Spain Info
Andalucia
Andalusia consists of about 90,000 km² of Spanish territory. It
is the largest single region and bigger than both Belgium and Holland.
About fifty per cent of this region is mountainous with a third of it
standing above 600 metres. There are 46 peaks that are above 1000 metres.
Andalusia´s main river is the Guadalquivir which in Arabic, means "Great
River". It begins at the Sierra de Cazorla in eastern Andalusia
and crosses to its outlet in the sea in the west. It flows 602 km, roughly
southwest to Sanlúcar de Barrameda where it empties into the Gulf
of Cádiz. Supplied by rainwater in the winter and melting snow
from the Sierra Nevada in the summer the river provides valuable water
for irrigation and hydroelectric purposes.
Click the links here for more information about Andalucia and its provinces,
including Almeria, Cadiz, Cordoba, Granada, Huelva, Jaen, Malaga and
Sevilla
Valencia
This Autonomous Community of Valencia is a
prototypical example of the "Mediterranean
Spain", with a fantastic climate and more than 500 kilometers of
coast. It is decidedly one of the country's most touristical areas. If
you want to discover more than just sun and sand, you will find remains
of most remote civilizations, Phoenicians, Greeks, Iberians and Romans.
The Moorish legacy is still present in traditional artisany and agriculture
with its praised oranges as well as rice. The conquests of Jaime
de Aragón led to the foundation of the kingdom of Valencia, more or less at the
territiory of todays Community.
Click the links here for more information about Valencia and its provinces,
including Alicante and Castellon
Cataluna
Best known apart from the capital, Barcelona,
is of course the Mediterranean coast, Costa Brava, with ample beaches
and mild climate, doubtlessly a first rate touristical attraction. One
shouldn't forget anyhow that Catalonia offers as well high mountain ranges,
the Pyrenees in the north, the curious formations of Montserrat, the
inactive volcanos of Garrotxa, and a wide plain area in the region's
center.
Catalonia has a very marked culture of its own, most evidently
of Mediterranean tradition, and is distinguished of most other Spanish
regions in several aspects, not at least by its language, Catalonian
(although everybody speaks and understands Castilian Spanish perfectly).
Certainly it is one of the most cosmopolitan places in Spain, thanks
to its long tradition of international commerce.
Click the links here for more information about Cataluna and its provinces,
including Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, Tarragona
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands consists of Mallorca,
Menorca, Ibiza, Formentera and Cabrera.
Their excellent climate with some 300 days of sun per year, wonderful
beaches, a rich cultural offer and the unusual hospitality of their inhabitants
make the Balearic Islands one of the preferred holiday destinations in
Spain. There are more passengers going through the airport of Palma
de Mallorca than at the airport of any other Spanish city. Hardly
anybody who has spent holidays here didn't wish to return, in fact, many
visitors have made the islands their permanent home.
Each of the islands has a strong personality all of its
own, and each of them offers much more than just the possibility to
spend nice holidays at the beach.
Click the links here for more information about the Balearic Islands:
Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, Formentera and Cabrera
Castilla Leon
The autonomous region of Castilla y Leon is to the east of Madrid, it is situated in north-western Spain and is
humid and green, it is the largest region not only in Spain but in the
whole of Europe. The Kingdom of Castilla - meaning “Land of Castles", occupied the eastern
half of the actual region of Castilla y León, and the neighbouring
regions of Cantabria, La Rioja, Madrid and part of Castilla-la
Mancha.
It conserved a close relation with León until their definitive
union, during the year 1230.
It has its own culture and peculiar identity. Its glorious past, full
of traditions and legends has left thousands of traces in every corner
and village.
Click the links here for more information about Castilla Leon and its
provinces, including Avila, Burgos, Leon, Palencia, Salamanca, Segovia,
Soria, Valladolid and Zamora
Galicia
Galicia posesses a very wide coastal line bathed by the
Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic Ocean. It is comprised
of the provinces of A Coruña, Lugo,
Ourense, and Pontevedra. It is known
as the land of a thousand rivers. Galicia is a mosaic of landscapes decended
from its long history, during which men and women have deeply transformed
the space around them. In fact human activity has been intense for at
least three thousand years in this region, seeing the results one can
appreciate the incredible range of existing landscapes and a variety of
natural places of interest.
Click the links here for more information about Castilla Leon and its
provinces, including A
coruna, Lugo,
Ourense,
Pontevedra
