Spain - Prepare

Dress to impress in financial centre Madrid and take cool linens for the southern summer heat. Don't forget your dancing feet for the archetypal Spanish fiesta.

Cross-dress for Las Palmas Carnival in February, see the fireworks at Valencia's Las Fallas in March and join the flamenco parties at Seville's Feria de Abril (Apr). In August, catch your favourite bands at Benicassim Festival but dodge flying tomatoes at Tomatina in Bunyol. Enjoy the more sedate Grenada International Festival of Music and Dance in June and feast at O Grove Seafood Festival in October.

New Year's Day, Good Friday (Mar/Apr), Labour Day (1 May), Assumption (15 Aug), El Pilar (12 Oct), All Saints' Day (1 Nov), Spanish Constitution Day (6 Dec), Immaculate Conception (8 Dec), Christmas Day (25 Dec).

The northern Costa Verde is temperate with summer temperatures hovering around 23°C, but rain is frequent from October to March. The east coast has a Mediterranean climate with hot summers (25°C) cooled slightly by warm winds from Africa. Murcia is the sunniest region but in Andalusia the summers are hottest (27-38°C) with gentle winters (15-20°C). Central Spain is more extreme with hot summers and colder winters seeing some freeze, and in the mountains from Picos de Europa to Sierra Nevada there's winter snow.

220V AC, 50 Hz, two-pin plugs are standard.

+34 (national).

Euro (€) is the currency.

GMT +1 (GMT +2 from last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).

Spanish Tourism website

Prepare yourself for lunch breaks, early evening strolls and dinner at 10pm. Learn to love lashings of olive oil, seafood and smoked ham. To make friends with Madrileños, brush up on your Spanish, ask about the local football team and catch up on the local gossip in Hola (the equivalent of "Hello" magazine).