SPAIN: Prime Travel Data.

NEED TO KNOW

So here you are in Spain and you need to know some elementary stuff — like how to make a phone call, get local money, or contact the American Embassy to report your stolen passport. Here is a convenient source for that information, plus a bit more.

This web page originally appeared in the first editon of my book How To Europe: The Complete Travelers Handbook in a section titled "Country Data Sheets" over thirty years ago. I've updated and improved it for 2016.

Important information about this data sheet.
Native name	España
Capital	Madrid
Postal code	E
Telephone code	+34 See chapter 19, Telephoning to, from, and within Europe.
Language	Spanish
Currency	Euro See The Euro and Other Currencies.
European Union	Member. See chapter 25, Customs Duty, USA and Europe.
Schengen Agreement	Member. See chapter 3, Passport and Visas.
Time zone	GMT+1 See chapter 28, European Dates and Time Zones.
Electricity	220 volts, 50 Hz. See chapter 11, European Electricity: Travel Voltage Fundamentals..

======================

Date	Holiday	Fiesta
Jan 1	New Year's Day	Año Nuevo
Jan 6	Epiphany	Epifania
Mar 19	St. Joseph	San José
	Holy Thursday	Jueves Santo
	Good Friday	Viernes Santo
May 1	Labor Day	Fiesta del Trabajo
	Corpus Christi	Corpus Christi
Jun 24	King Juan Carlos
Jul 25	St. James	Santiago Apostol
Aug 15	Assumption	Asunción
Oct 12	Columbus Day	Fiesta Hispanidad
Dec 8	Immaculate Conception	Immaculada Concepción
Dec 25	Christmas	Natividad

Spanish Offices in the USA
Embassy	Embajada de España en Washington 2375 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, DC 20037 T 202-452-0100 F 202-833-5670
Consulates	Albuquerque, Anchorage, Atlanta, Birmingham, AL, Boise, Boston, Chicago, Corpus Christi, Detroit, Honolulu, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Pensacola, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Santa Fe, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa
Tourist Offices	Spanish National Tourist Office 666 Fifth Ave. New York, NY 10022 T 212-256-8822
	Chicago, Houston, San Francisco

American Offices in Spain
Embassy	Embassy of the United States in Spain Serrano 75 28006 Madrid T 91587-2200 F 91587-2303
Consulates	Barcelona, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, Seville, Valencia

USA is known as:	Estados Unidos

Recommended books for further information:

There are hundreds of books on Spain. Michelin Red and Green guides are my favorites but there are many other good ones.

The books that you see listed here are those that I have personally used and am satisfied with, and/or are from publishers whose other travel books are reliable. I am a consumer when it comes to travel guides, and a critical one. Notice that I do not recommend any Frommers, Dummies, Steves, or other inferior guides. For some of the reasons please go to the hoi polloi.

As one example of a substandard guide, a 1,408 page book titled Rick Steves' Best of Europe 2015 has not a single mention of Madrid, Seville, Toledo, or San Sebastian. That's like leaving New York, Chicago, New Orleans, and Newport Beach out of a USA travel guide. Almost as absurd is the fact that this "2015" book was published in August 2014. But this "Best" book did include enough pages to promote his over-priced whirlwind guided bus tours, videos, backpacks, sink stoppers, and Steves' other branded products. Steves is strong on self promotion but weak on meaningful content.

Amazon.com pays a small commission to Enjoy-Europe.com when you click a title here and then order the book if you buy it within 24 hours, or put it in your cart and buy it later. You benefit when buying here because Amazon.com has a 20% to 30% discount on many items plus a free shipping deal. You win we win. Thanks for your support!

Note: emphasis in the titles is mine -- to help you in finding the information you need. Don't worry too much about publication dates. Many books are updated every three to six years. The monuments and cathedrals haven't moved in centuries!