.
The menu can be a surprise since it has been customized to appeal to the locals and beer, salads, yogurt primarily Dannon, and wine are prominent.
Pizza is increasingly popular and you will find some outlets in bigger towns but it can be their own homegrown franchise, TelePizza, as well as
Pizza Hut.
Restaurants;
Restaurants deliver a wide range of food. In coastal areas seafood deserves some attention, especially on the north Atlantic coast. Spaniards 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 that you will 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 animals. A specialty is "jamón iberico" from free range pigs.
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Drink
The drinking age in Spain is 18. People under this age are forbidden to drink and buy alcoholic drinks, although enforcement in tourist and clubbing areas
is "so so".
Bars;
Probably one of the best places to meet people in Spain is in bars. Everyone visits them and they are always busy and sometimes bursting with people.
There is no age restriction imposed to enter these premises although children and adolescents will not be served alcoholic drinks. Age restrictions for
the consumption of alcohol are clearly posted at bars and are enforced more often. It is not uncommon to see an entire family at a bar.
Bars are mainly to have drink and a small tapa while socializing and decompressing from work or studies. Usually Spaniards can control their alcohol
drink consumption better than their northern Europeans and drunk people are rarely seen at bars or on the streets. A drink, if ordered without an
accompanying tapa, is normaly served with a "minor" or inexpensive tapa as a courtesy.
Size and prize of tapas changes a lot throughout Spain. For instance, it's almost impossible to get free tapas in big cities like Madrid or Barcelona
while you can eat for free (just paying for the drinks), with huge tapas at cities like Granada or Badajoz.
The tapa, and the related pincho, trace their existence in Spain to both acting as a cover ("Tapa") on top of a cup of wine to prevent flies
from accessing it, and as a requirement of law when serving wine at an establishment during the middle ages.
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Sleep
There are many different kinds of tourist accommodations, ranging from hotels, pensions, rented villas, to campings or even monasteries.
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 or Gîtes. Not all houses are situated in the countryside, as the name implies. Some are situated in the smaller towns. Casa Rurals,
throughout Spain, vary in quality and price. In some regions they are strictly controlled and inspected. Other regions are not so tough in their
regulations.
A Parador ("inn") is a state owned hotel in Spain (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
(like La Alhambra), or haciendas, Paradores are the exact opposite of the uncontrolled development found in coastal regions like the Costa del Sol.
Hospitality has been harmoniously integrated with the restoration of castles, palaces and convents, rescuing from ruin and abandonment monuments
representative of Spain's historical and cultural heritage.
There are plenty of hostels in Spain, mostly in Madrid. Prices can vary from €15 to €25 per night.
Adopted from and read more at:
wikitravel.org/en/Spain
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Geography
If you are interested in this country's geography, please take a look
here.
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History
If you are interested in this country's history, please take a look
here.
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