Spanien

Northern Mallorca is the island's heart and soul, bundling coastal drama, cultured towns with spirited fiestas, a twinset of white-sand bays and an exciting portfolio of adventure sports into one enticing package.

The place where the morning sun first makes landfall on Mallorca, the island’s northeastern corner is a refreshingly low-key area where the rough, sheep-scoured Sierra Llevant mountains rise from fields of fig and almond, and march towards the broken coast. There's great hiking, swimming, horse riding and bird-watching in the northeast, yet its attractions aren't solely natural. The medieval hill towns of Artà and Capdepera retain countless antique treasures, while the raucous resort town of Cala Ratjada is a reminder of what much of Mallorca's eastern coast has become.

This medieval quarter has a little of everything, from high-end shopping to some of Barcelona's liveliest tapas bars. Key sights include the superb Museu Picasso, the awe-inspiring Gothic Basílica de Santa Maria del Mar and the artfully sculpted Modernista concert hall of Palau de la Música Catalana. For a bit of fresh air, locals head to the leafy gardens of Parc de la Ciutadella.

Planerar du och din partner en romantisk semester på spanska solkusten? Eller kanske är det dags för en tjejweekend med guldkant? Här är 9 exklusiva hotell där ni kan njuta av allt från spa-behandlingar och golfrundor till fenomenal service och vackra omgivningar.

Castilla-La Mancha not only has Spain’s lowest population density, but sees fewer tourists than any region outside Navarra. Located on a windswept fertile plateau, the landscape is richly patterned, with undulating plains of rich henna-coloured earth, neatly striped and stippled with olive groves and grape vines, stretching to a horizon you never seem to reach. This is the land where Cervantes set the fictional journeys of Don Quijote with quixotic reminders everywhere; from the solitary windmills to the abundant (mostly ruined) castles.

Providing Granada’s dramatic backdrop, the Sierra Nevada range extends about 75km from west to east. Its wild snowcapped peaks boast the highest point in mainland Spain (Mulhacén, 3479m) and Europe’s most southerly ski resort at Pradollano. The lower southern reaches, peppered with picturesque white villages, are collectively known as Las Alpujarras.

En gyllene sandremsa, korallrev, turkosblått hav... Det finns många kriterier att uppfylla för att klassas som en riktigt bra strand. I södra Spanien finns flera som med råge lever upp till epitetet "paradisstrand".

Probably Spain's most underrated region, Aragón offers riches wherever you travel, from the crusader-like castles and Romanesque churches of the north to the outstanding Mudéjar architecture of Teruel in the south. The regional capital, Zaragoza, is a major Spanish city of ebullient nightlife and absorbing culture (not least the work of local artistic genius Francisco de Goya), while dozens of picturesque medieval villages dot the serrated landscape, from pink-hued Albarracín to stone-clothed Sos del Rey Católico. But above all, what sets Aragón apart is the majesty of the central Pyrenees along its northern fringe. This is the highest and, for many, most beautiful section of the mighty mountain range – a rare delight for the eyes and a massive natural adventure playground with not only Spain's finest hiking and climbing but also much of its best skiing, canyoning, rafting and paragliding.

One building alone is reason enough to put Córdoba high on your itinerary: the mesmerising multiarched Mezquita. One of the world's greatest Islamic buildings, the Mezquita is a symbol of the worldly, sophisticated culture that flourished here more than a millennium ago when Córdoba was capital of Islamic Spain and western Europe's biggest, most cultured city. But today's Córdoba is much more than the Mezquita. With a lot to see and do, some charming accommodation, and excellent restaurants and bars, it merits far more than the fleeting visit many travellers give it. Córdoba's real charms unfold as you explore the winding, stone-paved lanes of the medieval city to the west, north and east of the gaudy touristic area immediately around the Mezquita, wandering between wrought-iron balconies and lamps, potted plants, overhanging trees, golden-stone buildings and verdant interior patios, emerging every few minutes on yet another quaint little hidden plaza.

In the northeastern reaches of Cádiz province lie a string of classic pueblos blancos (white towns) rooted in turbulent border history. Most centre on beautiful, fortified old cores, a testament to the fact that these towns once stood on the contentious Moorish-Christian border for more than two centuries, between the 1248 Christian conquest of Seville and the 1492 fall of Moorish Granada. Today, they're a delight to explore, with moody streets twisting past whitewashed houses to crumbling castles and imposing churches. The most spectacular of all is Arcos de la Frontera, to the east and northeast of which are Zahara de la Sierra, Grazalema, Olvera and Setenil de las Bodegas.