European Vacation There's a

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis - The Region - European Vacation (December 2003) I'm at: Home > Publications > The Region > December 2003 > Article Publications Expand All Collapse All The Region Index by Issue Interviews President's Columns fedgazette Index by Issue Topics Index Annual Report Quarterly Review Community Dividend Banking and Policy Studies Articles Toolbox ( advanced search ) December 2003 European Vacation There's a simple reason Americans work longer hours than Europeans, says economist Ed Prescott. And it isn't what you think Douglas Clement Editor It's no secret that Europeans work less than Americans do. Every Labor Day the media tell us that Europeans have just enjoyed weeks of summer vacation while Americans have been toiling away. These stories often depict Americans as hard-working drones who revere material possessions above all else. Europeans meanwhile bask in the good life of long lunches and months at the beach. There is some truth to the portrayal, at least in terms of hours worked. The International Labor Organization reports that the average American worked 1,815 hours in 2002, well above the comparable figures for France (1,545) and Germany (1,444), for example. (The average South Korean, on the other hand, worked over 2,400 hours.) But if it's widely acknowledged that Americans work more hours than Europeans, it remains a puzzle quite why there's such a large difference. With similar economies and social structures—at least relative to the rest of the world—it would seem that labor patterns should also be alike. Social scientists have been hard-pressed to explain the disparity. Most accounts focus on cultural explanations. The most popular is the notion that Europeans have a fuller appreciation of la dolce vita —the sweet life—the Italian version of the idea that life is to be enjoyed, not endured. Work is a means to an end, not an end in itself. The idea of cultural and religious influences on economic activity isn't new. German sociologist Max Weber wrote The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism nearly a century ago, attributing the rise of capitalist economies to the “Protestant work ethic.” It was an immensely persuasive theory in its time, and derivative explanations have held great sway ever since. “Why do Europeans and Americans differ so much in their attitude toward work and leisure? I can think of two reasons,” opines a recent Time magazine essay. “Broadly speaking, Americans value stuff—SUVs, 7,000-sq.-ft. houses—more than they value time, while for Europeans it's the opposite. Second, ... in the puritanical version of Christianity that has always appealed to Americans, religion comes packaged with the stern message that hard work is good for the soul. Modern Europe has avoided so melancholy a lesson.” “It all comes down to what people feel is important and how they feel about their lives,” argues a September 2003 U.S. News & World Report editorial. “We value more money and more stuff; they value more leisure time. ... We are proud of being busy—it is a virtue; being idle is perceived as a vice.” Economic explanations Economists have always been suspect of such cultural explanations. Standard economic theory assumes that people's preferences are, on average, homogeneous, and that choices depend largely on economic factors. Still, while economists agree that dollars and cents lie behind the work pattern differential, there is little harmony among them as to the right economic explanation. Some economists say work regulations keep Europeans from working longer hours and point favorably to recent European reforms on vacation time. Others argue that greater inequality in the United States motivates workers to try harder to get ahead. Most of these explanations come from the perspective of labor economics and its core belief that social structures and institutions such as unions are the major determinants of labor patterns. But in a recent series of papers and lectures, Edward C. Prescott, senior monetary adviser to the Minneapolis Fed and economist at Arizona State University, looks at the labor supply question through the prism of the growth model—a different perspective altogether—and provides a convincing and remarkably straightforward explanation for the dramatic differences in hours worked. It is an explanation that has far-reaching implications for policymakers—and for anyone else who's ever received a paycheck. According to Prescott, the reason for these large differences in labor supply is not culture. “French, Japanese, and U.S. workers all have similar preferences,” he writes. “The French are not better at enjoying leisure. The Japanese are not compulsive savers.” The reason for the wide range in working hours is, in a word, taxes. Europeans supply less labor because there's a much larger wedge in most European countries between what a worker is paid and what that worker actually gets to keep after taxes are taken out. This tax wedge, argues Prescott, distorts the trade-off people make between consumption and leisure by making consumption more expensive. And since people work, ultimately, to earn money to pay for consumption goods, they'll supply less labor if consumption goods become relatively more expensive. The cheaper alternative: leisure. Hello, Riviera. If the concept seems straightforward, its evolution was anything but. Like most ideas that seem obvious in retrospect, the awareness that taxes distort labor markets dramatically and account for major international differences in work patterns came about indirectly and as a revelation to those who happened upon it. The discovery Prescott's discovery about the role of taxes in labor supply variation began, simply enough, in his classroom at the University of Minnesota, where he taught from 1980 to 2003. “I was making up exercises for my students,” he recalled in a recent interview. “I said, 'use this nice little growth model.'” The “nice little model” he presented to his students is the workhorse of modern macroeconomics; it says, mathematically, that a nation's total output (or gross domestic product, GDP) is dependent on three sources: labor, capital and the efficiency (or productivity) with which it merges them to create economic value. The other key part of this standard theory is, in the jargon of economics, a utility function: a formula representing the notion that households try to maximize their happiness by finding the best possible combination of leisure and consumption, given their resources. Prescott wanted his students to become familiar with this model by looking at how it performed in different nations over time, and how key variables—capital endowments, productivity, labor supply—could account for differences among nations in per capita GDP. “I wanted to try to get across the basic ideas and the importance of productivity,” said Prescott. “And then I thought, let's put a few taxes in.” The intuition was far more significant than Prescott suspected, but that became clear only after looking at the relative contributions of capital, productivity and labor. The data, compiled by the United Nations and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, showed that in the mid-1990s among developed countries—the United States, much of Europe and Japan—relative levels of capital differ little and explain just a small portion of the variation in per capita GDP (see adjacent table). “The capital factor is not an important factor in accounting for differences in incomes across the OECD countries,” writes Prescott in his 2002 Richard T. Ely Lecture to the American Economic Association. “[It] contributes at most 8 percent to the differences in income between any of these countries.” Capital, Labor, Productivity and GDP 1993-96 Country Capital/ Output Ratio (1990) Hours worked per Week per Person 15-64 Productivity: GDP per hour Worked; US=100 GDP per Person 15-64; US=100 Germany 2.7 19.3 99 74 France 2.2 17.5 110 74 Italy 2.6 16.5 90 57 Canada na 22.9 89 79 United Kingdom 2.6 22.8 76 67 Japan 2.5 27.0 74 78 United States 2.3 25.9 100 100 Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Research Department Staff Report 321 and Working Paper 618 . Productivity, on the other hand, is very important, at least for some national differences. Japan and the United States, for example, have similar levels of labor and capital, but per capita GDP in Japan is far below that in the United States because its productivity is less than three-quarters that of the United States. But what of European countries like France, Italy and Germany? Why are their levels of per capita GDP so much lower? All these nations have capital endowments comparable