Renowned as one of Europe's premier holiday destinations, Spain sparkles with a diversity and a cultural richness that reflects a dramatic history of conquest and empire.
The grandiose boulevards of Madrid, sitting atop the sun-baked Castilian plateau, feel worlds apart from the sandy shores of the Costas and the greenery of Galicia.The fiercely independent northern regions of Catalonia and the Basque Country boast their own distinctive and vibrant cultures, along with stellar cities such as cosmopolitan Barcelona and foodie paradise San Sebastián. To the south, meanwhile, the whitewashed towns of Andalucia reverberate to the wail of flamenco, and the arabesque arches of the Alhambra hint at the Moorish past of the Iberian peninsula.
Gleaming like precious gems scattered across the Mediterranean Sea, the Balearic islands of Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera offer sublime relaxation and hedonistic pleasures in equal measure, while further west the Canaries tempt travellers with warm Saharan breezes and ethereal volcanic landscapes.
