Spain tourist information
Tourism in Spain
Alhambra, Court of the Lions, Granada Tourism in Spain was developed during the last years of Francisco Franco’s dictatorship, when the country became a popular place for summer holidays, especially for tourists from the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Scandinavia. Since then Spain has been the second most visited country of the world after France. In 2007 almost 60 million foreign tourists were received, according to the World Tourism Organization, that has its headquarters in Madrid. Spain's tourism spending annually is over $46 Billion, the highest tourism spending in any nation worldwide except the USA with $74 Billion.
Transport
AVE train in Córdoba.Main article: Transport in Spain
Spain's national airline is Iberia (or Iberia Airlines), but the country can also be flown into on many international passenger airlines such as Spanair, Air Europa, Vueling, Airberlin, Clickair and charter airlines, both of which fly to many tourist spots in the region. The main train operator is RENFE, the AVE (Spanish high speed train) or Talgo are the main intercity services for tourists. Many freeways link the main touristic cities.
Summer Resorts and Beaches
Tenerife.This modality of Tourism was the first to be developed in Spain, and nowadays, is the one that more income grants to the Spanish economy. The mild climate during the whole year and the extensive sandy beaches of the Mediterranean and South Atlantic, as well as of its two archipelagoes (the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands respectively) have been attracting tourists from the cold territories of North Europe for decades. Summer resorts are popular between the Spaniards too.
The Spanish coasts suitable for summer vacations include, from north to south: The Costa Brava, the Costa Dorada and the Costa del Maresme, in the autonomous community of Catalonia, very popular between tourist from inland Spain and France, including famous resorts like Salou and the city of Barcelona, that also has the largest harbour of Spain.
The Costa del Azahar, Costa de Valencia, whose capital city is Valencia and the Costa Blanca, (one of the most developed coastal areas of Spain, extremely popular for tourists from the United Kingdom and Germany, with Benidorm as the leading summer city of Spain), all in the Valencian Community.
The Costa Calida in Region of Murcia, Mediterranean Coasts and the Mar Menor (Lesser Sea), a inner salt lake separated to the Mediterranean by a large sandy bank. The Costa de Almería, the Costa Tropical, the Costa del Sol and the Costa de la Luz, all in Andalucía. Some of its summer towns are worldwide famous, like Marbella, a tourist destination of tourist with big purchasing power. Málaga is also one of the largest harbours in Spain.
Spain also has two archipelagoes, the volcanic Canary Islands, in the Atlantic, and the Balearic Islands, in the Mediterranean, both very popular between Spaniards and foreigners.
Parallel to the summer tourism, other modalities like cultural and monumental tourism congresses, sport or fun tourism have been developed in these areas, including such famous cities as Barcelona and Valencia, both the biggest harbours of the Spanish Mediterranean coast.
The Beach Tourism also has had to do in the development of the nightlife, present in all the coastal or island cities, as well as their excellent gastronomy.
Many coastal or island places also have great ecological and natural importance. Theme Parks like Port Aventura or diverse Water-fun parks are also popular between Spaniards and foreigners.
Cultural Tourism, Business Tourism
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.Spain is also a popular destination of cultural tourism because of its historical importance, including cities like Seville, Granada, Córdoba and Toledo. Thirteen Spanish cities have been declared World Heritage Cities by the UNESCO: Alcalá de Henares, Ávila, Cáceres, Córdoba, Cuenca, Ibiza, Salamanca, San Cristóbal de la Laguna, Santiago de Compostela, Segovia, Tarragona and Toledo. Cultural tourism contemplates too the two big metropolis of Spain: Madrid and Barcelona, both with great historical importance. In addition, there are more important cultural places in Spain, including several cities in North Spain, like A Coruña and Vigo, in Galicia, Santander in Cantabria, Oviedo and Gijón in Asturias, Bilbao and San Sebastián in the Basque Country. North Spain is usually called as "Green Spain" due to its lush green landscape, similar to the United Kingdom and Ireland. It has a lot of importance in terms of folklore, nature, cuisine and even summer holidays, although beaches of the North are notably colder than the Mediterranean's.
