Spain is a country that conjures up such diverse images – long days full of sunshine and Mediterranean light, proud cities brimming with fashion, art, culture, architecture and beautiful people, the intensity of the bullfight and the passion of the football match; the ritualistic cooking of a paella; miles of beaches, rugged mountain ranges, flamenco dancing, Picasso, tapas, Gaudi… It’s a country full of passion, colour and warmth.

And so it is with its diversity of regions. The sparkling Mediterranean beaches, the wildness of the Atlantic coast, the desert landscapes of Almeria, the peaks of the Pyrenees, the rugged wildness of inland Andalucia, and the cities with their combination of history and cutting edge architecture.

Choosing where to live or buy in such a huge country isn’t easy. Make sure you buy wisely, investing in property that has all the features necessary to ensure it holds its value and is in constant demand. Generally this means avoiding the areas of mass development, and not being taken in by the aggressive marketing tactics of the large developers.

If you’re considering buying in a non-expat area, be sure that you are happy to have less interaction with English neighbours. Your language skills will need to be better honed, not just for social purposes, but to deal with banks, public offices, medical centres, and shops that are less likely to have English speaking staff than in the typical expat areas.

Property in rural Spain, and some more Spanish coastal areas can be an excellent investment for part time residents as good rental returns can be achieved from both Spanish and English holiday tenants.

Much of Spain has a relatively low profile. You may decide that the highly populated expat areas, for example, Costa Del Sol, and Costa Blanca, are the ones you are interested in, but before you jump to a quick decision, click on the different areas of the map, or on the regions below, and investigate what the different regions of Spain have to offer.

• Costa de la Luz
• Costa del Sol
• Costa Tropical
• Costa de Almería
• Costa Cálida
• Costa Blanca
• Costa Brava
• Andalucia
• Murcia
• Madrid
• Mallorca