The Land of Don Quixote
Towering 650m over the central highlands of Spain, Madrid is the country's capital city. With a population of 3 million inhabitants, Madrid is the political, economic and cultural hub of the country. Though it only has a few major monuments, it features more than 50 museums. The most renowned is the Museo del Prado, which dates from 1819 and is one of the most beautiful museums in all of Europe.
Barcelona was built around its port on the Mediterranean Sea. The long-standing capital of the autonomous community of Catalonia, this city of 1.5 million inhabitants has always had its sights turned north towards Europe, making for a very unique identity, compared to the nation's other cities. The emblem of Barcelona lies in the northern part of the city, in the Eixample district: the Sagrada Familia basilica. Its construction was undertaken in 1884 and it remains unfinished. This stunning testament to the genius of its architect, Gaudí, is topped with spindle-shaped towers and bears witness to its creator's outlandish taste for symbolism and the exuberant shapes of nature.
Hanging from the southern tip of Europe and facing Africa, Andalusia cultivates a strong personality inherited through centuries of travels, conquests and brilliant civilisations. Located at the feet of the Sierra Morena and Sierra Nevada mountain chains, whose highest summits shine under their perpetual snow, the region's palaces, mosques and gardens evoke the golden age of the Moor Kingdoms. The riches may have passed, but the cultural and natural landscape remains the same: flamenco, bull-fighting, unbridled ferias, arid mountains dotted with small villages and the beaches of the Costa del Sol. The sunny Andalusian coastline follows the Mediterranean Sea over some 300km, from Gibraltar to Almería, at the foothills of the Sierras. A veritable tourist Mecca since the 1970s, the Costa del Sol's mild winters and festive summer nights more than make up for its rather stony beaches.
The political and cultural capital of Andalusia, Seville is an energetic little town that loves to celebrate its corridas and annual feria. During Holy Week, masked penitents lead a procession through the city's streets. Central to the city is its Gothic cathedral, third largest in Europe and built during the 15th century on the former site of an Almohad mosque. The cathedral features a funerary monument which is rumoured to contain the ashes of Christopher Columbus, though the fact is disputed by the cathedral of Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic, which also claims to hold the explorer's final remains.
A historical and cultural anachronism, Gibraltar is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom whose population is largely catholic and Spanish-speaking. Covering a mere 6km2, its territory, which is only attached to Spain by a long spit of sand, lies behind the famous rock which guards the strait that separates Africa from Europe. Slightly sloping towards the Atlantic Ocean, the Rock of Gibraltar constitutes a 425m vertical wall on its Mediterranean side. Visitors can learn more about the area at the Gibraltar Museum. Home to a number of more or less wild monkeys, the rock, which can only be reached by cable-car, offers an exceptional view of the strait and Morocco.
Four of the 16 Balearic Islands are inhabited. The largest and most visited, Majorca (3,604km2), is also the one whose landscape is the most varied. Its capital, Palma, is located on the southern coast of the island and is surrounded by most of the major beach resorts. Minorca (680km2) is five times smaller than Majorca and much less frequented by travellers. The most easterly of the Balearics, it is a sparsely wooded low-lying island surrounded by craggy cliffs and magnificent coves. The island's capital, Mahón, is located on the eastern coast, above a large gulf. Legend has it that the city's name was the inspiration for the French word mayonnaise, which started appearing on French tables after France's 1756 conquest Minorca. The third largest Balearic Island is the "White Island" of Ibiza (572km2). Its uneven terrain and jagged coasts hide a myriad of isolated creeks. Discovered by hippies and artists during the 1960s, it is a major tourist destination which has nonetheless managed to retain its unique character. The contrasts are striking between the urbanizaciones that surround its beautiful teeming beaches, and the central inland area, where stepped fields abound in poppies in springtime and the farms and fortified villages of Arab inspiration recall Andalusia.
Seven islands of volcanic origin make up the Canaries, which seem to surge from the depths of the ocean, a short distance from Africa. Forming one of Spain's 17 autonomous communities, the islands definitely have a unique character. The largest and most popular island is Tenerife, which lies at the foot of a lighthouse and is commonly referred to as the "island of eternal spring." The island's extremely varied landscape ranges from rocky coasts and volcanic terrain to long sandy beaches and quasi-tropical valleys. On the northeastern part of the island is Santa Cruz, a city with a population of 219,000 inhabitants which became the capital of Tenerife in 1821. Its port, the second largest in Spain, welcomes cargo ships, oil tankers and cruise ships year round.