-	All photographs of Andalusia

Andalusia, Spain has become the most popular tourist destination in Spain. It has everything; beautiful beaches, perfect climate, fantastic landscapes with snow capped mountains and an incredibly laid back lifestyle. Andalucia also one of the warmest regions in Europe.

The whole area of Andalucia covers over 17% of Spanish territory. It's actually bigger than Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Switzerland and Austria.

The Andalusian landscape is incredibly diverse, with over of 900km of coastline, and some of the best ski resorts in Spain. You can actually go swimming in the morning and skiing in the afternoon; it only takes 40 minutes to get from the Costa del Sol to the world famous Sierra Nevada ski resort.

There are 22 National Parks here, stretching from the coastal areas inland towards the mountainous regions. The most well known are the Doñana National Park, Grazalema, Sierra de las Nieves and the Sierra Bermeja. They are home to an amazingly diverse and very important range of flora and fauna. You'll find everything here; even vultures!

The landscape is truly stunning and is attracting more and more "outdoor types" each year. Adventure tourism has become increasingly popular here in Andalusia. There's a lot more to it than just sun and sea.

Andalucía first began to develop in the 1950's. The Costa del Sol (where you'll find Fuengirola, Torremolinos, and Benalmadena etc) was the first to take off. During the 1960's the whole region went through massive economic changes to cope with the new influx of visitors. The Costa del Sol (Coast of Sun) stretches all the way from Nerja to Gibraltar.

There are over 400,000 foreign homeowners living here in Andalucia at the moment. They mainly consist of German (38%) and British (36%) buyers.

Places well worth checking out are: El Torcal, near Antequera with its surreal lunar landscape, the Alhambra in Granada, the cities of Seville, Cadiz and Malaga, Tarifa at Europe's most southerly point, the endless windswept beaches of the Costa de la Luz (Coast of Light), the Sierra Nevada mountain range, and the various National parks.

Wherever you go in your holiday in Andalusia, you'll find a warm welcome. The people here are "muy tranquilo" - very relaxed, easy going and generally happy with life.