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Spain |
|
 |
Language(s) | Spanish |
 |
Currency | Euro () |
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Phone Code | +34 |
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Population | 45,200,737 |
 |
Area | 504,030 sq km |
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Capital | Madrid |
 |
GDP | $1.44 trillion |
|
Spain |
|
|
Language(s) | Spanish |
|
Currency | Euro () |
|
Phone Code | +34 |
|
Population | 45,200,737 |
|
Area | 504,030 sq km |
|
Capital | Madrid |
|
GDP | $1.44 trillion |
Cádiz is the capital of the province that spans southward from the Sevilla plains and the western foothills of the Serranía de Ronda to claim the last sweep of the Mediterranean coast. And in February, when the country’s wildest celebration of Carnaval is at full throttle, Cádiz is the happiest place in Spain.
Córdoba, a city of just over 300,000, once had three times as many people when it was the leading intellectual center of Islam. Its fabled La Mezquita, now part-mosque, part-cathedral, still stands as one of the largest in the world and the focal point of interest in the city.
The “Coast of the Sun” is bathed in sun over 300 days out of the year and spoiled rotten to the core, all 150 over-developed kilometers (90 miles) of it down the southern Mediterranean coast, from the flats of Sotogrande in the west to the mountainous coastlines of Nerja in the east. It's part-enchantment, part-concrete and a helluva lot of foreigners frying on one of 50 beaches that enjoy an average temperature of 18°C (64°F). This is Costa del Sol, with its English breakfasts and all-inclusive resorts, bingo and birdies to send your heart reeling, fancy yachts and filthy little fishing boats.
Granada lies at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains and stretches into the flat, fertile plains of the Vega. Its 300,000 inhabitants navigate the streets and sidewalks of a cityscape that appears, at least upon first inspection, dominated by drab high-rise buildings from the ’70s. Don’t be dismayed; a rich architectural heritage forged by Spanish and Mudéjar influences colors the city in unexpected and spectacular ways.
Málaga is a memorable destination. It doesn’t take a professional photographer to capture the impressive picture so often shown on postcards of Málaga. Someone has climbed up the steep road to the Alcazaba and, from any one of a number of battlement perches, spied the Plaza del Torros below, shaped like an oval from this high vantage above the city, with its sandy innards on display inside. Rarely is such a good bird’s-eye view afforded of a Spanish bullring.