to the United States. Their productivity levels also are similar to U.S. rates, or in the case of France, even higher. The data suggest that the differences in wealth are due almost exclusively to the markedly lower number of hours worked in these European countries. Germany, for instance, had a slightly higher capital endowment than the United States and an equal level of productivity, but just 74 percent of the U.S. per capita GDP. The evident reason: Its workers supplied just over 19 hours of labor per week compared to nearly 26 hours a week per American worker. While many believe that cultural differences lead to fewer hours worked in Europe than in the United States, Prescott doubts it. After all, data from the early 1970s show that the French actually worked more hours per week than did Americans at that time. Has French culture changed radically over the last two decades? Probably not: They still like good wine, aged cheese and, inexplicably, Jerry Lewis. Prescott's hunch was that differences in marginal tax rates might explain the differences in labor supplied and thus account for differences in per capita GDP. Enter the tax wedge “What is important is the price of consumption relative to leisure,” Prescott writes in the lecture he gave in April 2003 as he accepted Northwestern University's prestigious Erwin Plein Nemmers Prize in Economics. “And it is determined by the consumption tax rate and the labor income tax rate.” (See the lecture, “ Why Do Americans Work So Much More Than Europeans? ”) By introducing these taxes into the growth model, and making standard microeconomic assumptions, Prescott derived what he calls “the key equilibrium relation.” 1 It's a mathematical formula for labor supply that says workers will supply labor dependent on, among other things, their preference for consumption now over consumption later (spend or save?), their preference for leisure relative to consumption (play or work?) and the effective tax rate. Holding the first two variables fixed and looking empirically at different national tax rates enables Prescott to see if tax differences can account, fully or partially, for variations in labor hours supplied. Estimating the effective tax rates in these countries was, in itself, a major accounting exercise. Consumption taxes include value-added taxes, sales taxes, excise taxes and property taxes. Labor is subject to both income taxes and Social Security taxes. For each nation under consideration, Prescott and his students crunched the numbers, determined a tax rate, plugged it into the formula along with fixed estimates of the other variables, and derived predictions of labor hours supplied per week per worker. How good were the predictions? Dead-on for Germany and the United Kingdom, a bit low for Canada and the United States, and a bit high for the other countries (see table below). Given measurement inaccuracies, the rough nature of the tax-rate estimates and the difficulty of international comparisons, writes Prescott, the model's predictions were “surprisingly close to the actual.” Tax Rates and Labor Supply 1993-96 Country Tax Rate (percent) Actual Hours Worked per Week per Person 15-64 Predicted Hours Worked per Week per Person 15-64 Difference (Predicted Minus Actual) Germany 59 19.3 19.5 0.2 France 59 17.5 19.5 2.0 Italy 64 16.5 18.8 2.3 Canada 52 22.9 21.3 -1.6 United Kingdom 44 22.8 22.8 0.0 Japan 37 27.0 29.0 2.0 United States 40 25.9 24.6 -1.3 Source: “ Why Do Americans Work So Much More Than Europeans ?” Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Research Department Staff Report 321. Here, notes Prescott, “the important observation is that the low labor supplies in Germany, France and Italy are due to high tax rates. In these countries if someone works more and produces 100 additional euros of output, that individual gets to consume only 40 euros of additional consumption and pays directly or indirectly 60 euros in taxes.” Put in such stark terms, it seems obvious that many Europeans might opt to work less, while Americans and Japanese, taxed more lightly, would be keen to put in extra hours. Confirmation and implications Prescott found further confirmation for his hypothesis when he looked at tax rates and labor supply in the early 1970s (see table below). While his model's predictions of labor hours supplied diverge from the actual in several cases—Italy and Japan, in particular—Prescott observes that “when European and U.S. tax rates were comparable, European and U.S. labor supplies were roughly equal.” Tax Rates and Labor Supply 1970-74 Country Tax Rate (percent) Actual Hours Worked per Week per Person 15-64 Predicted Hours Worked per Week per Person 15-64 Difference (Predicted Minus Actual) Germany 52 24.6 24.6 0.0 France 49 24.4 25.4 1.0 Italy 41 19.2 28.3 9.1 Canada 44 22.2 25.6 3.4 United Kingdom 45 25.9 24.0 -1.9 Japan 25 29.8 35.8 6.0 United States 40 23.5 26.4 2.9 Source: “ Why Do Americans Work So Much More Than Europeans ?” Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Research Department Staff Report 321. As for the outliers, Italy and Japan, Prescott suggests that other factors may be significant. In Italy, cartels may have played a role in depressing labor supply below its predicted value. In Japan, significant measurement errors in actual hours worked could account for the overly high prediction by the model. And what seems another anomaly is very likely an indirect confirmation of the importance of marginal tax rates on labor supply, according to Prescott. In the United States, actual hours worked per person increased by 10 percent from the 1970s to the 1990s, though the marginal tax rate remained at 40 percent. Prescott argues that U.S. tax reforms in the 1980s changed the effective marginal tax faced by married couples—dropping the rate in half for the second earner's income—even though it remained nominally at 40 percent. “In the 1993-96 [period],” he writes, “the marginal income tax on the labor income associated with switching between a one-earner and a two-earner household is only 20 percent, not 40 percent.” The issue warrants more attention, he says, and indeed, his colleagues Larry Jones, Rodolfo Manuelli and Ellen McGrattan have recently released a paper on this exact question. (See “ Wives at Work .”) On the whole, Prescott states, the results show that “people are remarkably similar across countries” and not only for these relatively prosperous and homogeneous nations, but for Chile, Mexico and Argentina, as well, where other economists have found similar relationships. “Apparently, idiosyncratic preference differences average out and result in the [representative] household having almost identical preferences across countries.” The policy implications are enormous for high-tax countries. If France were to lower its effective tax rate from 60 percent to 40 percent, estimates Prescott, its people would work more (taking 6.6 percent less leisure) and—remember their high productivity?—would generate considerably more output. Tax revenues wouldn't diminish, because the 40 percent rate would be levied on a higher base. And overall French “welfare gains,” as economists put it, would increase nearly 20 percent. In the United States, reducing marginal tax rates would have a more modest impact, according to the model: A 10 percent rate reduction would produce a 7 percent welfare gain. But even in the United States, Prescott's findings have huge implications for the viability of the Social Security system. (See “ Shrinking a deadweight loss .”) Foreign affairs In recent months, Prescott has traveled widely, presenting his findings not only to American audiences but to economists and policymakers in London, Berlin, Toulouse, Tokyo and elsewhere overseas. And in fact, says Prescott, Europeans tend to be more receptive than Americans. “The economists there understand that there is a problem,” he said after returning from France in mid-September. “I got some excellent suggestions when I presented the paper, the best so far.” But at all venues, he observes, the common denominator is surprise. Prescott is the first to admit that he, too, thought the results were startling, unexpected. “I find it remarkable that virtually all of the large difference in labor supply between France and the United States is due to differences in tax systems,” he writes in his Ely lecture. “I expected institutional constraints on the operation of labor markets and the nature of the unemployment benefit system to be more important.” Moreover, he concedes that cultural explanations might carry the day in a few settings. “Scandinavians seem to be a little bit different,” he said recently, referring to research by Richard Rogerson, an economist at Arizona