What do we all know about Spain? We know that Spain is a very popular holiday destination because of the pleasant temperatures in the winter months and the hot temperatures in the summer. We know that Spanish is the spoken language and that they eat Paella. This is kind of an exaggeration, but it describes the amount of information about Spain that we have. Of course we want to see an improvement in this and that’s why we have a list of 10 fun facts about Spain for you.
Fun facts about Spain; you don’t know this yet
There are plenty of things that we don’t know about Spain. In this list you will find 10 fun facts about Spain that you probably didn’t know yet, but which are quite fun to share at for example, a family party or at another social gathering.
1. Spain has 4 official languages, these are Castilian (Spanish), Catalan, Basque and Galician. In addition to these official languages, there are other variants such as Balearic and Valencian. For that matter, Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in the world in terms of the number of people who have Spanish as their native language. Mandarin (China) is in first place.
2. The Puerto del Sol (Gate of the Sun) in Madrid is the geographical center of Spain. At this location, the Spaniards also count down to the new year on December 31, just like the Americans do at Times Square in New York.
3. Spain is, after Switzerland, the most mountainous country in Europe. Almost a quarter of the country is above a thousand meters and the average height is 660 meters above sea level.
4. Life in Spanish cities revolves around the plaza (these are the squares in the middle of the city). In many Spanish cities the plaza is an absolute tourist attraction, a place where you must have been during your city trip. In the past, bullfights and executions took place, now you can find flea markets, events and often different street artists.
5. Perhaps not entirely a surprise but Spain has a coastline of 4964 kilometers and that’s exactly why Spain is the perfect place for you if you’re a beach lover.
6. On the Canary Islands there is a very special plant species, named the Dragon Blood Tree. This plant can grow up to twelve meters high. Due to its special thick foliage, the top looks like an umbrella. The plant that isn’t really a tree is called the Dragon Blood tree because in the orange-colored fruit there is a thick, red liquid that reminds of blood. In the past, the Dragon Blood tree had a religious meaning for the locals. They used the ‘blood’ from the fruits to embalm the deceased.
7. Something you will certainly notice when you leave for Spain for a longer period of time is that the favorite word in Spain could just be ‘mañana’ (tomorrow). Spaniards do everything quietly, not in a hurry and what doesn’t come today will come tomorrow. This is something you will immediately notice in the supermarket for example. If you compare this with the Netherlands you will see the cashiers in the Netherlands work hard and certainly when there is a long line at the counter, they don’t do this in Spain, they even have a talk with the people at the counter. Going to the supermarket in a hurry is therefore not a good idea in Spain.
8. Spain is the only country in Europe, apart from a few Portuguese islands, where bananas grow. In the Canary Islands you can find endless, green banana plantations.
9. Spain is one of the countries with the lowest population density in Europe. Per square kilometer there live 82 people. In the Netherlands that’s 495. The population density of Spain is comparable with countries such as Ireland and Sweden. Note that the distribution is very uneven. There are areas in the country that are very crowded, but also long stretched meadows that are not or hardly occupied. As a result, Spain has different and opposite population levels. Madrid is one of the most densely populated areas with approximately 625 inhabitants per square kilometer.
10. Spain and the sun belong together according to most people. But even in the summer, that’s not always the case. In cities like Zaragoza and Valladolid it rains very little, but the climate in Galicia in the north is characterized by abundant rainfall and not too high temperatures. The advantage of this rainfall is that it’s much greener here than in the rest of Spain.
Besides these fun facts about Spain, there are plenty of other fun things you want to know about Spain, its beautiful cities, the beaches and the food. For this you should read our blog!
If you want to know much more about culture, geography and politics, then you can read it here.