
Europe / Destination guide
Spain
Plan your journey city by city. Explore destination facts, arrival planning, and practical travel guides.
13 of 38 guides checked against official sources · others are editorial previews- Capital
- Madrid
- Currency
- EUR
- Languages in source
- Spanish
- Geographic region
- Southern Europe
Source-imported reference data; not an entry or visa guide. Source & verification notes ↗
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Planning for Spain
Catalan and Spanish in Barcelona: what you will actually see
Catalan and Spanish are both official in Catalonia. Barcelona signage and price lists must be at least in Catalan, and 99.2% of people speak Spanish.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingBarcelona El Prat to the centre: metro, train, Aerobús, taxi
From El Prat, the L9 Sud metro needs a EUR 5.90 Airport ticket, the R2 Nord train leaves only from T2, and taxis add EUR 4.60 with a EUR 21 minimum.
Official sources checked 2026-10-12La Pedrera (Casa Milà) Tickets: Day, Sunset, Night, Sunrise
La Pedrera tickets start at €29 for the daytime Essential visit, €25 at sunset and €39.50 for the Night Experience or Sunrise; under-12s go free.
Official sources checked 2026-10-12MNAC Barcelona Tickets: Prices, Free Entry and Hours
MNAC general admission is €12 and the building-plus-rooftop ticket is €2. Entry is free Saturdays from 3 pm and first Sundays, reserved online in advance.
Official sources checked 2026-10-12Montjuïc cable car and funicular: prices, hours and route
Take the TMB funicular from Paral·lel to Parc de Montjuïc on a metro ticket, then the cable car to the castle: €19 adult return at the office, €17.10 online.
Official sources checked 2026-10-12Montserrat Day Trip: Train, Rack Railway or Cable Car
Reach Montserrat on the FGC R5 from Plaça Espanya (about 1 hour), then the rack railway or cable car, both €15 adult return. Times, combined tickets and the choir.
Official sources checked 2026-10-12Palau de la Música Guided Tour: Price, Times and Booking
A Palau de la Música Catalana guided tour costs €24 (€20 over 65 or under 35), lasts about 50 minutes and runs daily 09:00–15:30. Book online; no refunds.
Official sources checked 2026-10-12Park Güell Tickets: Prices, Time Slots and Entry Rules
Park Güell tickets cost €18 (€13.50 ages 7–12 and over 65, under-7s free), sold online only for a half-hour slot you must enter within 30 minutes.
Official sources checked 2026-10-12Pickpockets in Barcelona: the real numbers and how to report a theft
Official Spanish crime figures for Barcelona, the difference between hurto and robo, the methods police describe, and how to file a denuncia.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingRenting a Car in Spain: Licence Rules and Speeding Fines
Which licences are valid for renting in Spain, age limits, Spanish speed fine bands, the 50% discount for paying within 20 days, and how fines reach renters.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingSagrada Família Tickets: Prices, Closures and Booking
Sagrada Família tickets cost EUR 26, or EUR 36 with a tower, sold online only. The basilica closed on 4 October 2026 until 2 pm for bad weather; here is what that notice means.
Official sources checked 2026-10-12Sant Pau Recinte Modernista Tickets: Prices, Hours, Tours
Sant Pau self-guided tickets cost €18 before 2 pm and €17 after; guided tours are €21. Under-12s enter free, and last access is 30 minutes before closing.
Official sources checked 2026-10-12Barcelona T-casual and fare zones: which ticket to buy
In zone 1 a T-casual is €13 for 10 journeys and a T-usual €22.80 for 30 days. For a 4-day visit, ride count, group size and the airport metro decide which wins.
Official sources checked 2026-10-12Reading Barcelona's Eixample: the grid and its cut corners
Barcelona's Eixample is a grid of octagonal blocks whose cut corners open 2,000 m2 junctions the city is now turning into squares. How to read it and walk it.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingBarcelona's tourist tax: the regional band plus city surcharge
Barcelona stacks a Catalan regional tourist tax on a city surcharge raised to EUR 5.00 on 1 April 2026. The bands, the seven-night cap and who is exempt.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingBarcelona Transit Tickets: The Airport Metro Exception Visitors Miss
Choose a Barcelona transit ticket without getting trapped at the airport gate. Understand T-mobilitat, integrated trips and the L9 Sud airport exception.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingVermut in Barcelona: the hour, the bodega and how to order
Fer el vermut in Barcelona is a midday aperitif slot, not only a drink. What Catalan vermouth legally is, how a bodega works, and how to order it.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingGetting from Madrid-Barajas into the Centre: Metro, Train, Bus, Taxi
Metro Line 8 adds a EUR 3.00 airport supplement, Cercanías C-1 leaves only from Terminal 4, and the flat taxi fare is EUR 33 inside the M-30. Pick by terminal and hour.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingDIVA Tax Refund at Madrid Airport: Kiosk & Customs Steps
Scan your DER at a DIVA kiosk at Madrid-Barajas before checking bags with the goods. Where the kiosks and stamping offices are, and what to do after a red cross.