State University. “My theory is when one of those Swedes looks at you when you're not working, it's pretty intimidating.” More seriously, he allows that in small, homogeneous cultures, social pressures can be quite strong. But even in large, heterogeneous nations, tax wedges don't always tell the whole story, according to Prescott. “Taxes are not the only reason that the labor factors differ,” says Prescott's Ely lecture. Unemployment benefits and housing subsidies—not taxes—distorted labor mobility in the United Kingdom between the first and second World Wars, contributing significantly to that country's interwar depression. New Deal policies supporting cartels in America's heavy industries distorted wages and employment in the last half of the 1930s, contributing to the depth and duration of the Great Depression in the United States. Similarly, cartels in 1970s Italy may have suppressed employment there. Prescott relies on work by University of California, Los Angeles economists Harold Cole and Lee Ohanian in making these conjectures. Still, while taxes aren't the all-powerful explanatory factor for all nations and eras, Prescott contends that in major developed countries in the time period under consideration, the labor supply impact of tax wedges is a powerful and undeniable fact. Other academics As befits the work of any prominent scholar, Prescott's theory has attracted close academic scrutiny—beyond the initial reaction of surprise—from both adherents and critics. In one recent paper, Peter Lindert, an economist at the University of California, Davis, refers to Prescott's study as dependent upon “a theoretical model heavily laden with assumptions. It is educated, intelligent, plausible fiction—but fiction nonetheless.” On the other hand (as Lindert points out) Prescott's model and findings are cited quite favorably by Nobel Laureate Robert Lucas in his 2003 presidential address to the American Economic Association. Lindert calls for empirical tests. Steven Davis at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and Magnus Henrekson of the Stockholm School of Economics oblige with a careful econometric analysis of the impact of labor income and consumption taxes on employment and work activity. In their study of rich countries in the mid-1990s, they find that a 12.8 percentage point difference in tax rates is associated with 122 fewer market work hours per adult per year and nearly a 5 percentage point decrease in employment—population ratios—an indirect affirmation of Prescott's theory. A very different perspective was presented earlier this year in a series of lectures by British economist Richard Layard, co-director of the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics. Layard takes issue with GDP itself as a satisfactory measure of human welfare—or utility, as Jeremy Bentham and subsequent economists have termed it—noting that “happiness has not increased, despite huge increases in living standards.” To summarize a lengthy argument, Layard's idea is that a tax wedge on labor income could actually increase utility by decreasing a sort of pollution: overwork brought on by the inherent human desire to do better than our peers, regardless of our absolute level of income. Keeping up with the Joneses, in other words, leads to overwork, ill health and unhappiness—rivalry distorts the leisure/labor decision. Appropriate public policy should diminish this pollution by taxing it. “In an efficient economy,” Layard writes, “there will be substantial levels of corrective taxation ... 60 percent would not seem inappropriate, and that is in fact the typical level of marginal taxation in Europe—if you allow for direct and indirect taxes.” Prescott responds Prescott's reactions to these ideas vary widely. Sitting in his seventh-floor office at the Minneapolis Fed, he reads through the first pages of Lindert's paper, then drops it on his desk. “It doesn't seem to be coherent,” he says. Davis and Henrekson's study, on the other hand, intrigues him. That might seem predictable given its broad support of Prescott's findings, but Davis and Henrekson employ a technique Prescott generally scorns: statistical regression. “Progress, don't regress,” he says with a smile, quoting the slogan featured prominently on his Internet home page. Regardless of their method, Prescott is drawn to the findings and has invited Davis to Minneapolis to get a closer look at their work. But Prescott's response to Layard's argument—more complete and nuanced—conveys a sense of Prescott himself. He begins by summarizing Layard's case in a phrase: “I'm happy if I have a lot more income—than you,” he says, grinning and quite aware that he does. As to the overwork such rivalry might cause, “that just says there's a consumption externality.” Then he conveys the concept with a story. “I always tried to create a positive externality in Pittsburgh for my neighbors who had these beautiful lawns,” he jokes of his grad school days at Carnegie Mellon University. “By my having a messy lawn, their lawns looked so much better. I mowed it, but I didn't do much else with my lawn. And it gave me utility to see them happier.” He tells the story with a verbal wink, acknowledging silently that his Pittsburgh yard care externality may well have been less than zero. The conspiratorial smile changes to professorial zeal as he begins to dissect Layard's reasoning: “Suppose everybody cares about relative consumption as well as own consumption. You work out the equilibrium, it's not Pareto optimal. Let's deal with the case where everybody enters symmetrically. So it's simple to make the ordering. Well, you can make everybody better off by just putting a tax on consumption so that they work less. That's a very standard model. Now what would be the empirical evidence for and against that?” In under five minutes, Prescott has crystallized an argument, communicated it to a visitor in plain language and personal anecdote, then converted it to the idiom of economics and laid out steps for its confirmation or refutation. It's vintage Prescott: analytically brilliant, unexpectedly funny and several beats ahead of everyone else. That last bit is the essence of a conversation with the economist. When you ask him a question, it sometimes seems that his reply is off-topic; then it dawns on you that Ed Prescott is answering the question you should have asked. A pattern of surprise Prescott's willingness to entertain alternatives, to listen to critics, to incorporate the unexpected is deeply characteristic of his work. That flexibility is, in fact, the paradoxical outcome of a rigid research discipline. In setting model parameters, for instance, or reporting research results, “the investigator has no degrees of freedom,” he says. “You have to tie your hands and if there's a deviation from your predictions, you report it. You can speculate on why, but you've got to be totally honest.” Intellectual honesty also means allowing findings to modify, even subvert initial hypotheses. It happens frequently, says Prescott. Much of the work for which he's best known—theories on time inconsistency, real business cycles, the equity premium and growth theory—has been developed in an ongoing process of research and revelation. “When I work out the implications, I'm quite often surprised: The findings change my views quite dramatically,” he says. “When I did the real business cycles work with Finn Kydland, I was certain that monetary shocks were the reason the economy fluctuated with the business cycles. Our findings were just the opposite. When I did some work with Rajnish Mehra on the equity premium puzzle, I was certain that the reason for the high historical difference in the return on equity relative to debt was just a premium for bearing aggregate, nondiversifiable risk. We found it wasn't.” For time inconsistency and the impact of taxes on labor supply, as well, surprise has been an intrinsic part of the process. Future direction As striking as his labor supply findings are—and though many aspects of it remain unresolved—Prescott senses that the big theoretical questions in economic growth lie elsewhere, and he is now turning his attention to them. “I think I've had my say on labor supply,” he concludes. In his Ely lecture, he lays out three sources of economic growth: capital, labor and productivity. The first two are important in understanding why some nations remain poor while others prosper, but the central question, contends Prescott, is what determines productivity? “Given productivity, our macro models are great,” he says. “But we treat it as exogenous. We've got to have a better understanding of mapping between policies and productivity.” In other words, what can governments do