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Iberia
From Wikitravel
Contents
The Iberian Peninsula is the westernmost section of the European continent, lying between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is separated from France by the snow capped Pyrenees mountains.
[edit] Countries
| Andorra |
| Portugal |
| Spain |
[edit] Other destinations
| Gibraltar |
[edit] Understand
[edit] History
Separated from France by the Pyrenees mountains, its history has frequently taken a different path from the rest of Europe, giving the region a separate identity. The Basque people settled here millennia ago, retaining their culture to this day. The Roman Empire expanded into it in the 3rd century BCE, before being supplanted by the Germanic tribes in the 5th century. The peninsula again took on a non-European character when the Islamic Berber and Arabic Moors took over in the 8th century, ruling parts of it as recently as the 15th century. As Christian rule gradually took back the peninsula from the Moors, its people then looked outward, seeding the Americas – and more – with their languages and laws. Although their then-dictatorial governments kept them out of World War II, Spain and Portugal are now full members of the European Union.
[edit] Talk
- Spanish - Official language of Spain, with status of co-officiality in some regions with historic languages
- Portuguese - The official language of Portugal
- Basque - Co-official language unrelated to any other European language, spoken in the Basque Country in the northern part of the peninsula
- Catalan - Co-official language mainly spoken in Andorra, the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and northeastern Spain
- Galician - Co-official language mainly spoken in Galicia, closely related to Portuguese
English is not widely spoken or understood outside the small British exclave of Gibraltar, where it is the official language. As elsewhere in the world English proficiency improves the closer you get to major tourists centres, especially in the coastal resort cities along the Mediterranean coast and in Barcelona, where English proficiency is much higher than in the rest of the country. English language is more frequently spoken in Portugal, as Portuguese in European context is a minor language, and people who enrolled in school after transformation to democracy in 1974, usually have some English proficiency.
[edit] Get in
[edit] By plane
The Iberian peninsular is by far Europe's main hub to South and Central America, Madrid's Barajas airport is the most important of the hubs, while Portela airport in Lisbon is the main gateway to Brazil due to the two countries historic ties. The situation is much the same with the two flag carriers: Spain's Iberia [[1]] has an impressive South/Central America network, and Portugal's TAP [[2]] flies to 8 destinations in Brazil and 9 African cities with colonial ties to Portugal.
- Madrid Barajas
- Barcelona
- Lisbon Portela
- Faro
- Porto
[edit] By train
- From France to Madrid and to Lisbon
[edit] By boat
[edit] Get around
[edit][add listing] See
[edit] Itineraries
[edit][add listing] Do
[edit][add listing] Eat
While in Spain, it is almost imperative that Sangria is tried, seeing as it is a typical favorite. Sangria is wine usually mixed with a collaboration of fruits and some added spices like Cinnamon.
However, although Sangria is popular with tourists it is rare to see Spanish people drinking it. The locals drink tinto de verano - red wine diluted with lemonade or carbonated water.
[edit] Stay safe
[edit] Get out
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