Official sources checked 2026-10-03Madrid Low Emission Zones and DGT Labels in a Rental Car
Which Madrid low emission zones a rental car can enter, how to read its DGT label, what foreign-plated cars must do, and the €200 fine. Barcelona's ZBE rules too.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingSpanish meal times: why lunch is at two and dinner at ten
Madrid kitchens serve lunch from roughly 13:30 and dinner from roughly 20:30, with a gap between. Spain's clock also runs ahead of its own solar time.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingMadrid's menú del día: what the fixed price actually includes
Spain's menú del día began as a 1965 tourism decree and outlived its 2010 repeal. What the fixed price covers in Madrid, and what it no longer guarantees.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingMadrid metro tickets: the Tarjeta Multi, zones and fares
Madrid sells no single-use paper metro ticket. You buy a EUR 2.50 Tarjeta Multi first, then load a single, a 10-trip Metrobús or a tourist pass onto it.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingFree hours at the Prado, Reina Sofía and Thyssen in Madrid
Madrid's Prado, Reina Sofía and Thyssen each open free at different hours, and only one of the three lets you book that free ticket online in advance.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingPaying in Madrid: cards, cash and the currency conversion trap
Spanish shops cannot refuse cash but nothing obliges them to take your card. What the EUR 1,000 cash payment limit really binds, and how to decline DCC.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingMadrid Tapas: Free Accompaniments, Raciones and Ordering
Distinguish a drink’s small accompaniment from paid tapas, raciones and half portions in Madrid, then order enough food without assuming every plate is free.
Official sources checked 2026-10-16Toledo, Segovia or Ávila: Choosing One Day Trip from Madrid
Toledo, Segovia and Ávila each leave Madrid from a different station. Compare real Renfe journey times, the bus alternatives, and the walk at the far end.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingWhy Spain runs on Central European Time and not Greenwich
A one-page order of 7 March 1940 advanced Spain's clocks and promised to undo it. What that means for sunrise, sunset and how you plan a day.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingMálaga Airport to the City and Along the Costa del Sol by Train
Málaga airport sits on the Cercanías C-1 line to Torremolinos and Fuengirola, but not Marbella. Compare the train, the A Express bus, coaches and taxis.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingAre Málaga's two Picasso museums worth it? What each holds
Picasso left Málaga at ten. The Museo Picasso Málaga and the Museo Casa Natal are separate institutions with separate tickets: what each one actually holds.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingPintxos in San Sebastián: How to Order and Pay
Order hot and cold pintxos, understand small drink names and plan a few San Sebastián bar stops without assuming the food is free or seating is guaranteed.
Official sources checked 2026-10-16Renting a Car in Tenerife: Teide, Masca, Teno and Fuel
Where a Tenerife rental car can and cannot take you in 2026: Teide trail permits, the Masca bus rule, the Punta de Teno car ban, Canary fuel tax and Santa Cruz parking.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingSeville during Semana Santa and the Feria: what actually closes
Seville's Semana Santa and Feria de Abril are separate weeks with separate closures. What shuts, how transport is diverted, and who gets into a caseta.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingFlamenco in Seville: tablao, peña or theatre show compared
Seville flamenco compared: what a tablao ticket buys, what a peña flamenca actually is, and when museums and theatres programme a show.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingSeville's heat: what the city does about it and what you should
Seville averages a 36.0 °C daily maximum in July at AEMET's airport station. The warning thresholds, the hours to avoid, and what the city really provides.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingPaella valenciana: what is officially defined and what is not
Valencia protects its rice in law, not its paella. What the Arroz de Valencia PDO actually defines, and why no official ingredient list for the dish exists.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingValencia's Turia: the river that became a nine-kilometre park
Valencia moved the Turia south after the 1957 flood, then rejected the motorway drawn for the dry bed. What the 9 km park holds now, and how to use it.
Editorial preview · factual review pendingBreaking the Madrid-Barcelona train at Zaragoza: is it worth it?
Stepping off at Zaragoza voids a through Madrid-Barcelona ticket, so a stopover means buying two. What the split costs in time, and what a few hours buys.
Editorial preview · factual review pending