Spain's flair, expressed in so many enchanting ways, is inimitable. A morning walk in the Moorish pleasure palace of the Alhambra is alone enough to begin a love affair with this intoxicating country.

• TOTAL AREA: 504,782 sq km

• LAND AREA: 499,542 sq km

• WATER AREA: 5,240 sq km

• POPULATION: 40,397,842

• RELIGIONS: Roman Catholic 94%, other 6%

• LANGUAGES: Castilian Spanish 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2%; note - Castilian is the official language nationwide; the other languages are official regionally

• GOVERNMENT TYPE: Parliamentary Monarchy

• CAPITAL CITY: Madrid

• OFFICIAL CURRENCY: euro (EUR)

• TIME ZONE: GMT/UTC +1