Country Information

Food and Drink

Eating out in Spain is often cheap and meals are substantial rather than gourmet. One of the best ways to sample Spanish food is to try tapas (snacks), which are served at any time of day in local bars. These range from cheese and olives to squid or meat delicacies and are priced accordingly.

Things to know: Restaurants and cafes have table service. Cocktail lounges have table and/or counter service. There are no licensing hours.

National specialities:
• Seafood: cod vizcaina or cod pil-pil (Basque provinces); angulas, tasty baby eels (Aguinaga); shellfish and hake à la Gallega (Galicia); lobster Catalan (Catalonia); fresh anchovies (Andalucía).
•Paella based on meat or seafood (Eastern provinces).
•Butifarra sausage stewed with beans (Catalonia).
• Roast meats: lamb, beef, veal and suckling pig (Castile).
•Gazpacho, a delicious cold vegetable soup (Andalucía).

National drinks:
•Sherry (there are four main types: fino (very pale and very dry), amontillado (dry, richer in body and darker in colour), oloroso (medium, full-bodied, fragrant and golden) and dulce (sweet)).
• Wine: Rioja (Logroñ); Valdepeñas (midway between Madrid and Cordóba); Ampurdán; Chacolí(Basque Country)and Perelada (Catalonia); Cava (sparkling wine): Codorniúand Freixenet .
• Spanish brandy: Lanjarón, Vichy Catalan, Malavella and Font Vella.

Tipping: Restaurants often include service in the bill so a tip is discretionary. In cafes and bars, it is 5 to 10%.

Nightlife

Spaniards often start the evening with el paseo, a leisurely stroll through the main streets. A cafe terrace is an excellent vantage point to observe this tradition, or enjoy street theatre in the larger cities. The atmosphere is especially vibrant at fiesta time, or when the local football team has won, when celebrations are marked by a cacophony of car horns, firecrackers and a sea of flags and team regalia. Tapas bars offer delicious snacks in a relaxed, enjoyable setting and it is fun to try out several bars in one night. The nightclubs of Ibiza, Barcelona and Madrid have attracted the attention of the international media, but the variety on offer caters for most tastes. Things work up to la marcha (good fun) relatively late and it is possible to literally dance until dawn. Flamenco or other regional dancing displays provide an alternative for those who prefer to watch dancing.

Shopping

In Spain, the shopper can find items of high quality at a fair price, not only in the cities, but in the small towns as well. In Madrid, the Rastro Market is recommended, particularly on Sundays. Half of the market takes place in the open air and half in more permanent galleries, and it has a character all of its own. Catalonian textiles are internationally famous and there are mills throughout the region. Spanish leather goods are prized throughout the world, offering high-fashion originals at reasonable prices. Of note are the suede coats and jackets. In general, all leather goods, particularly those from Andalucía, combine excellent craftsmanship with high-quality design. Fine, handcrafted wooden furniture is one of the outstanding products; Valencia is especially important in this field, and has a yearly international furniture fair. Alicante is an important centre for toy manufacturing. Shoe manufacturing is also of an especially high quality; the production centres are in Alicante and the Balearics. Fine rugs and carpets are made in Cáceres, Granada and Murcia. The numerous excellent sherries, wines and spirits produced in Spain make good souvenirs to take home.

Shopping hours: Mon-Sat 0930-1330 and 1630-2000. However, most commercial stores and malls stay open from 1000-2100/2200.

•Madrid is a paradise for art lovers. Explore the city’s three superb art museums. The Prado has one of the most remarkable art collections in the world. The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia focuses on modern art and is where Picasso’s famous Guernica is on display. The Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza is one of the most important private collections of western painting in the world. Discover Madrid’s Royal Palace, which dates from the mid 18th century and has more than 20 rooms open to the public. Enjoy the atmosphere in the area around Puerta del Sol, the heart of the city, and on Madrid’s most historic and popular square, the Plaza Mayor, completed in 1617 during the reign of Philip III.

• Travel to Alcalá de Henares, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the birthplace of the writer Miguel de Cervantes and the English queen Catherine of Aragon. The main points of interest are the university, founded in the 16th century by Cardinal Cisneros, and the oldest surviving public theatre in Europe - as important to Spain as Shakespeare’s Globe is to England.

