• Spain covers an area approximately 505,000 square kilometres, and a population of approximately 40 million people.
• ‘E’ on the back of a car tells you it’s from Spain (España).
• The capital city is Madrid.
• Other important towns include Barcelona, Seville, Granada
• The highest mountain is Mulhacén 3478m in the Sierra Nevada (Pico de Teide on the island of Tenerife is 3718m).
• The longest River is the Tagus
• Spain is bordered by Andorra, France (Pyrenees Mountains), Gibraltar, Portugal, and Morocco, and by the Bay of Biscay, the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean.

Spanish is a major world language. Spanish explorers made contact with the Americas in the 15th century and as a result Spanish is spoken in much of South America and is very important in the USA. There are in fact 4 languages known as Castillian, which is the official language, Catalan, Basque or Eusquera and Galician. Eusquera is the most enigmatic language in Europe, whose origin is still under investigation.

Spain is very large and has a varied landscape and climate. It has a reputation for being hot but this is not always strictly true. The country stretches from the Pyrennees (Los Pireneos) in the North to the Mediterranean in the South and East. Its North West coast is the Atlantic Ocean and it shares a land border in the West with Portugal. In the summer there can be temperatures of more than 40 degrees in some places and in winter it can go below -15 degrees. Skiing is a popular winter sport in the mountains. The North West has warm, humid summers. Most people from the UK go to the Mediterranean coast where there are hot, sunny summers and mild winters. They also like to go to the Canary and Balearic Islands which are also Spanish and have pleasant climates. There are 17 different Spanish regions.

More about Spain
Bullfighting – although there is considerable opposition, bullfighting is still a popular and spectacular custom.
Flamenco – the musical tradition of the south. The guitar is a Spanish invention and flamenco music involves guitar playing, singing and dancing.