Geography

Among the regions that comprises Spain and which remains a destination for most tourists are the three great cities of Barcelona, Madrid and Seville; Andalucia in the south, the Canary island located at the west coast of Africa;the Balearic Islands (Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera) in the southeast of Barcelona; the northern area including Castille and Leon. The Pyreness is known for best trekking throughout Europe which stretches roughly at 400km from the Basque Country in the west to the Mediterranean Sea.

Spain has four seasons throughout the year. A great time to visit Andalusia, Castile, the Balearic Islands and other central regions is during spring, when the weather is generally fine with occasional rains. Summer is an ideal season to visit the northern regions especially along the Cantabrian coast along the border of La Guardia. During winter, it's a good time to visit the Mediterranean area along the Costa del Sol as well as the Canary Islands. Fall is the best season of the year to visit the country for the magnificent sun and blue skies.

Geographically, Spain is bounded to the north by the Bay of Biscay, France, and Andorra; to the east by the Mediterranean Sea; on the south by the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; and on the west by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean. In the south west the 13km wide Strait of Gibraltar separates Spain from Africa. 

Capital        Madrid

Languages   Castilian (also called and more internationally known as Spanish)

Currency     Euro

Climate

Spain is mainly influenced by the Mediterranean climate in most areas so it can be extremely hot during summer and it can get very cold during winter. Rainfall occurs irregularly during spring and autumn and heavy snowfalls are common in winter. Generally it's good to travel during the months of April to early November while the weather can get unpleasant in July and August.

Spain experiences extremes of temperature and generally low rainfall (less than 610 mm) except for in the north. Along the northern Atlantic coast the climate is usually quite damp and cool. The central plateau has very hot, dry summers and drought is common. In Madrid the local saying is that the climate is "9 months of winter and 3 months of hell" which describes the freezing winters and scorching summers. In Seville, Cordoba and Granada temperatures reached 50ºC (over 120ºF) in the summer of 2003, forest fires caused major damage. On the southern Mediterranean coast a subtropical climate prevails with Málaga enjoying an average winter temperature of 14°C (57°F).