• Absorb the lively atmosphere of Barcelona, graced by several of Antoni Gaudí’s architectural masterworks, the most famous being the still incomplete church of the Sagrada Familia (Holy Family). Visit the Barri Gótic (Gothic quarter), where the buildings date back to the 14th and 15th centuries. Highlights include theSeu (old cathedral), the Episcopal Palace, the Palau de la Generalitat and the Plaça del Rei. Take the funicular to Tibidabo, the highest of Barcelona’s hills, or a cable car to Montjuic in the southern suburbs. Both offer spectacular views over the city and have funfairs at the summits. Barcelona’s museums include the Museo Picasso, which focuses on the artist’s formative years, but includes works from the Blue and Rose periods, the Fundació Joan Miró with works by another of Spain’s most innovative 20th-century artists, the Museum of Catalan Art, the Maritime Museum, and the Zoological Museum.

• Frank Gehry’s marvellous Guggenheim Museum has turned Bilbao, the main city of the Basque region, into a very successful tourist destination. The museum has been hailed as a masterpiece of 20th-century architecture. Bilbao’s Old Town is quite extensive with a gothic cathedral and an attractive Town Hall.

• Check out the newest tourist attraction in Valencia, Santiago Calatrava’s City of Arts and Science Park. The Hemispheric, an amazing glass structure, houses a planetarium, IMAX dome and laserium, and the Palace of Arts boasts the largest oceanarium in Europe. While in Valencia’s, visit the cathedral. It claims possession of the Holy Grail. The Fallas is a major festival culminating in the burning of papier-mâché effigies satirising famous Spanish figures and a magnificent fireworks display.

• Outside the fiesta season, Pamplona’s main attractions are its old walled quarter, Renaissance cathedral and imposing citadel.

•Seville is the romantic heart of Spain, the city of Carmen and Don Juan. Lovers of gothic architecture should come here to see the cathedral, the largest gothic building in the world. Christopher Columbus is buried here. The bell tower, known as the Giralda from its crowning weather vane, was originally a minaret and observatory. Seville bears numerous traces of the 500 years of Moorish occupation. Of great importance is the Alcázar, the palace-fortress of the Arab kings and one of the finest examples of Mudéjar (Moorish) architecture.

• Discover the magic of the Alhambra, the palace-fortress in Granada that was built by the Nasrid rulers in the 13th and 14th centuries. Highlights include: the Palacios Nazariés, its halls, courtyards and loggias decorated with painted enamel tiles, delicately fretted arches, stalactite vaulting, marble sculptures and stucco ornament; the Alcazába, an 11th-century hilltop fortress; and the Generalife, the gardens of the summer palace. The Alhambra is the most popular tourist attraction in Spain.

• To the south of Madrid is the ancient Spanish capital of Toledo. The city is dominated by the magnificent cathedral and Alcazar. Toledo is justly proud of its collection of paintings by El Greco, who lived and painted here. Go and see his most famous painting, The Burial of the Count of Orgaz, which is preserved in the Santo Tomé Church. There are more El Grecos as well as works by Goya and other artists in the Hospital y Museo de Santa Cruz, a magnificent Renaissance building with a Plateresque facade.

• Superbly situated on a plain overlooked by the Sierra de Gredos, Avila is a UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for its perfectly preserved 11th-century walls and for being the birthplace of the 16th-century mystic, St Teresa.

• The ancient university town Salamanca, ’European City of Culture’ in 2002, is well worth a visit on account of its many superb Renaissance buildings, weathered to a golden-brown hue, and the unusual and absorbing Museo Art Nouveau y Art Deco, with its fascinating collections of objets d’art from the first half of the 20th century.

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.

• Fancy a quick sprint through narrow, closed streets chased by a stampede of big bulls? In Pamplona, both locals and an increasing number of tourists indulge in this rather dangerous activity every year. The ’running of the bulls’ at the Festival of San Fermín takes place in July and attracts huge numbers of tourists. If you fancy seeing a bull fight from the safety of your seat, go to Madrid, which is home to the imposing bullring of Las Ventas, also known as the ’Cathedral ofBullfighting’.

