COUNTRY GUIDE: SPAIN

A stall at Barcelona fruit market

Of all the countries that are favourites with Britons seeking a home abroad, Spain regularly features at, or near the top of the list. Year in, year out, since the early 1970s, millions of people have flocked to Spain on holiday to enjoy one of the most enviable lifestyles. And of those millions, hundred of thousands have chosen to buy homes on the Iberian Peninsula.

The reasons? Spain is a modern democracy with a fabulous climate; a transport system that is second to none; great cuisine and wine; wonderful golf developments that feature beautifully designed apartments and houses and above all, some of the kindest people in Europe.

Fact File:

Currency: Euro

Time: GMT +1

note: Spain is divided into two time zones because of the location of the Canary Islands

Population: 42 million Business hours:

Shops: Mon-Fri  09:00 – 20:00

Offices: Mon-Fri  09:00 – 17:00

Banks: Mon-Fri   08:30 – 15:00

Internet country code: .es

Languages: Castilian Spanish (official language): 74%, Catalan: 17%, Galician: 7%, Basque: 2%

Coastline: 4,900 km

Climate: Temperate; clear, hot summers in interior, more moderate and cloudy along the coast; cloudy, cold winters in interior, partly cloudy and cool along coast

Featured region – Costa del Sol:

This area occupies about 161 kilometres of the Mediterranean coastline that corresponds to the province of Malaga.

Sheltered from the north winds by a mountain range that in some parts comes down to meet the sea, the coast is a succession of extensive beaches, coves almost hidden between cliffs and marinas. Towns like Malaga, Torremolinos, Benalmádena, Marbella, Mijas and Estepona are important centres for tourism, shopping, culture and business. Casinos, concerts, museums, fiestas, theatres, water parks and theme parks are just some of the leisure activities on offer. At night the coast comes alive with restaurants, bars, discos and nightclubs.

The Costa del Sol’s setting is ideal for sports lovers and especially golfers. This is the predominant sport and the Costa del Sol is a Mecca for thousands of enthusiasts. There are wall to wall courses to be found over a relatively small area – in places like Marbella, Malaga, Estepona, Guadiaro, San Pedro de Alcántara, Alhaurín de la Torre, Artola, Mijas and Puerto Banús.

Getting to Spain

According to www.travelsupermarket.com there many non-stop flights into Southern Spain as follows:
· Malaga – the major gateway with multiple daily non-stop flights year round from up to 20 UK airports with Easyjet, Ryanair, Monarch, British Airways, Aer Lingus, bmibaby, jet2, Flyglobespan and flybe

· Granada – non-stop flights with Ryanair from Stansted, Liverpool and East Midlands – frequencies vary but operate year round

· Almeria – non-stop flights with Monarch from Birmingham and Manchester with Monarch, Easyjet from Gatwick, Ryanair from Stansted, bmibaby from East Midlands and jet2 from Leeds. Most services on this route are summer only

· PLUS Gibraltar – non-stop daily flights with Easyjet from Gatwick, British Airways from Heathrow and Monarch from Luton and Manchester

Flight times to Southern Spain are two and a half to three hours

Prices are from as little as £5 one ways when seat sales are on with carriers such as Ryanair. Average prices are around £80 to £150 return.  See http://www.travelsupermarket.com

© Stewart Andersen and Stewart Andersen’s Property Blog, 2009. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Stewart Andersen and Stewart Andersen’s Property Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.