Spain Holidays

Spain Holidays

Why not take a vacation or holiday in the super nation of Spain. It can be an awesome place to have a vacation. You may want to see the beaches, the cities, the towns, the scenery, the wildlife, the culture, the views, the mountains of the nation. You may want to rent or buy a hotel, or a villa or house or flat in the nation.

On the west, Spain borders Portugal, on the south, it borders Gibraltar (a British overseas territory) and Morocco, through its cities in North Africa (Ceuta and Melilla). On the northeast, along the Pyrenees mountain range, it borders France and the tiny principality of Andorra. Spain also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean and a number of uninhabited islands on the Mediterranean side of the strait of Gibraltar, known as Plazas de soberanía, such as the Chafarine islands, the isle of Alborán, the "rocks" (peñones) of Vélez and Alhucemas, and the tiny Isla Perejil. Along the Pyrenees in Catalonia, a small exclave town called Llívia is surrounded by France. The little Pheasant Island in the River Bidasoa is a Spanish-French condominium.

Mainland Spain is dominated by high plateaus and mountain ranges, such as the Sierra Nevada. Running from these heights are several major rivers such as the Tagus, the Ebro, the Duero, the Guadiana and the Guadalquivir. Alluvial plains are found along the coast, the largest of which is that of the Guadalquivir in Andalusia.

Distinct cultural groups within Spain include the Basques, Catalans, and Galicians.

Languages of Spain

Spanish (español or castellano), also known as Castilian, is the only language with official status nationwide. Other languages have been declared co-official, along with Spanish, in (some of) their constituent communities where they are spoken:

* Aranese (aranés) (a variant of Occitan), in Catalonia;
* Basque (euskera) in the Basque Country and Navarre;
* Catalan (català) in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands; Valencian (valencià), a distinct variant of Catalan, is official in the Valencian Community;
* Galician (galego) in Galicia.

There are also some other surviving Romance minority languages such as Astur-Leonese (which includes Asturian, Leonese, Extremaduran and Cantabrian) and Aragonese. Asturian (asturianu) is "protected" in Asturias and Aragonese is vaguely recognized in Aragon. But unlike Aranese, Basque, Catalan/Valencian and Galician, they do not have any official status.