SPAIN

Both conqueror and conquered, Spain’s national fortunes have always found in travellers’ favour. Ancient Romans left craggy aqueducts and arenas; Islamic rulers built Andalucia’s world-famous Hispano-Moorish arches and colonnades; while the riches of Spain’s great empire helped fund, furnish and assemble fine palaces, as well as the remarkably extensive former royal art collection on show at Madrid’s Prado Museum. Today, the country’s fast and extensive train network shuttles travellers between these attractions in an efficient fashion, so that the splendours of the Pyrenees, the gastronomic delights of the Basque region and the Andalucian coastal heat – though poles apart on the thermometer – are all pleasantly within reach, from an easy window seat. Add in a stay at one of Spain’s many paradors – a clutch of historic buildings remade into plush, characterful hotels – and the deep culture and history of the Iberian Peninsula will surround you while you sleep.