GMT/UTC +1

220V 50 Hz

European plug with two circular metal pins

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Spain can be enjoyable any time of year. The best months to visit are May, June and September (plus April and October in the south). At these times you can rely on good-to-excellent weather and yet avoid the extreme heat - and the main crush of Spanish and foreign tourists in July and August. But there's decent weather in some parts of Spain virtually year round. Winter along the southern and south eastern Mediterranean coasts is mild, while in the height of summer you can retreat to the northwest, to beaches or high mountains anywhere to escape excessive heat. The best festivals are mostly concentrated between Semana Santa (the week leading up to Easter Sunday) and September to October.

Spain (of which the Canaries are a part) along with Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Portugal, forms part of the border-free travel zone known as the Schengen Area. US, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and Israeli citizens are among those who may enter the Canary Islands as tourists without a visa and stay up to 90 days. EU passport holders can come and go as they please.