to enhance productivity? Prescott's main candidates are efficient financial markets, competition among producers and trading clubs. And currently, the last is his major focus. “What is a trading club?” he asks rhetorically. “Well, first, free movement of goods between the member states. But it's much, much more than that. ...” Prescott continues at length, with a discourse ranging from Toyota factories in Wales to trade among the U.S. states in the 19th century. He speaks quickly, and as he does there is a sense that each research question he asks leads him to a dozen more, each more interesting than the last. He will travel soon to Warsaw and then Bogotá to explore these ideas with other economists and policymakers. “It's going to be fascinating to see what's happening in Poland,” he remarks. In Colombia, “the president is trying to do some good things there, and we have to go down and help out.” He's not a policymaker himself. “I leave that to other people,” he says. “I'm no good at it. My comparative advantage is working out implications of theory.” And in so doing, it seems there is just one constraint: Even for Ed Prescott, a scholar who understands labor supply dynamics as well as anyone on earth, there are only 24 hours in a day. “Time,” observes the economist, “is the most valuable resource.” 1 The two assumptions: (1) that people decide between leisure and consumption based on their relative prices, at the margin, and (2) that in a competitive market, wages are equal to their marginal product of labor. The “key equilibrium relation” also depends on the share of a nation's output due to capital. Top of document Advanced Search Glossary See also: Shrinking a deadweight loss

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Spain Geography History Politics Culture Transportation Lodging Restaurants Museums and Monuments Nightlife Currency 1. Geography Spain lies in the extreme southwest of Europe, between latitude 36* and 44* north and betweenlongitude 9* west and 5* east. It is bounded by France and the tiny state of Andorra on the west and northwest by Portugal and on the south by the British territory of Gibralter, which is claimed by Spain. The Atlantic ocean is to Spain's north (Bay of Biscay), northwest and southwest (Gulf of Cadiz) to the west of the Straits of Gibralter, only 14 km/9 miles wide, which separate Europe from Africa. The entire eastern and southeastern Spain is bounded by the Mediterranean. Also, part of Spain are the BalearicIslands (Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza, Formentera and various smaller islands), which lie off the Mediterraneancoast and the Canary Islands (the largest of which are Gran Canaria and Tenerife) off the northwest coast of Africa. The towns of Ceuta and Melilla on the North African mainland and the three small islands ofPenonde Velez, Alhucemas and Chafarinas off the Moroccan coast also belong to Spain (but are claimed by Morocco). The Straits of Gibralter link Spain with Africa. In addition, the Pyrenees in the north have been both geographically and historically, a barrier between Spain and the rest of Europe. Spain lies predominately within the zone of the Mediterranean climate which is characterized by hot,dry summers and mild, wet winters. When to Visit Spain The best time of year to come is in the Spring and Autumn from about mid-March to the beginning of June and from the beginning of September to the beginning of November (in Northern Spain to the beginningof October). 2. History SPAIN AS A WORLD POWER TO THE PENINSULAR WAR (1516-1813): Spain rises to international importance in the 16th century in expansion of its territory in Europeand colonies and is the Center of Counter Reformation. 1618-1648: Spain takes part in the Thirty Years' War on the side of the Austrian Habsburgs. 1640: Portugal dissolves its union with Spain. FROM THE FIRST WORLD WAR TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SECOND REPUBLIC (1914-1931): 1914-1919: Spain remains neutral in the First World War. 1926: Spain leaves the League of Nations. 1928: Spain is readmitted into the League of Nations. 1931: After a Republican victory in local government elections, Alfonso XIII leaves the country. It's the beginning of the Second Republic. FROM THE SECOND REPUBLIC TO APPLIED ASSOCIATION WITH THE UN (1931-1962): Because various European democracies would not help the new Spanish Republic, not even the SovietUnion believed that Spain was ready for a social revolution. The Republican forces are defeated by the Fascist dictatorship of General Franco with the support from Hitler and Mussolini. After the Second World War, the Franco regime is unable to lead Spain out of its political and economic isolation. Only after Franco's death does liberalization and democratization appear in the country. 1931: Spain receives a new constitution: liberal and progressive in its provisions, separationof church and state, a unified state, regional self-government for Catalonia (1932) and the Basque country(1936) and a limited degree of land reform. 1936-1939: The Spanish Civil War breaks out after the murder of a Monarchist member of Parliament, Calvo Sotelo on July 13 and a military rising on July 17 led by General Francisco y Bahamonde (1892-1975) in Spanish Morocco. 1939: Recognition of Franco's Regime by France, Britain (February 27) and US (April 1). CivilWar comes to an end. Spain leaves the League of Nations. From 1945: Spain is politically and economically isolated as a result of Franco'sauthoritarian regime. It is not a founding member of the United Nations and receives no aid under the MarshallPlan. 1955: Spain becomes a member of the UN. 1959-1960: Spain becomes a member of the OEEC and OECD. 1962: Spain applies for association with the European Community. DEMOCRATIC SPAIN (from 1975-1992): After Franco's death, King Juan Carlos I begins the process of democratization, which continues inspite of attempted coups. Spain becomes a full member of the democratic community of states. 1978: Spain joins the Council of Europe on February 24. 1980: A law of freedom of religion comes into force: Catholicism is no longer the State religion. 1982: Spain becomes the 16th member of NATO on May 30. 1986: Spain joins the European Community on January 1. 1989: Spain takes over the presidency of the European Community. 1992: On July 25, the Summer Olympic Games of modern times are opened in Barcelona. 3. Politics The Constitution: The constitution which came into force in December 1978 makes Spain a parliamentary monarchy committed to the principles of a democratic social state founded on law. The King as head of State has the duties of watching over the government and representing Spain in its relations with other nations. Moreover, he is the supreme commander of the armed forces. The constitution contains a code of basicrights, the establishment of the social state, the assurance of security under the law, the recognition of the role of the parties in developing an informed political opinion, the right to refuse military service, the abolition of the death penalty (except under military law) and the end of Roman Catholicism as the statereligion. Coat of Arms: The flag of Spain is red and yellow, which has been the Spanish colors since medieval times. The coat of arms consists of a shield of four quarters bearing the emblems of Castile, Leon, Aragon, Navarre and Granada. The shield is flanked by the "Pillars of Hercules," which in ancient tradition market the end of the world and are usually identified as the Straits of Gibralter. Along with the motto, "Plus ultra" on an encircling ribbon, they symbolize the history of Spain as a world and maritime power. Parliament: The Spanish Parliament is the Cortes Generales, with two houses, the Congress de los Diputados (Congress of Deputies) and the Senate. The Congress is elected every four years and has a minimum of 300 members anda maximum of 400 members. The electoral system is a melange of direct election and proportional representaion. The deputies elect the prime minister, who is then appointed by the King. A special feature of the parliamentary system is that the prime minister can be voted out of office by the Congress only ifthey elect a successor at the same time. The Senate prepresents the Autonomous Communities (regions), which consist of one or moreprovinces. Each province elects four senators and in addition the parliaments of the autonomouscommunitites elect one senator each, plus additional senators for each million inhabitants. The Senate hasa right to veto on the government. International Relations: Spain has been a member of the UN since 1955, of NATO since 1982 and the European Communitysince 1986. She also maintains close relations with many Latin American states and is a permamentmember of the Organization of American States (OAS)(34). 