The country is littered with superb old buildings, from Roman aqueducts, Jewish synagogues and Islamic palaces to Gothic cathedrals. Almost every second village has a medieval castle. Spain has been the home of some of the world's great artists and has museums and galleries to match. In the cities, narrow twisting old streets suddenly open out to views of daring modern architecture. The people vibrate with music of every kind, from the drama of flamenco to the melancholy lyricism of the Celtic music and gaitas (bagpipes) of the northwest.

Travel is easy, accommodation plentiful, the climate benign, the people relaxed, the beaches long and sandy, the food and drink easy to come by and full of regional variety.