About Spain
Spain, occupying most of the Iberian Peninsula, is a country of passion, diverse cultures, and dramatic landscapes. It is a land of contrasts, where the lush, rainy north (Green Spain) differs wildly from the sun-baked deserts of Almería and the turquoise waters of the Mediterranean coast. Spain's history is a complex tapestry woven from Roman, Visigothic, and Moorish influences, beautifully preserved in monuments like the Alhambra in Granada and the Great Mosque of Córdoba.
Madrid, the high-altitude capital, is famous for its world-class museums like the Prado and its vibrant nightlife. Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, attracts millions with Gaudí’s modernist architecture, including the Sagrada Família. Beyond the cities, Spain offers local festivals of global renown, such as the running of the bulls in Pamplona and the tomato-throwing La Tomatina. The country is also a culinary superpower, famed for tapas, paella, and avant-garde cuisine.
From the pilgrimage route of Santiago de Compostela in the northwest to the flamenco tablaos of Andalusia in the south, Spain vibrates with regional pride and distinct identities. It is a major European economy and a leader in renewable energy and high-speed rail. The Spanish lifestyle, characterized by late dinners, social plazas, and a zest for life, makes it an enduringly popular destination.
Spain returned to democracy in 1978 after 36 years of Franco's dictatorship, adopting a constitution that reorganised the country into 17 autonomous communities plus two North African cities (Ceuta and Melilla). The transition, coordinated by King Juan Carlos I and Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez, is studied worldwide as a template for peaceful regime change. In 2014 the king abdicated in favour of his son Felipe VI, becoming only the third European monarch to voluntarily hand over the throne in modern times. Spain hosts four official co-languages recognised alongside Castilian Spanish—Catalan, Basque, Galician and Aranese—each with its own regional TV networks, education systems and street signage. The Basque tongue is a linguistic isolate with no known relatives, believed to predate the Indo-European migrations by several millennia, and its speakers refer to themselves as Euskaldunak ("speakers of Basque").