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Spain is the party capital of Europe. The country is well known for its fiestas, as every city, town and village will devote at least one day a year to partying, although many last for a few days. Key ingredients are music, processions, drinking, eating, dancing and costumes. The list of fiestas is endless, as there are more than 3,000 a year. Here’s a small list of some of the most famous ones.
February: Seville Tapas Fair
A four day event where loads of restaurants serve up their tastiest
and most creative dishes.
March: Festival de Jerez, Cadiz
Flamenco festival involving some of Spain’s top performers
April: Semana Santa (Holy Week)
A major tourist attraction all over the country. Expect huge religious processions with floats, music and religious statues.
June: Moors and Christians
Celebrations that commemorate the battles between the
Moors (Muslims) and Christians.
August: La Tomatina Tomato Festival
Takes place in Bunyol near Valencia. For one hour the town hosts the biggest tomato fight in the world, as thousands pelt each other with
more than a 100 tonnes of the fruit. The mass pelting is said to have its
origins in a battle between friends in the 1940’s.
CURRENCY
Spain’s currency is the Euro. The peseta was abolished in 2002
ELECTRICITY
The supply in most of Spain is 220 or 225 volts AC
TELEPHONE
The country code is +34
SPAIN ESSENTALS CONTINUED:
INTERNET
Internet domain .es (.cat for Catalonia)
BANKS
Monday to Friday: Normal hours are from between 08.30 and 09.30 to between
13.30 and 14.00
Saturday: From between 0830 and 0930 to 13.00 (banks are closed on Saturdays from June to September)
Sunday: Closed
EMERGENCY NUMBERS
112 The all purpose emergency number. You will be connected to the service you need.
061 Ambulance Service (Ambulancia)
062 Civil Guard (Guardia civil)
080 Fire Service (Bomberos)
091 National Police (Policia)
092 Local Police (Police local)
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