Spain

Currency and money

The currency in Spain is the Euro. One euro breaks down into 100 cents. As a rule of thumb the exchange rates to the euro are approximately:

• 0.70 Pounds Sterling
• 1.1 US Dollars
• 1.5 Canadian Dollars
• 1.5 Australian Dollars

The Euro is the second most common currency in the world after the US dollar, and the same banknotes are used in all the countries in the Euro-zone (each country issues different coins, but these differ only in the picture on the back, and can be used outside their country of issue). Even in the European countries which do not use the Euro as their official currency, it is still very common to find it accepted in larger shops and hotels (sometimes at a suprisingly reasonable rate of exchange). It should not be difficult to exchange into or out of Euros at currency exchanges worldwide.

Travellers Cheques:

As with the rest of Europe, travellers cheques are not as useful here as in North America. Large Hotels and stores may accept them in lieu of cash, but most places will simply direct you to a bank to cash them. Banks can charge fairly high commission for this, especially if you are converting into a different currency. It is generally cheaper (although less dependable) to get cash from a home debit or credit card using an ATM machine. If you get travellers cheques, and will be moving between countries it is probably best to get them in Euros.

ATM Machines:

Large cities in Spain are not short of ATMs, and the structure of the banking system, with quite a few regionally-based banks ensures that there are branches (with ATM attached) in even quite small towns. They will pretty much all accept Visa, Mastercard and other cash networks such as Plus, Cirrus and Maestro. Be aware that if a machine retains your card you will probably not be able to get it returned to you - always try to travel with more than one card, and ideally some spare cash in case of emergency.

Credit and Debit cards:

Credit cards are less acceptable in Spain than in much of the rest of Western Europe. Large shops will accept Visa and Mastercard, and American Express is also fairly widely accepted. It is common to also require proof of ID (usually a passport). The main issue for customers from outside Europe however is likely to be Chip and PIN, which foreign cards are often not compatible with. In theory customers should be able to sign for their purchases if this is the case, but not all outlets will allow this. In any event signatures will be checked, and if the card must be used only by its owner.

Language

Unsurisingly the main official language of Spain is Spanish. This ignores the highly regional character of Spain however. The Spanish language, or Castellano to give it its Spanish name, is actually only the language of choice in the old kingdom of Castille (the central parts of Spain) and the south of the country. In the remainder of the country a range of different languages are spoken, several of which bear little or no resemblance to Spanish. In Catalonia and Valencia to the east of the country, Catalan and Valencian are romance languages with strong similarities to Spanish, French and Italian, so good speakers of these languages should be able to pick things up fairly quickly. Galicia, in the northwest however has Celtic roots, and has more in common with Welsh, and Scots and Irish Gallic. Finally Basque, spoken in the fiercely independent Basque country and Navarre in the central North of the country, bears no resemblance to any European languages, making it extremely difficult for the casual traveller to pick up at all

Getting by in Spanish.

Travellers trying to get by with reasonable Spanish should be fine in all regions of the country - everybody learns Castellano to a reasonable level at school. The main problem is likely to be a reluctance to use Spanish in areas such as the Basque country - people will sometimes insist on using English even when they barely know a word of it and Spanish would be a far easier choice. Speakers of American Spanish may find a little difficulty with the accent which is far thicker in Spain, and particularly in Andalucia to the South of the country.

Getting by in English.

English is not as widely spoken in Spain as in the rest of Western Europe, although changes in the education system over the last 20 years, and the spread of American television, means that this is rapidly changing amongst the younger population. In Madrid and heavily tourist areas there will always be somebody around who can speak English, and indeed quite a lot of the signage at railway stations and the like in Madrid is provided in English. In less touristy parts of the South however, there are less people who speak English, and signs are usually only in Spanish - you may be reduced to pointing and writing numbers down occasionally here.

Things get more complex in the regions, where signs have no room for English, since they are in Spanish and the language of that region. If anything English is slightly more widely-spoken here than in the Spanish-speaking regions, either as a way of avoiding speaking Spanish too often, or simply because the locals are used to having to learn a second language. You might find yourself having a little trouble, but in the end there will be enough English speakers that you will get by just fine.

Finally, if you are going to spend any amount of time in Spain, take the trouble to learn a few words of the language. Spanish isn't especially difficult to pronounce, and plenty of guides are available which can teach you how to say things like "Please" (por favor), "Sorry" (lo siento), and "Thank you" (gracias), and numbers (uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez).

Shop opening

Shop opening hours vary from region to region in Spain. Large town-centre shops such as El Corte Ingles generally open from Monday to Saturday at 9-10 am, and close in the evenings at 8-10 pm. Smaller shops, particularly in the south are likely to close for a siesta in the afternoon. In the north stores are more likely to close earlier in the evenings. Very few stores are open at all on Sundays, and if they are they will typically only open in the mornings.

Convenience stores (which often also sell alcohol), and tobacconists and news-stands usually open early and close late - often around 10pm. In some areas of the country these stores are open Sundays, but generally it is not a good idea to depend on any stores opening on a Sunday - if you need supplies such as water, buy them on Saturday.

Banks usually open at 8-9 am, close for the day at around 2-3 pm, with even shorter hours on a Saturday and no opening on Sundays. Post Offices vary in opening hours, with the smaller branches opening mornings only and not at all at weekends, and a few major offices opening from 8:30 am to 10 pm. Even then these are usually only open for a few hours on a Saturday and rarely open at all on Sundays.