Spain is as diverse a country as its people are passionate. It has fabulous beaches, a wonderful climate, a vibrancy of, and enthusiasm for, nightlife unmatched in Europe, world-famous festivities, numerous historical cities and a huge variety of cultural regions. Only Italy exceeds it in terms of its number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, but to counter that, it does possess the highest number of World Heritage Cities. The cuisine and wine are legendary. As are the horses and the bulls.

There’s the thriving land-locked ‘real capital’ city of Madrid, and the coastal Barcelona, which is often mistakenly thought of as the capital. And there’s the splendid majesty of Andalucia, with its towering mountains, stunning coastline and Islamic architectural leitmotif. Beyond the mainland, the beaches, fauna and flora of the Balearic and Canary islands make for near-perfect holiday destinations year-round.