4. Culture Language: Spanish. It may be usefult to have some acquaintance with the language or know at least a few useful expressions to make your trip a little easier. A Few Important Expressions: Good morning: Buenos Dias Good bye: Adios Yes/No: Si/No Please: Por favor Thank you (very much): (Muchas) gracias Your Welcome: De nada Excuse me: Perdon Do you speak English?: Habla Usted ingles? A little, not much: Un poco I do not understand: No entiendo What is Spanish for. . .?: Como se dici en espanol. . .? To the right/left: A la derecha, izquierda. Straight ahead: Siempre derecho. Business Hours: Banks are open Monday through Friday from 9:30 am to 2:00 pm and Saturday from 9:30 am to 1:00 pm. Most offices are open Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm or 5:30 pm. Restaurants are open from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm and at dinner time, they reopen at 9:00 pm and stays open to about11:30 pm or midnight. Major stores are open from Monday to Saturday from 9:30 am to 8:00 pm. Smaller stores take a siesta. They are normally open from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm and then reopen at 4:40 pm to 8:00 pm. However,be aware that these hours may vary from store to store. Electricity : Most establishments have 220 volts AC. Some older places however have 110 or 125 volts. Make sureto carry an adapter with you. It's best to carry battery operated equipment. Liquor Laws : The legal drinking age in Spain is 18. Bars, taverns and cafeterias usually open at 8:00 am and many serve alcohol until 1:30 or later. Generally, you can purchase alcohol in any market. Mail: Airmail letters to the U.S. and Canada will cost you 87 pesetas (70 cents) up to15 grams. Tipping: A service charge is included in most restaurant bills. It's usually around 15%. You might want to adda few pesetas to the bill however. 5. Transportation Travellers need a legal passport or visa to enter and leave Spain. A passport will allow a visitor tostay for 90 days if you are a US, Canadian or New Zealand citizen. Australians and South Africans mustobtain a visa to enter Spain. Airports: Airports in Madrid, Barcelona and Malaga handle most international flights. Rental Cars: Rental cars cost a lot less in Spain than other European countries. Be aware however that you mustbe over 21 and have had your drivers license for at least one year to rent a car. MADRID: Bus: The busses in Madrid are quite clean. It costs 130 pesetas per ride. However, if you plan on takingthe bus a lot during your stay, you might be interested in purchasing a 10 ride ticket (billete de diez) for645 pesetas. BARCELONA: Metro: A ride on the metro will cost around 680 pesetas and a ten ride pass will cost around 700pesetas. The metro is open Monday to Thursday from 5:00 am to 11:00 pm, Friday and Saturday from5:00 am to 1:am, Sunday from 6:00 am to 12:00 am. Bus: A ride on the bus will also cost 680 pesetas and a ten rid pass will cost around 700 pesetas. Dailybuses and night buses service the city from 11:00 pm until 4:00 am. 6. Lodging SEVILLE: Hostels: Sevilla Youth Hostel(HI): , C. Issac Peral, 2. (tel. 461 31 54) It is currently being renovated andwill beclosed until Semana Santa in 1997. Ask a tourist office when it will be reopened. Hostal Paris: , C. San Pedro Martir. (tel. 422 98 61 or 421 96 45, fax. 421 96 45). It's brand newand clean! There's a bath, air conditioning, phone and TV. It's extremely comfortable and at extremelycomfortable prices too! Singles are 3500 pesetas, doubles are 5000 pesetas. Ask about student discounts. Camping: Camping Sevilla, Ctra. Madrid-Ca diz, km 534. (tel. 451 43 79). It's close to the airport and just 12 km away from town. From Estacion Prado de San Sebastian, take bus #70 which stops at Parque Alcosa. Here, you'll find showers, a supermarket and a swimming pool. It's 450 pesetas per person, percar and per tent. Children are only 350 pesetas. BARCELONA: If you arrive in Barelona without a hotel reservation, there are offices at the airporst and at Estacio-Sants(daily from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm) that will book a place for you to stay for a fee of approximately 100pesetas. The only glich is that you won't have the opportunity to see the room beforehand. For furtherinformation, contact the Barcelona Hotels Association, Via Laietana 47; (tel. 301-62-40). Be aware however, that Barcelona is packed with tourists between the months of July and August soit's wise to book a room ahead of time. It's important to make sure that you see your room before paying for it. Hostels: Continental , Barri Gotic (tel. 93/301-2570, fax. 93/302-7360) There are 35 rooms at the hostel.American Express, Discover Card, Master Card and Visa are all accepted. There are canopied balconiesand the rooms feel like the comforts of home. Convenient location and in the villa (old quarter).Although thereare lots of police patrolling the area, make sure that you hold onto your possessions. Great breakfast buffet. Hostal Terrassa, Junta de Comerc 11. Metro: Liceu. (tel. 302 51 74, fax. 301 21 88). Pricesrun: singles at 1750 pesetas, doubles n/a and triples are 4000 pesetas.Showers are 500 pesetas.Call ahead of time to reserve a room. Hotels for Disabled Travelers: While there are accomodations available for disabled travelers, the hotels tend to be on the moreexpensive side. Here are a couple of places to try: (1) Hotel Balmoral, Via Augusta 5. (tel. 217-87 00, fax. 415 14 21). (2) Hotel Gran Via, Gran Via de les Corts Catalones. (tel. 642 318 19 00, fax. 318 99 97).It's a 19th century mansion and all rooms are with a bath. There's a breakfast room and parking for a fee.American Express, Discover Card, Master Card and Visa are all accepted. Hotels: (1)Meson Castilla Barcelona. (tel. 93/318 21 82). It's in the heart of Barcelona, reasonably priced,well managed with comfortable rooms with large terraces. Breakfast is the only meal that is served.However, checkout the nearby taverns where there is excellent food. (2)Valldoneeella, 508002 (fax. 93/412 40 20). Here you can find 56 rooms with air conditioning. It costs9,500 pesetas ($76) for a double room and parking is 1,500 pesetas ($12). MADRID: Hotels: Pension Luz, C. Fuentes, 10 3rd floor. (tel. 542 07 59). Metro: Sol. There are communalbathrooms and no elevators. However, it's a very nice building with sunny rooms. Singles are 2000pesetas, doubles are 3500 pesetas and doubles which have been converted into triples are 4200 pesetas. Hostels: Valencia , Gran Bia 44 (5th floor) 28013. Metro: Callao or Gran Via. (tel. 91/522 11 15). Thereare 30 rooms all with bath. It's a favorite for North American travellers. Single rooms run for 3,900 pesetas($30), doubles 5,700 pesetas ($43.85) and triples are 7,000 pesetas ($53.85). Master Card and Visa are both accepted. A phone call at the hostel will run you about 3,900 pesetas. Also, there's an elevator foryour convenience!!! Riosol , Calle Mayor 5 (2nd floor) 28013. Metro: Sol. (tel. /91 532 31 42). There are 12 rooms witha shower or tub. A single with a shower will run you approximately 2.800 pesetas ($21.55), a single witha tub is 3,300 pesetas ($25.40), 4,000 pesetas (30.75) for a double with a shower and 4,400 pesetas ($33.85) for a double with a tub. Credit cards are not accepted. Riosol has 2 floors with clean renovated rooms. Although the tubs are small, they're in the room! Prices are also actually lower than posted so inquire within. Albergue Juvenil Santa Cruz de Marcenado (HI) , Santa Cruz de Marcenada 28, 28015. Metro:Arguelles. (tel. 91/547 45 32, fax. 548 11 96).). There are 72 beds here. It's 900 pesetas ($7.50) per person per night for members 26 and under and 1,200 pesetas ($10) for members over 26 years of age.Credit cards are not accepted. Make sure to make reservations in advance because they book up ratherquickly. They require an International Youth Hostel Card which will cost you about 1,800 pesetas ($15).Also, there's a 1:30 am curfew and lights must be out at 2:00 am..Reception is open daily from 9:00 am to10:30 pm. 7. Restaurants Mealtimes: The Spaniards eat lunch at about 2:00pm and in the evening around 10:00pm. In restaurants, lunch is served from 1:00pm to 3:30pm and dinner from 9:00pm to 11:00 or 11:30pm. Meals: Breakfast (desayuno) in Spain is rather simple and is usually taken in a bar. It consists of a cup of coffee and toast or a small cake, or, particularly in the south, churros, deep fried donuts. Hotels in the tourist resorts cater to foreign visitors so will most likely offer a more substanital breakfast or buffet. Lunch (almuerzo) and dinner (cena) are