No. Info Country Region: Basque Country Bilbao 1 General information Spain (officially the Kingdom of Spain) is a country in Southwestern Europe with some teries across the Strait of Gibraltar and the Atlantic Ocean. Its Basque country is an autonomous region of Spain, Bilbao, port city, capital of Vizcaya provincia (province), continental European territory is situated on the Iberian Peninsula. Its territory also includes two archipelagoes: the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa, and comprising the provinces of Á lava (Araba), Guipúzcoa in the comunidad autónoma (autonomous community) of the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. The African enclaves of Ceuta, Melilla, and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomer. Several small islands in the Alboran (Gipuzkoa), and Vizcaya (Bizkaia): inhabited mainly by the Basque Country, northern Spain. Bilbao lies along the The country's mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with Gibraltar; to the north and northeast Basques, who retained virtual autonomy from the 9th to mouth of the Nervión River, 7 miles (11 km) inland from by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the west and northwest by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean. the 19th century. Basque Country, is a autonomous the Bay of Biscay. It is the largest city in the Basque Governmnet: Spain is a constitutional monarchy, with a hereditary monarch and a bicameral parliament. community of Spain, it has an area of 7,234 Km2, so it Country. Capital: Madrid. is one of the smallest autonomous communities in Spain. The greater Bilbao area has a population of approximately Total area: 505.990 km². 1 million inhabitants. Population: In 2019 the population of Spain officially reached 47 million people. Basque Country, with a population of 2,178,048 people, Bilbao is an industrial and economic centre, an important Official Language: Spanish is the only language which has official status for the whole country. Various other languages have co-official or recognised status it is ranked at 8th position by population of 19 seaport, and a major transit hub connecting Spain and in specific territories (Catalan in Catalonia, Valencia and Balearic Islands, Basque in Euskadi and Navarre, Galician in Galicia, Occitan in Catalonia), and a autonomous communities and it has a high population Portugal with the rest of Europe. number of unofficial languages and dialects are spoken in certain localities. Please be aware not all the population speaks English! density, with 301 people per km2. Ethnic groups: Spanish 86.4%, Morocco 1.8%, Romania 1.3%, other 10.5% (2018 est.) note: data represent population by country of birth. Religion: Roman Catholic 68.9%, atheist 11.3%, agnostic 7.6%, other 2.8%, non-believer 8.2%, unspecified 1.1%. Spain occupies most of the Iberian Peninsula, stretching south from the Pyrenees Mountains to the Strait of Gibraltar, which separates Spain from Africa. In Spain, industrial production measures the output of businesses integrated in industrial sector of the economy. Manufacturing is the most important sector and accounts for 82 percent of total production. The biggest segments within Manufacturing are: Food products (12 percent of total production); fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment (9 percent); motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers (6 percent); chemicals and chemical products (6 percent); other non-metallic mineral products (5 percent); rubber and plastic products (4 percent); machinery and equipment (4 percent); basic metals (4 percent); and beverages (4 percent). Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning account for 14 percent of total output; Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation account for 3 percent; and Mining and quarrying account for 1 percent. Spain is also known for its food, music and dance, arts and literature, architecture, a Moorish heritage, its islands, Mediterranean beaches, wines, fruits and vegetables, and football. 2 Information about local Mafex, the Spanish Railway Association, is the association that represents the Spanish railway industry, currently bringing together 92 companies that account cluster for the for 72% of rail exports in our country. Activities and services of Mafex are geared towards: "ClusterXchange" in - Promoting greater visibility of our member companies. the Country (partner of - Facilitating the exchange of knowledge and information, along with its dissemination. EXXTRA Project) - Collaboration with national and international institutions. - Fostering collaboration amongst key players in the fields of internationalization and RTD. Please find more information at the web sites: https://www.mafex.es/en/ and http://magazine.mafex.es/ 3 Address Parque Empresarial Ibarrabarri C/ Iturriondo nº18 Edificio A-1, 1ºC 48940 Leioa, Vizcaya – España 4 Contact person in local Tetiana Akimova cluster for the Email: [email protected] "ClusterXchange" in Telephone: +34944706504 the Country 5 Map (attached) spain-road-map.pdf map_turistic_bilbao.pdf 6 Currency euro For custom currency limit please read here: https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/ES-Spain-customs-currency-airport-tax-regulations-details.htm No. Info Country Region: Basque Country Bilbao 7 Accomodation info Spain is one of the world's most visited tourist destinations every year, and has a wide range of all kinds of accommodation to choose from: luxury hotels, web sites for accomodation: castles and palaces, campsites, the typical country houses to be found in each region...Web sites for accomodation: 1) Booking.com site: www.booking.com 1) Booking.com site: www.booking.com 2) Airbnb.com site: https://www.airbnb.es/ 3) Trivago.es site: https://www.trivago.es 2) Airbnb.com site: https://www.airbnb.es/ 3) Trivago.es site: https://www.trivago.es. Examples of possible accomodations: - hotel MERCURE BILBAO JARDINES DE ALBIA http://hoteljardinesdealbia.es/ - Hotel ARENAL https://www.sercotelarenalbilbao.com/ - hotel TAYKO BILBAO https://taykohotels.com/ - hotel GRAN BILBAO https://www.hotelgranbilbao.com/ 8 Administrative steps Spain is a signatory of the Schengen Agreement, so visitors from any of the Schengen member states enjoy free movement and there is no border control. If required before arriving this is not your case, just apply for a tourist visa at the Spanish Embassy in your country of residence. in the country Passport. In addition to the Schengen Agreement, which applies to residents of Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Czech Republic, Sweden and Switzerland, there are also other agreements with certain countries which simplify entry into Spain, for which it is necessary to obtain a visa, whereby the presentation of a valid passport is enough. You can find the requirements to travel to Spain on the following Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation link. Visa In general, the requirements to obtain a visa include proof of sufficient financial means for your trip, proof of return flights and a reservation for accommodation, but the procedure may vary from one nation to another, so full details can be obtained from the corresponding Spanish Embassy, which you can find on the website of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 9 Administrative steps For EU citizens - non additional steps are required. required after leaving For non EU citizens - please consult your own local authorities/ consulates if any additional actions are to be done after your return. your country 10 Accident and health A suitable accident and health (or comprehensive travel insurance) that will cover the person of Visiting Organization during the exchange abroad is insurance (or indispensable, as the programme CANNOT provide assistance in case of any accident or sickness. comprehensive travel Please be assure that you did it before arrival and your Insurance Company have provided you with respective Italian contact phone numbers in case of insurance) required insurrance case. before arrival No. Info Country Region: Basque Country Bilbao 11 Transport (general Public transportation in Spain ranges from modern metros to well-connected speed rails between major Spanish cities, and it’s among the best in Europe. As a The centre of Bilbao is relatively close, the distance info, nearest airport to bonus, using Spain’s public transport system instead of driving yourself can help reduce the cost of getting around the country. between Bilbao Airport (BIO) and Old Town (Casco Viejo) your city) Spain has an extensive high-speed train network, with routes connecting much of the country. Taking the train is one of the fastest ways to get from city-to- and New Town (Abando) is 13 kilometres. Four times per city, with high-speed services between major destinations such as Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia. The Spanish rail market is dominated by Renfe, a state- hour a bus leaves in the direction of the city and Bilbao owned company. Renfe operates many popular routes, including services connecting Spain with France and Portugal. You can buy Renfe ticket on their internet Airport, this is Bizkaibus line A3247. A journey from the site: https://www.renfe.com/index.html airport to Bilbao Termibus takes 25 minutes, the stops As well as long-distance high-speed AVE services between cities, train providers offer suburban services for those commuting in and out of the major cities. Alameda Recalde 14, Moyúa Plaza (Gran Vía 46) and Long-distance buses in Spain Gran Vía 74 are located in the centre of the city In addition to local city and rural bus companies, there are many long-distance bus companies in Spain, one of the largest being Alsa- https://www.alsa.es/. (Abando). The bus station Bilbao Termibus lies in the west Inter-city buses are usually faster than trains and cost less. of the city, very close to the new football stadium of International buses in Spain Athletic Bilbao and metro station San Mamés. There are regular international bus services between Spain’s major cities and many European cities.