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Spain has great all-year-round weather. Some areas can get really hot in the summer, but you can always find a part of the country that has great weather during a particular season. Spring and fall are moderate and very pleasant. There are also fewer crowds compared to the summer. If you decide to come to Spain in the summer, you may want to visit northern areas where temperatures are not as hot as in the south.

In the spring the temperature ranges between 60F and 75F. The best regions of the country to visit in the spring are its central regions, Andalusia and the cost of the Mediterranean. The weather in the north of the country can be somewhat rainy. Andalusia has a lot of very popular spring festivals that typically drive accommodation prices up significantly.

The northern part of Spain gets a lot of rain in both winter and spring, but it is a great place to visit in the summer. The temperatures stay around 70F.

This is not the case for places like Madrid and Andalusia that get extremely hot with temperatures reaching 100F and above. The temperatures in Barcelona in the summer average about 85F, but it gets very humid and uncomfortable.

About 90% of the residents of the country go on vacation in August, which is why during this month many businesses are closed.

Fall is a great time to visit because the crowds thin out and temperatures range from about 40F in the mountains to 80F in the southern parts of the country.

Winter is great if you want a mild climate of the south or if you enjoy snow sports in the mountains.

Many areas of the country get a lot of tourists during their busy seasons. This makes them both crowded and expensive. If you are traveling on a budget, your best bet is to visit the country in the early spring or late fall. You will get a lower rate at the hotels and your experience will be easier, from getting reservations in restaurants, to enjoying museums to traveling on the highways without having to deal with a lot of traffic.

Generally speaking, prices in Spain are lowest from November to February and highest in the last two months of the summer. Summer is when a lot of Europeans rush to the beaches, making beach resorts extremely crowded.

If you are looking to avoid crowds, you also do not want to go to Spain during Easter week. Many of the museums and other places of interest are closed during Easter and Christmas.

In addition to seasons, there are also dates that you should know about the areas that you are visiting. These dates include patron saint’s feast day for the cities in towns. On this day there would usually be a festival or celebration and many banks and other places of interest may be closed.

Drinking Wine

People that visit Spain find that Spanish wines have great quality and are very affordable. Wines made in Spain include reds, whites and sparkling wines, which means that there is something for any taste.

If you want a really authentic experience, go to a tavern or a tapas eatery, where the atmosphere is very different from the one in fancy restaurants and fancy wineries.

Watch a bullfight

Bullfights are not for everyone. A bull fight is bloody and cruel. However, if you want to see how an authentic Spanish event feels like, a bull fight may be for you. A bull is a pillar of Spanish culture. It is also the center of many ancient Spanish rituals, including running of the bulls and bullfights.

Attend a flamenco dancing event

Flamenco dancing has grace and rhythm. You can see a colorful, tasteful and soulful performance in any major Spanish city. The best authentic clubs are located in Madrid, Cordoba or Seville. There a crowd includes both locals and tourists and you’ll be able to get close enough to see dancers sweat.

Experiencing food of Catalonia or Basque Region

You will be able to try some great food everywhere in Spain, but nowhere in the country does food become an art form the way it does in northern Spain. The Basque Country is known for its fine dining establishments. Barcelona and Catalonia are now considered to be culinary stars of Europe.

San Sebastian is one of the cities that gourmands from all over the world flock to because they want to experience its cuisine and restaurants.

Experience Spain of Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali was one of the most famous artists of the twentieth century. He lived in rural Catalonia and Costa Brava. You can visit a museum that he designed, his home and a castle that he built for his wife to see for yourself what a life of a truly revolutionary artist was like

Sleep in a medieval monastery

Many of the country’s hotels are historic properties that include ancient castles, monasteries, convents and former palaces of the Spanish royalty. While some of the accommodations are very expensive and luxurious, others are reasonably priced. Examples include the Parador Principe de Viana in Olite near Pamplona and Parador de Carmona near Seville.

