Spain: From costa to sierra, from playa to pueblo, from tapas to paella

Historic cities, monasteries, cathedrals, castles and world-famousmuseums are all part of Spain's impressive cultural heritage, with many UNESCO-listed sites. From snow-capped sierras to sun-drenched costas, via the plazas of its typical villages, flamenco, bullfights, férias, sangrias, fresh cervezas and tapas are combined with exceptional local gastronomy. The sweet perfume of its archipelagos, the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands in the Atlantic, completes the picture. A trip to Spain is a guarantee of unforgettable memories in its tourist paradores and charming fincas, at the end of wild fiestas. On the other side of the Pyrenees, discover the white villages of Andalusia, admire the Alhambra in Granada, the Mezquita in Cordoba, the Alcazar and Giralda in Seville, and discover the wonders of Catalonia: Barcelona and its Sagrada Familia, the mythical Costa Brava, and the PortAventura theme park.

It was here that modern tourism was born, with the first seaside resorts, and Spanish hotel groups are among the best known in the world of tourism. It has to be said that the concreting of the coastline in the 1970s disfigured certain parts of the Spanish coastline, notably Benidorm on the Costa Blanca, Lloret del Mar on the Costa Brava, Torremolinos on the Costa del Sol, Playa Las Americas in Tenerife on the Canaries and Playa de Palma in Mallorca on the Balearic Islands. But these excesses should not obscure the fact that the vast majority of the coastline remains unspoilt and sublime. Whether it's Mallorca, Ibiza, Formentera or Menorca, the Balearic Islands are home to delightful coves with turquoise waters bathed in a pleasant scent of pinewoods that add to the charm of these Mediterranean islands. In the Canaries, bathed by the Atlantic Ocean, the seven islands of the archipelago - Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, La Gomera, Hierro and La Palma - offer surprising volcanic landscapes of incredible diversity in a climate of eternal spring. As for Spain's major cities, Barcelona, Madrid, Seville and Valencia, they seem to have been designed with city breaks in mind!

It's not for nothing that Spain is the world's second most popular tourist destination after France. It has to be said that the country enjoys a privileged climate, with plenty of sunshine and particularly mild temperatures, and is home to some of the most prestigious sites on the planet, such as the Alhambra in Granada, the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona and Seville Cathedral.

There are many festivals and festivities throughout the year in Spain, most of them religious in origin. Make sure you find out all you can about them before you leave - some are really worth it! Holy Week, of course, is spectacular in Andalusia. It begins on Palm Sunday and ends after Easter Sunday. Other festivities well worth attending include the horse fair in Jerez de la Frontera, the international guitar festival in Cordoba, and the carnival, which is very famous in Cadiz, as well as in the Canary Islands, particularly in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Gran Canaria. You can also attend bullfights, if you feel like it!