more substantial and the Spaniards like to linger over these meals. Both meals consist of 3 or 4 courses. The tourist menu (menu del dra) is usually a better value than eating a la carte. Spanish Cuisine: Spanish cooking uses an abundance of garlic and olive oil. Egg dishes, rice, seafood and stews arealso typical throughout the country. Restaurant Hours of Operation: Restaurants serve lunch between approximately 1:30pm and 3:30pm and dinner usually from 9:00pm to 11:00 or 11:30pm. For those who prefer something light in the evening, there are the tascas bars which serve a variety of appetizing foods with drinks. RECOMMENDED RESTAURANTS IN MADRID: In Madrid, there is food on every block. Calles Echegaray, Ventura de la Vega and Manuel FernandezGonzalez are the cheapest areas to find food: (1) La Tarterie, C. Cardenal Cisneros, 24;Metro Biebao; (tel. 447 05 54). If you like art, this is the place to be! Come see some of the temporary exhibits and while you're at it, snack on some of their great quiche and salads. Prices run about 650 pesetas and pizza is 775-1000 pesetas. (2) Taberna D'a Quimada, C. Echegaray, 17; (tel. 429 32 63). A restaurant where you can actually seethe sights! Lots of knicknacks from all over Spain. Prices run about 975 pesetas and entrees run between800 to 1500 pesetas. (1) Nabucco, Hortaleza 108 (near Plaza Santa Barbara).Metro: Alonso Martinez Italian.(tel. 91/310 06 11. With spacious high ceilings, this place a fantastic Spanish atomsphere! Nabucco offerspasta and pizza (with paper thin crust) for about 640 pesetas to 910 pesetas ($4.90 to $7). Main courses will run you about 925 pesetas to 1,450 pesetas ($7.10-$11.15). American Express, Discover Card, Master Card and Visa are all accepted. It's open Sunday-Thursday from 1:30pm to 4:00 pm and 8:45 pm to 12:15 am and Friday to Saturday to 1:00 am. (2)Madrid 1, Carrera de San Jeronimo 16 (east of Puerta del Sol). Metro: Sol. (tel. 91/521 90 31).Platos combinados cost 550 pesetas to 800 pesetas ($4.60 to $6.65) and the menus del dia are 975 pesetasand 1,275 pesetas ($7.50 to $9.80). Master Card and Visa are accpeted. It's open daily from 8:30 am to 12:30 am. Come see this Spanish tapas bar with dining room. Sandwiches and burgers are also served.Definitely dependable for day and nightime dining. RECOMMENDED RESTAURANTS IN BARCELONA: For the cheapest meals in Barcelona, look for 850-950 menus in the areas between La Rambla and Via Laietana. (1) Bar Restaurante Los Toreros, C. Xucla, 3-5; (tel. 318 23 25). Open Monday to Friday 8:00am to 1:00am and Sundays from 8:00am to 5:00pm, a meal will run you around 500 pesetas. Enjoy!!! (2)Agut, Gignas 16, (tel. (93) 315 17 09). It's simple, hearty Catalan home cooking. American Express,Visa and Master Card are all accepted. (3) Els Quatre Gats, C. Montsio, 3 bis; Metro Catalunya; (tel. 302 41 40). Enjoy the live music and the menu design which was created by Picasso. Hours of operation are from 9:00pm to 1:00am and Monday to Saturday 8:00am to 2:00am and Sunday 5:00pm to 2:00am. Entrees cost between 110 and 2600pesetas and when there is music, there is a cover charge. 8. Musuems and Monuments MADRID: Museo Lazaro Galdiano. Come see a collection of rare paintings ranging from the Flemish to works created by the Spanish masters of the golden age. Artists include: El Greco, Murillo and Zurbaran. Also,paintings from Goya's "Black Period" and from such English and Italian masters as Constable and Tiepolo. Museo del Prado, Paseo del Prado. Take bus 10, 14, 27, 34, 37, 45 or 46 or Metro: Atocha or Banco de Espana.(tel. 91/420 28 36).Admission is 500 pesetas (#.85) for adults, 250 pesetas ($1.90) for students and freefor senior citizens and children under 11 years old. It's also free for everyone on Saturdays from 2:30 pm to 7:00 pm. Open Sunday from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, Tuesdays-Saturday from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm, and Sunday from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. Thyssen Bonemisza Museum. At this museum you can view 700 canvasses that are arrayed inchronological order. Works range from El Greco to Picasso. Palacio Real (Royal Palace); Calle de Bailen.Metro: Opera or take bus # 3,25,33,39 or M4.(tel. 91/ 542 00 59). Although it has not been occupied since the King in 1931, it is used for Stateoccasions. Built in the mid-eighteenth century, it has approximately 2000 rooms and is decorated by Flemish tapestries and ceiling frescos designed by Tiepolo. Admission is 950 pesetas ($7.50) for adultsand 350 pesetas ($2.70) for senior citizens and students. There is a mandatory guided tour. Plaza Mayor; While this used to be an area for executions and bullfights, you can now enjoy atatmosphere of lively cafes and music. Iglesia de San Isidro, Metro: Latina or Bus 17, 23, 35 or 60. A seventeenth century church which was designed by Pedro Sanchez and Francisco Beutisto. It served as the cathedral of Madrid from thelate nineteenth century until 1993 when a new cathedral, (Palaccio Real) was consecrated. Casa de Campo, Metro: Lago or Batan. It's the largest park, pool zoo and amusement park!!! Theadmission price is 345 pesetas and the hours of operation are from Monday to Friday, 11:00am to 2:30pm and 4:00pm to 9:00pm, Saturday and Sunday, 11:00am to 2:30pm and 3:30pm to 10:00pm. The amusement park is open Sunday through Friday from noon to 11:00pm and Saturday from noon to midnight. The Madrid zoo is only a five minute walk from the amusement park which is open daily form 10:00am to 9:30pm. Admission is 1440 pesetas. Festivals: Mid-September/Beginning of October: Autumn Festival. There are concerts and operatic, dramatic and ballet performance (classical and modern). Zoo Aquarium, Casa de Campo. Metro: Batan. Take bus # 33 from Plaz Isabel 11. (tel. 91/711 99 50).Admission is 1,570 pesetas ($12.70) for adults, 1.255 pesetas ($9.65) for children 4 to 7 years of age andfree for children under the age of 3 years. The ticket office is closed a half an hour earlier. Estrecho. Although it doesn't compare to the San Diego or Berlin Zoo, it's the best in Spain! There'sa dolphin sho at 1:00 and 5:00 pm that you won't want to miss. Special Tours: Madrid's Vision Bus Tour, It stops at 13 favorite museums, plazas and avenues. The tour lasts foran hour and a half and will cost 1,500 pesetas ($11.55). Departures are Tuesdays to Sundays from 10:00am to 6:15 pm. Convenient places to picj up the bus are Prado, Puerta del Sol or El Corte Ingles Department Store. SEVILLE: Palaces Alcazar, the oldest royal residence in Europe. It was built by Peter the Cruel in 1364, seventy-eight years after the Moors left Seville. Museo Provincial de Bellas Artes de Sevilla, located in the early seventeenth century, this Andalusian museum is famous for its works by such Spanish masters as Valdes, Leal, Zurbaran andMurillo and Dutch master Breushel. Open Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00am to 3:00pm. Admission is 250pesetas. Cathedral de Sevilla; After Saint Peter's in Rome and Saint Paul's in London, this cathedral is the largest in Europe. Among some of its important feautres are the tomb of Columbus, the Patio de los Naranjos, the beautiful Flemish alterpiece, the Giralda Tower and the Capilla Real (Royal Chapel). BARCELONA: Museo Picasso; Carrer de Montcada 15-19; Metro: Jaume I.(tel.93/319-63-10).Admission is 750P ($5.75) for adults, 300P ($2.30) for senior citizens and students and free for children ages 11 and under. If you come the first Sunday of the month it's free. It's the place where you'll find many of Picasso's notebooks which contain several Barcelona sketches. Cathedral de Barcelona (La Seu), Placa de la Seu, Metro: Jaume 1. Take Bus 9,16, 17, 22 or 45.Admission to the Cathedral and cloister is free. However, the Museu de la Catedral costs 55P ($0.40).It's open daily from 7:45 pm to 1:30 pm, and 4:00pm to 7:45 pm. The museum is open daily from 11:00am to 1:00 pm. It was completed in 1450 and represents the spirit of Catal as an empire. Itis located inthe Gothic quarter and is one of the most beautiful museums in the country. Las Ramblas; Here, you'll find various street performances! Come and see the sketch artists,living statues, political activists, lovers and mimes.fun activities such as street performers dancing the flamenco, fortune tellers and plenty of merchants to buy gifts for friends and family. Monument a Colomb; Open June 1-September 24 from 9:00am to 8:30pm and September 25 to March 30 Monday to Friday from 10:00am to 2:00pm and 3:30 to 6:30pm and Saturday and Sunday from 10:00am to 6:30 pm; April 1 to May 31 Monday to Friday from 10:00am to 2:00pm and 3:30 to 7:30pm. Saturday and Sunday from 10:00am to 7:00pm. The ticket offices close thirty minutes prior. The cost is27 pesetas. Las Golondrinas; Sails through Barcelona's harbor, past the Montjuic. Every thirty minutes andruns daily in June from 11:00am to 8:30pm and May and July through September from 11:00am to 8:30pm; April and October 11:00am to 6:00pm, November to March Saturday and Sunday from 11:00am to 6:pm.A roundtrip ticket costs 380 pesetas. Museu d'Art Modern; 20th century Catalan artists. Open Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00am to7:00pm. Admission is 300 pesetas but is 200pesetas for students. Estadi Olimpicado Montjuic; home of the 1992 Olympic games. Open daily from 10:00am to 6:00pm. Admission is free! Fundacio Joan Miro; Av. Miramar 71-75, Parc de Montjuic (tel.93/329-19-08).Admission is 600P($4.60) for adults, 400P ($3.10) for students and free for children 13 and under. The museum is open Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 11:00 am-7:00 pm and Thursday from 11:00 am to 9:30pm and Sunday and Monday from 10:30 to 2:30 pm. Take bus #61 from Placa de Espanya. This greatplace is a tribute to Catalan lyrical surrealist Joan Miro. And, if you get hungry, there's a restaurant whichis not too expensive. from the top of the Montjuic Funicular, just turn right down to the museum. Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona; Placa deis Angels 1. Metro: Catalunya or Universite.(tel. 93/412-08-10). Admission is 600P ($4.60) for adults, 400P ($3.10) for students and seniors. Themuseum is open Tuesdays and Fridays from noon to 8:00 pm, Saturdays from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm and Sundays from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Bullfighting -Critical remarks are increasingly being raised about this event. However, you won't beable to tell that if you're there. It's still one of Spain's favorite pasttimes. Held on Sundays between March and October. Check the paper for details. Ticketscan be purcahsed at Muntaner 24 (tel. (93) 453 38 21).There are two bullrings in the area: Arenes Monumental, Oran Via Carles I. This arena is a lot smaller and used rarely. There's also a bullfighting museum at the Monumental ring. It's open from March to October daily from10:00 am to 1:00 pm and 5:30 30pm to 7:00 pm. Ports and Beaches: Port Olimpic, a new complex with dozens of bars and a booming nightlife! Festivals: September/October: Festival Internatcional de Musica. There are solo recitals, choral and orchestralconcerts. Side Trips from Barcelona: Codorniu, (tel. (93) 891 01 25) This place offers the best tours and tastings. Call for hours. Trains rundaily to Sant Sadurni d'Anoia. A round trip fare costs about 600P ($4.60). Shopping: District Passeig de Gracia, Rambla de Catalunya and the Diagnal. Flea Market, Els Encants. It's at the end of Dos de Maig on the Placa Glories Catalones. Open Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. 9. Nightlife MADRID: Dance Clubs: Madrid is the place to be if you love to have fun! Many discos have "afternoon"sessions usually going from 7:00pm to 10:00pm with a cover of 250-1000 for teens. But, the crazy fun nightsessions last until dawn. It's very common to see a huge line of people waiting outside the discotecas at 5:30 in the morning still waiting to get in. If you're a woman, chances are you'll pay less than your male friends. Coverwill run around 500 pesetas and usually includes one drink. The hippest clubs are always changing so youmight want to consult the Guia de Ocio or ask around. Eslava, Calle de Arena 11. Metro: Sol or Opera. (tel. /91 366 37 33). The best nights are Friday andSaturday! It's open Monday-Friday from 11:30 pm to 5:00 am and Friday to Sunday from 7:00 pm to 6:00am. Cover is 1,500 pesetas ($11.55). Afterwards, why not check out La Chocolateria de San Gines5 ! Just take Metro Sol! Open since 1894, it makes the best hot chocolate and churros!!! Open Tuesday-Thursday from 7:00 to 10:00 pm and 1:00 to 7:00 am and Friday and Sunday from 7:00 pm to7:00 am. Live Music: Bars and Cafes: El Anciano, Metro Opera or Bus #3/ (tel. 19 559 53 32). Simple, great beer and wines and great tapas.It's a great place to come after visiting the Palacio Real.Open from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm and from 5:30 pm to 11:00 pm on Mondays, Tuesdays,Thursdays, and Sundays and from 5:30 to 12:30 am Friday and Saturday. It's closed in August. Cafe Circulo de Bellas Artes, C. Alcala 42. Metro: Banco de Espana. With ceiling frescos and a great marble style, come check it out! Cover is 100 pesetas. Taberna de Dolores , Plaza de Jesus 4. Metro: Sevilla. It's behind the Palace Hotel and north of Calle de las Huertas. (tel. /91 429 22 43). Open Sunday to Thursday from 11:00 am to 1:00 am and Friday and Saturday from 11:00 am to 2:00 am. Cafe Gijon, Po. Recoletas 21. Metro: Colon. Open daily from 9:00 am to 11:30 am, this terrace bar/restaurant is a great place to bump into famous writers! Coffee is 300 pesetas. Performing Arts: Tortes Bermejas, Mesonero Romanos II, Metro: Callao. (tel. 91/ 532-33-22). Doors usually open at 9:00 pm or 9:30 pm and the show starts at 10:45 pm and ends at 12:30 am. There are seven flamencodancers, 2 or 3 guitarists and 1 or 2 singers all in costume. BARCELONA: Live Music: Palau de la Musica Catalan, (symphonic and choral music), c. Francesc de Paula 2 (tel. 268 10 00).Ask about the free winter concerts on Tuesday nights and the October music festival. Tickets run between800 to 1500 pesetas. The box office is open from June to August, Monday to Friday from 5:00 to 8:00 pm,September to May, Monday to Friday from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm, Saturday from 3:00 to 9:00 pm andSunday from one hour prior to the concert. Dance Clubs: The club scene goes in two shifts. There's the (1) post siesta shift (around 5-7pm) and the (2) secondshift which occurs after dinner between (9:00 to 11:00 pm. After the bars start emptying around 2:00 am,crowds come to the discos for another 4 or 5 hours of fun!!! If you like to party, Barcelona is definitely thecity to go crazy!!! The nightlife is amazing and it seems as if no one ever gets tired!!! Otto Zutz, C. Lincoln 15. Metro: FFFCCC Muntaner. It's one of the largest clubs in the city with 3 floorsof bars and dance floors. cover will run you about 2000 pesetas with one drink included. It's open Tuesdaythrough Saturday from midnight to 5:00 am. Poble Espanyol, (tel. 93- 424 93 09).This place offers everything from jazz to flamenco. It's a multifloorbar and disco with 12 restaurants, 15 bars, 3 bares-musicales and a large discoteca! On warm nights, check out the open air roof for a great view of the city. The party doesn't begin until 1:30 am and doesn'tstop until 9:00 am. Open Thursday through Saturday. Panini, Moll de Mestra. It's a pizzeria by day and a disco by night. Open Tuesday-Sunday at midnight. Bars: Ticktacktoe, Roger de Lluria 40 (tel. 93 318 99 47). Metro: Urquinaona. It's part bar/part restaruant/part billiard hall. It's open daily from 7:00 pm to 3:00 am. Nick Howanna, Rossello 208 (tel. (93) 215 65 91). Metro: Provenca or Diagonal. This is one of the first designer bars. It's open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 pm to 4:00 am and Sunday from 7:00 pmto 4:00 am. Heydey, Bruniquer 59 Metro: Joanie. It's a gay bar and there's no admission price. Open from 10:30pmto 5:00 am daily. Coctelerias and Champagne Bars: Gimlet, Rec 24 (tel. 93/310 10 27). Metro Jaume I. A great place to relax. Brut, Trompetas 3 in Picasso Museum Area. La Xampayeria, Provenca 236 on the corner of Enric Granadas. Xampanyet, C. Montcado 15. Open tuesday to Saturday from 12 noon to 4:00 pm and 6:30 pm to 11:30 pm and Sundays from 6:30 pm to 11:30 pm. Come here if you're feeling sophisitcated! Cafes: Cafe de l'Opera, Ramblas 74, opposite of Liceu. It's the ideal place for coffee or any drink at any time of day! Casinos: The Gran Casino de Barcelona, 42 km (26 miles) south of Sant Pere de Ribes. (tel. (93) 893 38 66).Jacket and tie are required. 10. Currency The unit of currency is the peseta (pta). There are coins for 1,5,10,25,50,100,200 and 500 pesetas and notes in deonominations of 1000, 2000, 5000 and 10,000 pesetas. The current exchange rates can be found in national newspapers and may be obtained from banks and tourist offices. The exchange rate is approximately 125.3 pesetas to $1 US. Banks are usually open from Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 2:00pm, Saturday 9:00am to 1:00pm and during the summer months, banks are closed on Saturdays. Money can also be changed in exchange offices, travel agencies and the reception desks of larger hotels. American Express offices offer the best exchange rates for travellers and. . . Madrid: El Corte , Ingles: C. Preciados 3 (tel. 532 18 00). Barcelona: Banks in Barcelona give the best rates. Check out: Banco de Espanya ,pl. Catalunya. Open from Monday to Friday from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm. Seville: El Cort Ingles , Pl. Duque de la victoria 7 (tel. 422 09 31). Open daily from 10:00 am to 9:30 pmoff season and Monday to Saturday from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm. It is advisable to bring money in the form of traveller's checks. Most internationally recognized credit cards are accepted. What Things Cost in Madrid: Please send your comments to: Jennifer Wolf Also Visit These Travel Pages

