With family-friendly resorts, great city break options, beautiful beaches and plates of mouth-watering tapas, Spain certainly has a lot up its sleeve to tempt holidaymakers.
Spain is a country of many faces and offers up numerous holiday options whether you are looking for a culture-filled short break or a two-week spell in the sun. And one factor that makes the country so appealing is the Spaniards' passionate love for life; it can be seen during the many fiestas held throughout the year and every day in the bars, restaurants and clubs.
Barcelona is a great choice for lovers of culture as the city has world-class museums, winding alleys and stunning architecture - including Gaudi's spectacular Sagrada Família. If sightseeing gets too tiring, the city's 4km of beach, tempting shops and selection of restaurants offer plenty of opportunities to unwind too.
The beaches and blue skies of the Costa Blanca are popular with families who take advantage of up to 330 days of sunshine a year, and who enjoy the endless entertainment options for both children and parents. Benidorm is the place to head in this area for a cheap fun-filled package holiday while smaller resorts such as Altea offer a quieter base just up the coast.
For year-round sunshine, plenty of water-based activities and some great-value hotels, the Canary Islands are a fantastic place. Possible ways to keep entertained when there (other than lounging on a beach) include whooshing down a slide in Tenerife's Siam Park water park, visiting Cesar Manrique's creations on Lanzarote and enjoying Gran Canaria's leisure park and funfair, Holiday World.
Other possible holiday destinations include Madrid, the country's capital with endless buzzing nightlife options and a variety of cultural attractions; a hedonistic week on Ibiza moving from club to club by night and taking in the beautiful landscape by day; and a trip to Valencia, Spain's third largest city and home to Europe's largest cultural centre, La Ciudad de las Artes y Ciencias.
If you are planning a trip to Spain this year and need some help, read our fact file below and use TravelSupermarket's search to find the cheapest deals.
When to go
Weather
The weather varies across Spain, but good times to visit to avoid the crowds are late spring, early summer and early autumn. If you enjoy high temperatures, and don't mind being surrounded by fellow tourists, summer is a popular time to visit mainland Spain with temperatures reaching a sweltering 35C in Seville in July and August.
The Canary Islands are a safe bet for year-round sun - even in January temperatures reach a pleasant 18C on Tenerife and 20C on Gran Canaria.
Events
The Three Kings Parade; 5 January; throughout Spain - The Three Kings are the equivalent of Father Christmas to Spanish children as on 6 January every year they deliver presents during the night. To mark their arrival, every town and city in Spain has a procession on 5 January where floats with the Three Kings on pass through the streets throwing sweets to the crowds.
Tenerife Carnaval; February; Santa Cruz and Puerto de la Cruz hold the biggest celebrations - This larger than life celebration, held just before Lent every year, is the chance for one last big indulgence. A flamboyant opening parade is followed by the “burial of the sardine” - a ritual that originally marked the end of celebrations but now is only the mid-point. Festivities then continue in the form of the High Heels Marathon - a male-only race in which the competitors dress in drag - and conclude with glitzy closing parades. Throughout Carnaval, locals and tourists party hard into the night.
Semana Santa (Holy Week); throughout Spain - In the week leading up to Easter every year, religious processions pass through the streets of Spain. The biggest parades are in Seville and Malaga.
Benicàssim International Festival; July; Benicàssim - This music festival held in July attracts world-famous acts who perform in glorious sunshine. And, instead of trudging around in a mud bath in a field in the UK, festivalgoers have a beach and a waterpark to relax in between acts.
La Tomatina; August; Buñol - This huge tomato-based food fight takes place on the last Wednesday of August in the industrial town of Buñol. Crowds gather in the morning to watch a few members of the group compete to climb to the top of a greased-up pole to reach a ham at the top. When this has been claimed, the tomato fight can begin.
What to do
- Shopping: Barcelona's Avenida Portal d'Angel shopping street is packed with Spanish high street stores like Mango, Zara and Massimo Dutti. Local chain Bershka is great for cheap jeans and the latest accessories.
- Romance: Granada's beautiful Moorish palaces at the Alhambra are the perfect backdrop for amor. Promenade past pools and fountains in the dreamy Generalife gardens, which inspired Paulo Coelho's best-selling novels.
- Grown-up families: Frank Gehry's space age, glass and titanium Guggenheim Museum building in Bilbao is a work of art in its own right. Walkways sweep between the light galleries packed with modern art and wacky, avant-garde sculptures.
- Nightlife: Hedonists paint the town red in the Balearic island party capital of Ibiza. Warm up pre-club with sunset cocktails at super-chic Café del Mar before hopping on the disco bus to the throbbing San Antonio waterfront.
- Active types: You can tee up on one of Spain's many world-class golf courses. Follow the steps of champion golfer Seve Ballesteros to Costa Brava where rolling greens are set between the Mediterranean coastline and the panoramic Pyrenees.
- Relaxing: Dramatic, rugged headlands drop off into secluded turquoise coves on Lanzarote. Chill out for hours on your sun lounger on the Blue Flag Playa Blanca beach. The quiet fishing village of Famara has miles of white sand and seafood restaurants on this unspoilt Canary island.
- Kids & teens: Go wild at the global-themed PortAventura amusement park in Costa Dorada on Spain holidays. You can whizz upside down in China on the Dragon Khan roller coaster and splash through the rapids of Polynesia on the Tutuki Splash flume ride.
