If you want to experience the real Spain, don’t go to bed too early. In these parts, people stroll the city squares and dine out late into the night.

In the north and northwest, the Meseta is bordered by the Cantabrian Mountains and the Iberian Mountains, and in the South by the Sierra Morena, beyond which lies the Guadalquivir Valley. Galicia’s mountainous landscape runs along the jagged Atlantic coast. The extreme south is also mountainous; the Sierra Nevada southeast of Granada belongs to the Betic Cordilleras, which run parallel to the Mediterranean and include the highest mountain on the Spanish mainland, the Mulhacén (3481 meters above sea level). The highest elevation on Spanish territory is the Pico del Teide (3718 meters above sea level) on Tenerife.

Spain has just under 5000 kilometers of coastline. The Mediterranean coast extends from the French border to the Rock of Gibraltar. The Strait of Gibraltar connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean and divides Spain from North Africa.

Electricity

220 V, 50 Hz (sometimes 110/125 V in older buildings in smaller places)

Currency

1 euro = 100 cents
Currency sign/abbreviation: €, EUR (ISO code). Banknotes are available in the values 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 euros, coins, in the nominal values 1 and 2 euros, as well as 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents.

2020

Año Nuevo (New Year’s): 1 January 2020
Epifanía (Epiphany): 6 January 2020
Día de San José (St. Joseph’s Day): 19 March 2020*
Jueves Santo (Maundy Thursday): 9 April 2020*
Viernes Santo (Good Friday): 10 April 2020
Domingo de Resurrección (Easter Sunday): 12 April 2020
Día del Trabajo (Labor Day): 1 May 2020
Asunción de la Virgen (Assumption Day): 15 August 2020
Fiesta Nacional de España (Spanish National Day): 12 October 2020
Fiesta de Todos los Santos (All Saints’ Day): 1 and 2 November 2020*
Día de la Constitución (Constitution Day): 6 December 2020
La Inmaculada (Feast of the Immaculate Conception): 8 December 2020
Navidad (Christmas): 25 December 2020

Information subject to error.

As one of Spain’s most spectacular traditional festivals, Las Fallas is a massive fire festivity largely celebrated in the Valencia community. Larger-than-life figures or puppets, known asninots, are created from wood and papier mâché and paraded all over the city during the week leading to the Fallas. On the last day of the festival, these giant figures are set on fire, lighting up the city in blazing heat. The festival usually involves a whole year of preparation and the falleras put on their best traditional costumes to parade on the streets of Valencia. It is a special occasion in Valencia, so if you’re here in March, make sure you don’t miss it!

Large-scale processions and ‘battles’ of the Moors and Christians take place all over the region, with the most impressive ones found in Alcoi, 11km (7 miles) south of Valencia. It is a ritual encounter between the foes of old times: the Moors and the Christians. The battles are re-enacted in full historic costume along the streets of Alcoi. The costumes are opulent and the weapons convincing. The second day is dedicated mainly to St George, with a religious procession in the morning and a general parade in the afternoon. On the third day, all hell breaks loose as the adversaries meet in battle. Clouds of smoke fill the streets when the antique-style muskets are fired over and over again.

The summer solstice is celebrated in full vigour in the Valencia community and this celebration is known as the Fiesta de San Juan. On the longest day of the year, the beach is dotted with bonfires and the skies are lit up with dazzling fireworks. It is said that the fires would give more strength to the sun, which loses energy after the summer solstice. The best places in the Valencia region to join in the celebrations are in Alicante, Denia, Torrevieja and Benidorm where giant figures are set on fire along the beach.

Every city or town in Spain has its own annual fair. These fairs, known as ferias, are flamboyant carnivals packed full of feasting, drinking and dancing. In Valencia, the feria is spread throughout the city, with cultural activities interspersed with performing arts spectacles. The highlights of the Valencia feria are the ‘battle of the flowers’ (last Sunday of the month), the International Musical Band Competition (first fortnight), Feria de San Jaime bullfights (second and third weeks) and the zarzuela (Spanish light opera).

Famed as one of the craziest festivals in Spain, La Tomatina is a messy tomato fight that takes place in the town of Buñol, not far from Valencia. Thousands of participants come from all over Spain to Buñol to take part in this massive food fight. The festival begins with the palo jabón: where revellers aim to climb up a greasy pole with ajamón on top. Participants then spend a whole hour throwing tomatoes at one another; by the end of it, the whole town square is coloured red and rivers of tomato juice flow freely. Accommodation is extremely expensive during the festival, so be sure to book early.