Spain became an attractive destination for tourists in 1960s. Its popularity exploded in the 1980s and 1990s when Spain returned to democracy and became a part of the European Union. Today the number of tourists that visit Spain annually is bigger than the number of people living in the country permanently.

In 1992 Summer Olympics turned Barcelona into a very popular destination. More recently, a new Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, designed by world-renowned architect Frank Gehry started attracting art lovers from all around the world.

Some tourists come to experience a different Spain. Spain was the most powerful nation in the world in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It was a center of the empire that included territories in Europe, the Americas, and the Pacific.

Ancient Spain was home to a number of influential cultures. These cultures were the Romans, Celts, Moors and Visigoths.

Regionalism in today’s Spain is very strong. For example, the Catalans, who live in the northeast corner of the country, have been independent for a long period of time and up to this day, Spanish is the second language in the area after Catalan, the first language.

The Basques live in the northern part of the county. Galicia is located in the northwest of Spain. Residents of this area descended from the Celts and speak a language that’s a mixture of Spanish and Portuguese. The Spaniards live in the central and southern parts of the country.

Spain is also very diverse when it comes to nature. It has 300 sunny days a year and has beaches along east and south coasts. The Pyrenees and the Sierra Nevada are the two mountain ranges that are perfect for winter sports.

When it comes to taxes in Spain, the only thing you need to know about is IVA, the Spanish version of value-added tax or VAT. IVA is a tax that you will be paying on virtually everything, from meals to clothes and electronics to hotel rooms.

The value-added tax in Europe is quite large. IVA in Spain is 21%. There are also reduced rates of 10% and 4%.

The 10% rate applies to entertainment, sporting events, health products and purchases of new real estate.

The 4% rate applies to necessities such as foods.

If you are not a resident of the European Union, you can get most of this tax back.

Many stores in Spain help you get back the IVA tax that you pay. Such stores usually have a sign on the door that says “tax-free” or “duty-free.” If you do not see a sign on the door, you can walk into the store and ask a salesperson about whether the store offers tax-free shopping.

If it does, a store clerk will fill out a form that you will be able to present at customs when leaving the country and get your money back.

Spain is one of the largest countries in Europe. The residents of Spain belong to a number of different ethnic groups and Spanish cuisine is as diverse as its population. If you think that all you will find in Spain is heavy, medieval-style food, you will be very surprised.

Spain is surrounded by water almost on all sides, which is why fresh seafood plays a very large role in Spanish cuisine and diet. However, meat also plays an important role in the cuisine of the country. Spaniards especially love cured hams and roasted meats.

Because of its climate, Spain also has lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. If you are a vegetarian, finding great food in Spain will be really easy for you.

Dining in Spain, be it at home or at an upscale restaurant, is an important social event and time to relax. Most Europeans and Americans find dinner time in Spain to be ridiculously late. Lunch is considered to be the main meal of the day and you will often find inexpensive price-fix lunch menus at a lot of restaurants. Such menus would usually include a choice of an appetizer, bread, main course, dessert, and water or wine.

For many years Spain has been one of the most popular vacation destinations in Europe. Both Europeans and visitors from other parts of the world love coming to Spain.

One of the reasons for it is that Spain is a great choice for almost everyone, for families with kids, single travelers, and seniors. You will find something interesting in Spain if you love art, love pop culture, are a backpacker or enjoy wine and great food.

Spain has architecture created during the times of the Romans, some of the best museums in the world, welcoming people, cultural events, and festivals and great weather all year round. There are all kinds of sports available, from cycling and skiing to boating.

While many cities and areas of Spain are very modern, some parts of the country hold to their ancient roots and traditions.

Spain is not a country where everyone speaks good English, but compared to many other countries in Europe it can still be very affordable.

At the same time, Spain is one of Europe’s largest countries, so it is not likely that you will be able to visit all the places of interest during a single trip.