Where in Spain should you go? Geography, Dialects and Price Levels.

So you’ve decided that Spain is the country, but where in Spain?

There are so many cities to choose between – Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla, Granada, Cordoba, Malaga, Marbella, Cadiz, Salamanca, Alicante, Santander, etc. etc. Should you go for the northern region, the south, the center of the country, or to the Mediterranean coast?

The absolute best way of deciding this is by researching the city itself. However, knowing a few general facts about geography, dialects and price level can be good as background information.

Things to think about is; do you want beaches, mountains, small towns or would you like to go to a large metropolis?

Beaches and warm weather. Beaches and nice weather, you say? Well, Spain is a diverse country. True, it isn’t as large as countries like the US, Canada or Russia, but there are clear climatic differences between various parts of the country.

Spain is as far south as you’ll get in Europe, but if you want summer practically all year round – head for the Mediterranean coast (Malaga, Marbella, etc.), Cadiz and the Canary Islands (the climate here is incredible!!). Other parts of Spain can be a bit chilly in January and February.

The rest of the year you can go almost anywhere along the coast; there are beautiful beaches both in Barcelona and on the north coast, for instance.

Mountains. If you are looking for mountains, Jaen or Granada may be nicely located for you, sitting right next to Sierra Nevada. Want to go skiing? This is definitely the place for you.

In the summer Sevilla and Granada are also the hottest areas of Spain with temperatures up to 113F (45C); average in July and August is 95F (35C) – it is a bit colder at night though, with an average of 67F (19.5C).

My teacher in Granada told me that before going to bed in August, she looked at the flags to see if the wind came from Sierra Nevada. If it didn’t, there was hardly any point in going to bed at all. So it is warm, alright! Air-condition could be nice ?

Smaller and larger cities in Spain. You can find a large number of really nice smaller and larger towns/cities. Granada, Cadiz, Denia, Salamanca and Marbella, are all relatively small. The four largest cities in Spain are Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Sevilla. I have most unfortunately not been in Valencia yet, but can recommend the three others of all my heart – maybe especially Barcelona.

Well, after this mini-intro about some places in Spain, what about those dialects? Many have asked me about this, so I’ll share my two cents with you.

As you probably have noticed in your own language regardless of whether it is English, German, Chinese or Swedish – everybody does not pronounce everything the same way. We talk differently! And, surprise, this is the same way in Spanish as well.

Don’t worry! My first piece of advice is: don’t worry!! Regardless of where you go, you’ll learn the purest Spanish of any place at the language school.

Catalonia and Barcelona. When that has been said, you should be aware of a few differences. For instance, let us look at Barcelona. Probably no city in the whole world has more Spanish students or language schools than this city. However, in this region, Catalonia, the original language is Catalan. Catalan isn’t Spanish at all, but a completely different language. The only similarity with Spanish is that it is derived from Latin, just like French, Italian and Portuguese. Everybody speaks and understands Castilian (standard Spanish) though, so when you learn Spanish at school and go out to practice, you will have everyone to practice with.

The Basque Area. In the Basque area of Spain (north, toward the border to France), you would believe that they spoke Basque, but hardly anyone uses this language anymore. Basque, by the way, is not derived from Latin, and, as a matter of fact, isn’t related to any other language in Europe – except perhaps Latvian.

Andalusia. So, in other words, here and everywhere else they speak Spanish. However, there are some different dialects, of course. In Andalusia you will find that people generally speak a bit faster and chops off the last “s” of most words – but again, as I said about Barcelona – this is NOT a problem. And I should know, I have been in both Barcelona and Andalusia (in Granada, Sevilla, Cordoba and Malaga).

The purest Castilian (standard Spanish). The region where the population speaks the purest Castilian (standard Spanish) is west of Madrid, around Salamanca. However, don’t let this be deciding for where you go; look at other criteria and remember that the language schools will always teach you the purest Castilian of any place.

The third aspect when gathering background information on where to go is naturally price. If you are a student this might indeed be an aspect of crucial importance.

The general price level of the different language schools is mainly decided by two factors: (1) how large the city is and (2) whether the school is in Andalusia or not.

Is the city large or small? In relation to the first factor, the application would be as follows: the larger the city, the more expensive your stay will be. Most of the price increase is due to higher accommodation prices, but you have to live somewhere, don’t you?

Is it in Andalusia? In relation to the second factor, the fact is that the general price level is lower in Andalusia than elsewhere. This is the poor province of Spain, and also the liveliest part of the country. Here there are tons of fiestas, parades, and the towns are filled with people late at night. And, luckily for you, all this is accessible at a good price.

You have to, of course, check the prices on each school individually, but the above are indicators for what you can expect to find.

Have fun deciding! Now, with this background information, you can start to scrutinize each city more carefully – and this is definitely very fun work indeed!! Each city is different; each city has a unique history and location. Which will it be… Barcelona? Salamanca? Granada? Cadiz? Have fun finding out!

Next Page: How to find a good Spanish Language School in Spain?