Spain – or officially, The Kingdom of Spain – is an extremely mountainous European country. The climate is very diverse and according to region – and the rain in Spain does NOT fall mainly on the plain, it falls mainly on the northern mountains. Spanish territory also includes the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands. Spain has a wide diversity of architectural styles and landscapes. There are numerous local languages spoken in Spain, the national language is Castellano – basically, traditional Spanish, other languages include Catalan, Valenciano and Basque.

Because of its location, Spain was subject to many external influences throughout early history. However, it has been an important source of influence to other regions, mainly between the 16th and 18th Centuries, when it became a global empire that has left a legacy of over 400 million Spanish speakers today, making it the world’s second most spoken first language. Famous people from Spain include Christopher Columbus – discoverer of America, Salvador Dali – Surrealist artist, Pablo Picasso – artist, co-founder of Cubism, and more recently Antonio Banderas – actor and Penelope Cruz – actress.

Let’s take a trip down to Spain via some stunning photographs. Be warned, this is long list and for those with slow internet connection, it might take a while to load.

Madrid

Madrid is the capital and largest city in Spain, although probably one of the smallest autonomous regions.

Madrid, Spain (by isayx3)

Parque Natural de Penalara, Madrid (by Luis_Carrasco)

Las Rozas Bridge, Madrid (by 4ullas)

Madrid Metropolis (by yoquini)

Gravity in Madrid (by LinaElShamy)

Alcala University (by integrity_of_light)

El Escorial, Madrid (by feniche)

Madrid – HDR (by Ender079)

Real Madrid CF Stadium HDR (by marcp_dmoz)

La Cava de San Miguel (HDR) (by R. Duran)

Madrid, city hall – HDR (by R. Duran)

Mucho mejor un vaso de tinto (Carrion Building, Madrid) (by el silencio)

Madrid – Parque Juan Carlos I. Puente sobre el lago (by josemazcona)

Puerta de Europa (by R. Duran)

Cuatro Torres Business Area (Madrid) (by Roberto Ruiz)

Madrid Wishes you a Merry Christmas (by Jose Maria Cuellar)

Kaleidoscope of spring (Palacio de Cristal, Madrid) (by R. Duran)

Barcelona

Barcelona is the second largest city, and capital of the Catalonia region. It is Spain’s main tourist destination, and probably the most photogenic region. Here stands a glorious monument to Christopher Columbus, the largest football stadium in Europe, Camp Nou, which has a seating capacity of 100,000, and many other architectural delights awaiting photographers.

Monumento a Colon, Barcelona (by marcp_dmoz)

Torre Agbar, Barcelona (by triagon)

La Pedrera, Barcelona (by mdominy)

Camp Nou, Barcelona (by erenabice)

House of Art, Barcelona (by Souvik_Prometure)

La Pedrera – Casa Milà (by Paco CT)

Mirror/Espejo (Barcelona) (by J. Salmoral)

Rays From Heaven (Port Vella, Barcelona) (by Paco CT)

Walking Montserrat (Barcelona) (by José Luis Mieza)

Ojo de Pez – Fish Eye (by maytevidri)

Valencia

Valencia, Spain’s third largest city is the capital of the Valencian Community. The City of Arts and Sciences is a wonderful example of modern architecture and a photographer’s dream.

City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia (by barrabash)

City of Valencia (by iloan)

Port authority (Valencia) (by Kamuro)

Torre de Tamarit (Valencia) (by Ramón Sobrino Torrens)

Bilbao

Bilbao is the largest city in the Basque area of Spain, and capital of the Viscaya region. There are many examples of modern architecture in this city, along with more traditional styles.

Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao (by basajauntxo)

Bilbao – Panorama (by GustavoCba)

Elsewhere in Spain

Lizara, Aragon (by EddyB)

Valle del Pisuena, Cantabria (by lapidim)

Playa de la Arnia, Cantabria (by JoseLMC)

Puente Vidosa, Aguasaliu (by jtsoft)

Port Lligat, Girona (by neuza teixeira)

Mazonovo Taramundi, Asturias (by dnieper)

Torrecerredo, Asturias (by jtsoft)

A Coruna, Galicia (by Henry J.)

Teatro-Museo Dali, Figueres (by papalars)

Plaza de Anaya, Salamanca (by marcp_dmoz)

Pantano del Porma, Leon (by dnieper)

Catedral Salamanca, Castilla Leon (via wikipedia)

Paisaje de la Grajera, La Rioja (by Arbego)

Marques de Riscal Hotel Winery, La Rioja (by jmoranmoya)

Cabo de Palos, La Manga del Mar Menor (by grooveb)

Roman Aquaduct, Nerja (by Butch Osborne)

Palicios de Caceres (by Sylole)

Caceres, Extremadura (by UVEpothographer)

La Mancha (by via wallpaperme)

Amanecer, Almeria (by dleiva)

Asturias, arcoiris (by R. Duran)

Onyar River Reflections (Girona) (by NatashaP)

Cadaqués (by MorBCN)

Paradise 6pm (Santoña) (by –zyber-)

Pont Vell de Besalú (by Santi RF)

Zaragoza. Basílica del Pilar (by Sigurd66)

Templo de Debod (Arguelles) (by Santiago Caamaño)

Rio Manzanares, atardeciendo – HDR (Arguelles) (by R. Duran)

Tormes river @ Salamanca(by Paco CT)

Castillo y Niebla (Iruela) (by Paco Gómez)

Follow the yellow brick…stairs (Santiago de Compostela) (by dogonnit )

Claustro Santo Domingo (Castille and Leon) de Silos (by labcstm)

River Sunset (Xeraco) (by Vicent de los Angeles)

Pico Ropé, Chera (by Toni Duarte)

Mediterranean Architecture (Castellon) (by QuimG)

Denia (Alicante) (by Ayla Herraiz)

Desert's End (Gran Canaria, Canary Islands) (by McDave Hamburg)

Atardecer en La Pared, Fuerteventura (Canary Islands) (by Quique Bloody)

Formes i Funcions (Palma, Mallorca, Balearic Islands) (by SBA73)

La Seu (Mallorca, Balearic Islands) (by Philipp Klinger)

Yacht Shopping (Palma, Mallorca, Balearic Islands) (by Philipp Klinger)

Ibiza (Balearic Islands) (by Dregster)

San Fermin Bull Run, Pamplona 2010, Fireworks (by Getty Images)

Loja, Granada (by usayd)

Andalucia Sunrise (by PictureElement)

Benidorm Beach (by Freakland)

Tram Station, Alicante (by creado.es)

Bahia de Calpe, Alicante (by javisaye)

Campoamor, Alicante (by alba-7)

Elche, Alicante (by jrgcastro)

Benidorm, Alicante (by pacodonderis)

Castalla Castle, Alicante (by Fenwalker)

Fiestas in Spain

There are many fiestas in Spain all year round in every town. I round this collection off with a couple of examples of ‘Espana en Fiestas.

San Fermin, Pamplona – Running of the Bulls (by nationalgeographic)

Moros y Cristianos, Alcoy (by Patrick Mira)