DESTINATIONS

Whilst many clichés continue to hold true – the sun-drenched beaches, the stamping, swirling flamenco and the toreros flaunting their courage in the bullrings – no-one can deny that Spain is all this, but who can deny there is also so much more?

It is a spectacular and diverse country, hugely regionalistic yet fiercely held together by a national passion for drama, contrast and a noisy, live-for-today hedonism.  Its tremendous history, reflected in its prehistoric cave paintings, Moorish palaces, crumbling castles, Roman ruins, Gothic and Renaissance cathedrals, is proudly embraced and combines with an infectious, go-ahead dynamism. And nowadays, in its kitchens, stores and building sites, Spain's avant-garde chefs, designers and architects have unleashed a formidable wave of uninhibited innovation to make it, without doubt, one of the most exciting countries in Europe.