Travel to Spain

Browse listings of Home Exchange, Vacation Rentals, B&B, Homestay (furnished apartments, villas, cottages, condos, farmhouses and other types of accommodations) by regions of Spain.

Vacation Rentals	Bed and Breakfast	Home Exchange	Homestay
Andalucia	Andalucia	Andalucia	Andalucia
Aragon	Aragon	Aragon	Aragon
Asturias	Asturias	Asturias	Asturias
Balearic Islands	Balearic Islands	Balearic Islands	Balearic Islands
Basque Country	Basque Country	Basque Country	Basque Country
Canary Islands	Canary Islands	Canary Islands	Canary Islands
Cantabria	Cantabria	Cantabria	Cantabria
Castilla y Leon	Castilla y Leon	Castilla y Leon	Castilla y Leon
Castilla-La Mancha	Castilla-La Mancha	Castilla-La Mancha	Castilla-La Mancha
Cataluna	Cataluna	Cataluna	Cataluna
Communidad Valenciana	Communidad Valenciana	Communidad Valenciana	Communidad Valenciana
Extremadura	Extremadura	Extremadura	Extremadura
Galicia	Galicia	Galicia	Galicia
La Rioja	La Rioja	La Rioja	La Rioja
Madrid	Madrid	Madrid	Madrid
Murcia	Murcia	Murcia	Murcia
Navarra	Navarra	Navarra	Navarra

Last Minute Tips Before you Travel to Spain

• Time Zone: GMT/UTC +1 (Eastern European Time)
• Electricity: 220V, 50 Hz (bring an adapter/transformer for your hair drier, laptop, cellular phone etc.)
• Weights & measures: Metric
• Currency: Euro
• Country Dialing Code: 34

Must See - Properties on UNESCO World Heritage List

• Historic Centre of Cordoba
• Alhambra, Generalife and Albayzin, Granada
• Burgos Cathedral
• Monastery and Site of the Escurial, Madrid
• Parque Güell, Palacio Güell and Casa Mila in Barcelona
• Altamira Cave
• Old Town of Segovia and its Aqueduct
• Monuments of Oviedo and the Kingdom of the Asturias
• Santiago de Compostela (Old Town)
• Old Town of Avila with its Extra-Muros Churches
• Mudejar Architecture of Aragon
• Historic City of Toledo
• Garajonay National Park
• Old Town of Cáceres
• Cathedral, Alcazar and Archivo de Indias in Seville
• Old City of Salamanca
• Poblet Monastery
• Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida
• Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Guadalupe
• Route of Santiago de Compostela
• Doñana National Park
• Historic Walled Town of Cuenca
• La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia
• Pyrénées - Mont Perdu
• Las Médulas
• The Palau de la Música Catalana and the Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona
• San Millán Yuso and Suso Monasteries
• Rock-Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula
• University and Historic Precinct of Alcalá de Henares
• Ibiza, biodiversity and culture
• San Cristóbal de La Laguna
• Archaeological Ensemble of Tárraco
• Palmeral of Elche
• Roman Walls of Lugo
• Catalan Romanesque Churches of the Vall de Boí
• Archaeological Site of Atapuerca
• Aranjuez Cultural Landscape
• Renaissance Monumental Ensembles of Úbeda and Baeza

Spain

Location
Southwestern Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay, Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, and Pyrenees Mountains, southwest of France

Capital
Madrid

Population

47,042,984 (July 2012 est.)

Spanish Regions:

Spain consists of 17 autonomous communities and 2 autonomous cities* :
Andalucia, Aragon, Asturias, Baleares (Balearic Islands), Ceuta*, Canarias (Canary Islands), Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y Leon, Cataluna, Communidad Valenciana, Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid, Melilla*, Murcia, Navarra, Pais Vasco (Basque Country)

Climate
temperate; clear, hot summers in interior, more moderate and cloudy along coast; cloudy, cold winters in interior, partly cloudy and cool along coast

Ethnic groups
composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types

Religions
Roman Catholic 94%, other 6%

Government type
Parliamentary monarchy

Languages
Castilian Spanish (official) 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, and Basque 2% note: Catalan is official in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, and the Valencian Community (where it is known as Valencian); in the northwest corner of Catalonia (Vall d'Aran), Aranese is official along with Catalan; Galician is official in Galicia; Basque is official in the Basque Country

Background
Spain's powerful world empire of the 16th and 17th centuries ultimately yielded command of the seas to England. Subsequent failure to embrace the mercantile and industrial revolutions caused the country to fall behind Britain, France, and Germany in economic and political power. Spain remained neutral in World Wars I and II but suffered through a devastating civil war (1936-39). A peaceful transition to democracy following the death of dictator Francisco FRANCO in 1975, and rapid economic modernization (Spain joined the EU in 1986) gave Spain a dynamic and rapidly growing economy and made it a global champion of freedom and human rights. The government's major focus for the immediate future will be on measures to reverse the severe economic recession that started in mid-2008.

Flag of Spain
Three horizontal bands of red (top), yellow (double width), and red with the national coat of arms on the hoist side of the yellow band; the coat of arms is quartered to display the emblems of the traditional kingdoms of Spain (clockwise from upper left, Castile, Leon, Navarre, and Aragon) while Granada is represented by the stylized pomegranate at the bottom of the shield; the arms are framed by two columns representing the Pillars of Hercules, which are the two promontories (Gibraltar and Ceuta) on either side of the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar; the red scroll across the two columns bears the imperial motto of "Plus Ultra" (further beyond) referring to Spanish lands beyond Europe; the triband arrangement with the center stripe twice the width of the outer dates to the 18th century.
note: the red and yellow colors are related to those of the oldest Spanish kingdoms: Aragon, Castile, Leon, and Navarre

Learn Spanish in Spain

• Don Quijote school
• Elemadrid the Spanish language school in Madrid
• Quality Courses
• Abanico Spanish Language School

Spanish Basic Words

Hello - Hola
Good bye - Adiós
Yes - Si
No - No
Excuse me - Discúlpeme
How are you? - ¿Cómo estás?
Very well, thanks - Muy bien, gracias
Please - Por favor
Thank you - Gracias
Coffee - café
Tea - té
What is your name? - ¿Cual es tu nombre?
Nice to meet you - Encantado de conocerte
How are you? - ¿Cómo estás? ¿Que pasa?
Good - Bien
Bad - Mal
So so - Mas o menos
You are welcome - De nada
Where are the toilets? - ¿Dónde está el baño?

Some Spanish Dishes

Tapas are enjoyed in bars all over Spain. Think of tapas as snacks.  Each tapas bar will have its own speciality, and it is worth going from bar to bar to sample a little of each.

Tapas

• Mushrooms in Garlic Sauce (Champiñones al Ajillo)
• Garlic Prawns (Gambas al Ajillo)

Main dishes

• Spanish Omelette (Tortilla de patatas) potatoes, eggs, onions
• Paella Valenciana de la Huerta - paella is prepared with the ingredients available at the time of preparing it. This produces a great variety of different ones (rice, rabbit, chicken, snails, grated tomato,garrofe(special beans), tabella (white beans), olive oil, saffron, sweet red pepper, ferraura (green beans).
• Chicken and Seafood Paella (Paella)

Spain Travel and Accommodation – Your Tips for Travelers

If you would like to share your experiences of traveling to Spain or to any other country, please send us your article and we will gladly post it at this website.

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