Choosing where to go in Spain
Spain is organised into autonomous communities: devolved regions, each with its own regional government and, in several cases, its own co-official language alongside Spanish. Because the country spans an Atlantic coast, a dry inland plateau, a Mediterranean coast and two island groups, the region you pick shapes the whole trip more than the specific city does. This guide works through the main groupings and gives you a sequence for narrowing them down.
Northern Spain: the green coast
Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque Country sit along the Atlantic coast. Rainfall here is more frequent than in the rest of the country, which keeps the landscape green year-round and shapes a cuisine built around seafood, dairy and hearty stews. Cities are smaller and denser than in the south, and the coastline is dramatic rather than beach-flat, with cliffs and estuaries rather than long sandy strips. If the appeal of Spain for you is landscape and food rather than heat, this is the region to weigh first.
Central Spain: the plateau and the capital
Madrid and the surrounding Castilian regions sit on the meseta, a high inland plateau that gives the interior a continental climate: hot, dry summers and cold winters, with a bigger daily temperature swing than the coasts. Madrid itself works well as a hub, with strong rail connections outward in most directions, and it rewards visitors who want museums, a dense old town and a base for day trips rather than a beach.
The Mediterranean coast
Catalonia, Valencia and Murcia run along the Mediterranean, with Barcelona and Valencia as the major cities. The climate is milder and drier than the Atlantic north, and beach tourism is well established along much of the coast. Catalonia is co-official in Catalan alongside Spanish, which shows up on signage and in daily life, particularly in Barcelona and inland towns.
Southern Spain: Andalusia
Andalusia carries the deepest layer of Moorish history in mainland Spain, visible in monuments such as the Alhambra in Granada and the Mezquita in Córdoba. Summers are the hottest of the mainland regions, which is worth weighing carefully if you're travelling during the warmer months and plan to be outdoors during the day. Flamenco, as both music and dance, has its roots in this region and is easiest to encounter here in a form connected to its origins.
The islands
The Balearic Islands (Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera) sit in the Mediterranean and follow a similar climate pattern to the eastern mainland coast. The Canary Islands sit in the Atlantic off the coast of north-west Africa and have a subtropical climate that stays milder in winter than mainland Spain, which is why they attract visitors specifically during the colder months elsewhere.
How to shortlist a region
- Set the trip length first. A short trip suits one region or one city; a longer trip can combine two or three without feeling rushed.
- Decide between coast, inland and city. Each region above leans toward one of these, and mixing all three in a short trip usually means more travel time than sightseeing time.
- Check the climate guide for your chosen region and month. The same week in summer can be comfortable in the north and difficult in the south.
- Check the transport guide for how the regions connect. Some combinations sit on the same high-speed line; others require a change of transport mode.
City break or multi-region route
A single-city break, based in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville or a similar city, gives you more time in fewer places and less logistics to manage. A multi-region route trades that ease for contrast: seeing the plateau and the coast, or the north and the south, on the same trip. Neither is a better default; the choice depends on whether you'd rather go deep on one place or compare several.