• Feel the passion of flamenco,whosetragic lyrics and tones reflect the sufferings of the gypsy people. Gypsies say it is in the blood, but Spain’s famous poet and writer Fredrico Garcia Lorca, called flamenco one of the greatest inventions of the Spanish people. Many flamenco or other regional dancing displays can be seen throughout Spain, particularly in Andalucía, Southern Spain.

• Follow the Way of St James to Santiago de Compostela, a centre of pilgrimage since the early middle ages and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The focal point for all visits is the gothic Cathedral completed in 1188. During the Middle Ages, the tomb of St James was regarded as one of the most holy sites in Christendom and thousands of pilgrims travelled through Spain each year to visit the shrine. This route, the Way of St James, was lined with monasteries, religious houses, chapels and hospices to cater for the pilgrims. The route began in Navarre, at Canfranc or Valcarlos; from there, travelling west, the main stopping places were Pamplona, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, Logroño, Burgos, León, Astorga and Santiago de Compostela.

• Explore Spain’s natural beauty and abundant wildlife by visiting one of the national parks. Walks, hiking trails and jeep excursions take visitors to marshes and wetlands, coastal dunes, isolated mountain peaks or Atlantic beaches. At certain times of the year, the skies are filled with migrating birds heading for North Africa and the parks are also the habitat of a wealth of indigenous flora and fauna. With a bit of luck it is possible to spot rare and endangered species like the royal eagle, the capercaillie (or European grouse) and the Pyrenean mountain goat. The major national parks in mainland Spain are: Coto de Doñana (provinces of Seville and Huelva), Tablas de Daimiel (La Mancha), Ordesa (Huesca Pyrenees), Aigües Tortes (Lleida) and Montaña de Covadonga (Picos de Europa).

• There are good opportunities for rock climbing in Spain’s mountains. Well known, challenging climbs include the Naranjo de Bulnes in the Picos de Europa and Monte Perdido in Ordesa National Park.

•Mountain biking is becoming increasingly popular, and paths and tracks are plentiful.

• Explore Spain on horseback. Spain’s long equestrian tradition means that horse riding can easily be arranged. Mountain trails, river valleys and wide plains can be accessed with the help of a horse.

•Swimming, waterskiing, and windsurfing facilities can be found at nearly all seaside resorts. Spain’s premier windsurfing resort is Tarifa, on the Straits of Gibraltar, where the world championships are held. Inland lakes on the meseta in the regions of Castilla and Extremadura also have good facilities for windsurfing.

•White-water rafting and canoeing enthusiasts should head for the rapids in northern Spain. Centres are well equipped and have skilled staff.

• Spain is great for sailing, with over 4,000km (2,485 miles) of coastline and plenty of harbours and sailing clubs.

•Diving is also popular; permits can be acquired from the relevant regional authorities.

• Excellent opportunities exist for all types of fishing. The rivers and streams of the Pyrenees and the Picos de Europa offer good freshwater game fishing, while trout is abundant throughout the country. The Asturias contain the best salmon rivers. Other catches include barbel, perch, pike and tench. Permits must be requested from the regional authorities.

•Golf is becoming increasingly popular, with Costa del Sol and La Manga emerging as two of Spain’s premier golfing destinations. At present, Spain has over 200 golf courses, including courses designed by the likes of Robert Trent Jones, Severiano Ballesteros, Jack Niklaus and Jose María Olazabel. The Valderrama (near Madrid) is particularly well known.

• Spain offers great opportunities for skiing and there are many natural ski runs and winter resorts, equipped with modern facilities, all blessed with the promise of warm sun and blue skies. There is also a wide range of hotels, inns and refuges from which to choose. There are five main skiing regions in Spain: the Pyrenean Range, the Cantabrian Range, the Iberian Chain, the Central Chain and the Penibetic Chain. They are all attractive for mountaineering in general and for winter sports in particular. Check out the upland area of the Sierra Nevada, south of Granada and only about 40km (25 miles) from the coast, a nice place for a holiday combining winter sports with coastal sunshine and watersports in the Mediterranean.

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.