Spain Fun Facts - Interesting Facts About Spain

Spain is located on the Iberian Peninsula in southwest Europe, and occupies most of it. The Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands in the Atlantic are part of the Kingdom of Spain. A large section of Spanish territory is a high plateau, with the Pyrenees and other mountain ranges located in the north. Spain has hot summers and cold winters, though the weather in the north is cooler and wetter as compared to the rest of the country.

The following are some Spain Fun Facts

• One of the well known facts about Spain is that Football (soccer) is its most popular sport. Formula 1 racing, cycling, handball, tennis, basketball and motorcycling are other sports that the Spaniards are enthusiastic about. The 1992 Summer Olympics were held in the Spanish city of Barcelona.
• Among Spain's illustrious sports achievements is that it is the current Basketball World Champion, European soccer champs and have also won the Tour de France for the last three years in a row. Formula 1 race driver Fernando Alonso, who was the winner of the 2005 and 2006 Formula One World Championships, is also Spanish.
• Among the interesting facts about Spain is the fact that a majority of Spaniards are Catholic. However, Spain was a Muslim country for over 300 years as it was under Moorish rule until 1492.
• Spain facts cannot exclude the Spanish people's love to sing and dance. The hugely popular Flamenco which originated in the south of Spain includes el cante (the song), el baile (the dance), and el toque (the guitar playing).
• Among the interesting facts about Spain is that the drink known as sherry comes from the city of Jerez in Andalusia and its surrounding areas. The word 'Sherry' is adapted from Shariz, the Persian name for the city. Sherry is a strong wine and it comes in four varieties - fino (very dry and pale in color), amontillado (dry with a nutty flavor), oloroso (full flavor and dark color), manzanilla (literally means 'camomile' because it looks like it ).
• One of the best known Spanish foods is paella. The original paella consisted of rice mixed with snails, chicken, rabbit and pork, unlike the contemporary version with seafood. Paella is traditionally cooked outside in the open air in large quantities.
• An art made popular by Spain, that of bullfighting, is being viewed with diminishing favorability in Spain. The Catalonian regional parliament has passed a motion with the object to ban bullfighting in this region.
• Interesting facts about Spain include the legality of same-sex marriage there.
• A misconstrued fact from Spain is that Tapas is a type of food. In reality, it is a way of eating. Tapa means cover and was traditionally a slice of cheese or ham placed over a drink.
• Important facts about Spain include that Spain is a monarchy. The King of Spain is Juan Carlos I, who inherited the throne from General Franco, the dictator who ruled Spain from 1939 until 1975.
• A drink made famous by the Spaniards is Sangria, which is a mixture of several other drinks. It typically consists of red wine, chopped or sliced fruit, a sweetener such as honey or sugar and a small amount of added brandy, triple sec, or other spirits.
• Spain fun facts include the running of the bulls, which is a famous Spanish event. Bulls are let loose on a course in cordoned-off streets of the town, and people run ahead of them. The most famous running of the bulls is that of the nine-day festival of San Fermín in Pamplona.

Facts about Spain include that it has produced many a famous artist such as Salvador Dali, Francisco Goya, Diego Velazquez, and Pablo Picasso. Other famous Spaniards include opera singers Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras, pop singers Julio Iglesias and Enrique Iglesias, actors Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz, flamenco-pop act The Gypsy Kings, film director Pedro Almodovar, rally driver Carlos Sainz, poet and playwright Federico Garcia Lorca, author Miguel de Cervantes, historical leader El Cid, golfers Sergio Garcia and Seve Ballesteros, cyclist Miguel Indurain and tennis players Rafael Nadal, Carlos Moya, David Ferrer, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario.

These are just some of the many interesting facts about Spain. Spanish people are known to be fun-loving, music lovers, sports crazy, and the country is host to a number of the most-visited tourist spots in the world.