Spain

Best time to visit

Best time to travel

April to June and September to October suit many mainland routes; northern, southern and island climates require different timing.

Travel tips

Travel by Ildy tips

• Plan your main meal around the menú del día, the fixed-price weekday lunch of a starter, main and dessert or coffee, with bread and a drink usually included; kitchens serve it from about 1.30 pm, later than in much of Europe.
• In Galicia, order polbo á feira at a pulpería: boiled octopus snipped with scissors onto a wooden plate, scattered with coarse salt, sweet and hot pimentón and olive oil.
• Come to Sanlúcar de Barrameda in August, when horses race along the beach at the mouth of the Guadalquivir just before sunset, then finish with a cold manzanilla and the town's famous prawns.
• In Santiago de Compostela, the Botafumeiro — a censer of around 80 kilograms — is swung by eight tiraboleiros at up to 68 km/h; the ritual dates back at least to the 12th century.