Spain is situated in the far west of Europe and forms the largest part of the Iberian peninsula, which it shares with Portugal. Spain has 4,964 km of coast-line. In the North, Spain is bordered by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; in the East by the Mediterranean Ocean; in the South by the Atlantic Ocean, and in the West by Portugal. Spain also rules the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, and the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla in Morocco.

The landscape of Spain is varied and ranges from the wet green lands of Cantabria and Galicia to the Almerian deserts and the rugged Pyrenees mountain ranges. After Switzerland, Spain is the most mountainous country in Europe. The Canary Islands are dry and barren because they are volcanic, and the sand on the beaches in Lanzarote is crushed black lava. Spain has only seven navigable rivers, the longest of which is the Ebro stretching for 910 km.

Northern Spain, which includes the Basque country, is wild and sparsely populated. The east coast of Spain is very popular with tourists because of its white sandy beaches along the Costa Brava and also the stretches of beach on the Costa del Sol. In the summer the beaches can get very crowded because they are one of the most popular European holiday destinations. More than 52 million people visit Spain each year.

Forty per cent of Spain is covered by a central plateau called the Meseta, an area of vast plains and rocky outcrops 500 metres above sea-level. This is where Madrid is situated. As it is in the centre of this plateau it has an extreme climate of very hot summers and freezing cold winters. Local people describe it as ‘nine months of winter and three months of hell.’ Most Spanish people leave the city for the summer because of the unbearable heat which soars above 40°C.

The climate varies greatly between regions. The north is very wet and maintains a fairly constant temperature all year round. The Spanish call this area ‘rainy Spain’ – it accounts for about a third of the country. ‘Dry Spain’ covers the rest. The tourist hot-spots in southern Spain and the Balearic islands have hot summers and mild winters which make them such popular destinations. The Sierra Nevada mountains in the south of the country are covered by snow for 200 days of the year.