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London By.Com: Hotels in London. Accommodation, lodgings, bed and breakfast, apartments, townhouse suites London hotels, Bed and Brea kf ast, Apartments. Direct booking access for your vacations. Easy and secure online reservation. airports, trains etc. tourist offices, post offices, banks, markets etc. museums, galleries, exhibitions etc. music, theatre, film, congresses, fairs, festivals, sport etc. in and outside London, parks, gardens etc. choose by area weather forecast. TRAVEL ASSISTANT We'll help you to choose the perfect accommodation for your travel, with a unique and customized advice Click here! ADD YOUR PROPERTY For Free on London By.Com, read all the details: it is risk-free! Click here! OTHER DESTINATIONS Plan your vacations with World By.Com : selected accommodations in Europe. Click here! 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This boutique hotel offers fully refurbished modern hotel rooms whilst retaining its 'Old World' charm, all at very reasonable rates. Providing a high quality of service and ... Click here to visit the Hotel San Domenico House Newly extended and redesigned, the San Domenico House enjoys a reputation for being one of the finest small Luxury Hotels in London. Located in the heart of the fashionable Chelsea, the San Domenico House, offers privacy and a personalised service for any guest wishing to enjoy comfort, relaxation and peace of ... Click here to visit the Hotel Astons Apartments Astons Apartments is a haven of recently refurbished studio apartments, nestled in a quiet residential street in South Kensington. Best Value in London says Frommers International Travel Guide. These stylish self-catering studio apartments are set amongst a charming and elegant haven of restaurants, museums and ... Click here to visit the Apartments Kensington International Inn Just over 100 years ago there used to be farming land where the Kensington International Hotel now stands. In 1877 these magnificent Victorian residences were built for the aristocrats and noblemen of the day. The hotel has recently been refurbished in a chic, contemporary style to create a unique concept in hotel ... Click here to visit the Hotel The Portobello Hotel For the past three decades The Portobello Hotel has been a true original in a world of overwhelmingly bland hotels. The original eccentric outsider, it kick-started the current trend for small, offbeat hotels where the interior design is cutting-edge, staff are attentive but discreet and lobby and rooms alike are ... Click here to visit the Hotel Pavilion Hotel The Pavilion is a groovy 30 room hotel in central London targeted at a discerning, artistically minded clientele. Rooms are themed to project a funky and glamorous image. 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Travel Thailand - Hotels Thailand - Travel Thailand Info Travel Thailand - Hotels - Thailand Travel Information Travel Thailand - Thailand Travel & Hotels Thailand Hotels, Spas, Attractions, Restaurants, Bangkok, Phuket, Ko Samui Home Info Culture See & Do Tour Transport History Shop Maps Beaches Nature Diving Adventure Hotels Class FAQ Places Bangkok Chiang Mai Ko Chang Ko Samui Krabi Pattaya Phuket Issan North Thailand Travel & Destination Guide Thailand Search >> finds it fast -- New! Thailand Hotels are searchable by beach, city, region and rate, with .. hotel descriptions Thailand may be the easiest Asian country in which to travel, especially the major cities like Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket and Pattaya ... Thailand travel info Bangkok Subway System pages with fares, procedures, tips and descriptions. Subway route maps plus maps of all subway stations .. Bangkok Subway Koh Chang has great beaches, waterfalls, scuba diving, reasonably priced bungalows and a sprawling archipelago. Maps include Ko Kood and the beaches on Koh Chang. Getting there, hotels, scuba diving sites and more to come .. Koh Chang Rainy Season in Thailand - What months are the best for scuba diving? Recommendations for Thailand's rainy season. Sea conditions table and more... Thailand rainy season Free! Thai Script Phrase Cards - print your own even without Thai fonts on your printer. Make your travels easier - PhraseWizard Bangkok is one of the world's great cities, teeming with adventure; and the first glimpse of Thailand for most travelers. Our Bangkok guide gives you a glimpse at one of the world's great destinations .. Bangkok Pattaya Beach Thailand a popular resort city by the sea is just two hours southeast of Bangkok. And there is more to Pattaya than the nightlifeit is famous for, Jomtien beach is just one of the many reasons.. PattayaBeach Thailand Beaches Not all the great beaches are on Koh Samui, Koh Chang and Phuket. A glimpse at some of the lesser known ... beaches in Thailand Scuba Diving & Phuket Liveaboards The waters around Thailand offer world class diving. Liveaboards are plentiful in the Andaman Sea. If the weather in Phuket is bad, dive at Koh Tao. Thailand dive site maps and dive weather maps at ... Thailand scuba diving Thai Visas & Consulates Visa information and listsof official and honorary Thai consulates worldwide plus ... Thaivisa information Adventure in Thailand is the reason many people travel.AndThailand has it's share from white water rafting and rock climbingto scuba diving .. adventuretravel in Thailand Maps of Thailand - Travel maps of cities and provinces include hotel locations. Maps of national parks and more ... Thailand travel maps Thailand Whitewater Rafting - rainy season meansadventure plusbargains, cheap accommodations and un crowded destinations.Whitewater raftingis one adventure that gets exciting during the rainy season whitewater rafting Luxury Destination Spas in Thailand are prime attractionsforthose wishing to be pampered. Thailand has world class ... healthspas Chiang Mai - "Rose of the North" with national parks, trekking, hill tribes, a night market, entertainment and good hotels ... Chiang Mai Online Hotel Booking Is it safe to book a hotel online? Can you save $$$. Suggestions for online booking ... hotels in Thailand Golf in Thailand may top your list of activities. If so, Thailand will neither disappoint you nor break your budget ... golf courses in Thailand Thailand's Festivals could make the difference between a good holiday and a great experience. Songkran and Loi Kratong are two of the most popular ... Thai festivals Business Travel to Bangkok can be much more pleasantif you know where to stay and where to play. A very brief rundown onpubs; plus Thai, western and ethnic restaurants .. Bangkokbusiness guide You, and travelers like you, are the true hotel experts . Read guest comments about many of the .. Bangkok hotels Speaking Thai is difficult for the beginner, butlearning a few basic phrases can be extremely rewarding when visitingThailand. Our Thai phrases won't make you a linguist, but theycan give you a beginning to the ... Thailanguage Thailand Tours are usually better than the reputationthey have. Try waiting until you land in Thailand to arrange a tour.Oreven better, puttogetheryourownpackagetour ... touringThailand Thai Baht Exchange Tips for money exchange plus realtimeexchange rates for all major currencies. ThaiBaht exchange rate Nature and National Park tours such as trekking, rafting and birding can be enjoyed at many of Thailand's national parks. Our section gives a brief description of Thai parks and what facilities they offer ... national parks Travel Thailand by Driving - a different perspective of Thailand. Use our ... distance calculator ... and read our new driving in Thailand resource Dining and Entertainment in Thailand - restaurants,healthspas,pubs,clubsandmore in. Cuisine in Thailand is a truly unique experience. Whetherseafood,Chinese or Indian, Bangkok has it .. diningin Bangkok Add to Favorites Search Hotels Thailand Tours Thailand Weather Hotel Maps Travel Health Alerts & Advice Alerts! Southern Thailand Visa Rules Change? 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