Religion
Spain is also an important place for Christianity and Judaism. In fact, some of the holiest places are in Spain: city of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia (North-West Spain), the third holiest place after the Vatican City in Rome and Jerusalem. It's also the end of the Way of Saint James or Camino de Santiago in Spanish. Santo Toribio de Liébana, Cantabria (also at the North) is the fourth, followed by the Sanctuary of Caravaca de la Cruz at the South-East, Region of Murcia (fifth holiest place). These places attract tourists from all the world.
Festivals
The running of the bulls in Pamplona.Also important are the numerous festivities and festivals in Spanish cities, such as the Holy Week in cities like Seville. Very popular are the Seville Fair or Feria de Abril in Spanish or the world-famous festival of San Fermin in Pamplona, the Fiestas del Pilar in Zaragoza and many more in every town.
Spain enjoys a lot of culture festivals too, including the Carnival all over Spain, but especially in the Canary Islands and Cadiz. Movie festivals can be found in San Sebastian, Malaga and Sitges. Music festivals includes: the FIB, Festimad, Primavera Sound, Bilbao Live Festival... among others. Several cities have hosted international events, including: Universal Fair of 1888 and 1929 in Barcelona, the 1992 Summer Olympics, also in Barcelona, the Universal fair of 1992 in Seville, the America's Cup in Valencia, and the Expo 2008 in Zaragoza.
Winter Tourism
Spain, as the second most mountainous country of Europe and is full of high mountains and good ski resorts, with famous ski slopes all over Spain, including the Pyrenees, the Cordillera Central, The Sistema Ibérico and Sierra Nevada.
Nature and Rural Tourism
The Picos de Europa National Park in the Green Spain.Spain enjoys a diverse landscape and is full of places with great ecologic value all over the Spanish territory, including the Ordesa Valley and Monte Perdido between the autonomous community of Aragon and France, in the Pyrenees. Spain is a very mountainous country, but also has plains. The largest plain is the Meseta Central, with a "castillian" landscape, full of prairies. There are also several wetlands with ecologic value, including the Doñana National Park, the Albufera of Valencia, the Lago de Sanabria (one of the largest lakes of Spain), the Lagunas de Ruidera and the Tablas de Daimiel National Park. North Spain is usually called the Green Spain because of its lush landscape, due to wet and rainy weather. However, the Canary Islands have an exotic volcanic landscape (including the Teide volcano, that is also the highest peak of Spain). Spain has a lot of importance in terms of archeology and paleontology including Atapuerca and the cave of Altamira. See also: List of National Parks in Spain
Spain is a beautiful and diverse country located in the southwest of Europe. It shares the Iberian Peninsula with Portugal, Gibraltar and Andorra. To the Northeast it borders with France and the tiny principality of Andorra. To the West its limits are defined by the Balearic Islands located in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea. Its Southern most territories are the picturesque Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla located in the North of Africa. This is why travelling to Spain is likely to be a enriching experience since tourism in the country offers a wide variety of destinations, activities and landscapes.
Spain is a country of large geographical and cultural diversity, often a surprise for tourists who are expecting to find a country mostly known for beach tourism. Travel to Spain and you will find everything, from lush meadows, green valleys, hills and snowy mountains in the Northern regions to almost desert zones in the South. Its beaches are also famous and worth visiting, small and charming creeks in the North and wide white sand beaches on the South and Western parts of the country, without forgetting the exotic black sand beaches of the volcanic Canary Islands.
Every year millions of tourists decide to travel to Spain, the country has been one of the most important tourist destinations of the last decades becoming the third most popular travel destination in Europe.
One of the better known cities is Madrid, capital city of Spain. Due to its central location, in the heart of Spain it has excellent communications with the rest of the provinces and is seat to the Spanish government and to the Royal Palace where the kings of Spain usually dwell. The city features distinctly winding streets, all of which seem to be heading either up or down and gather in the central square in the centre of the city.
Barcelona is probably one of the favourite destinations for tourists, a worldwide known city whose name recalls the awesome art of the architect Gaudi, the celebration of the 1992 Olympic games, and the cosmopolitan atmosphere of its streets. Tourism in the city offers also the possibility of enjoying its beaches and water sports.
Area Total: 504,782 km2
Population 44,708,964 (