Some 99.5% of tap water in Spain is drinkable and meets all the quality standards established by the EU, but despite this there remains a large bottled water market in Spain.

In part, this is due to hard-to-shift traditional beliefs that tap water in coastal cities such as Valencia, Málaga, Cádiz or Barcelona does not taste good and in part because, from the 1960s, many Spaniards started imitating tourists who avoided the tap water.

In reality Spain’s water purification and filtration infrastructure has been thoroughly modernised and the quality of tap water is very high. What is the case, however, is that with the impact of climate change, water is an increasingly scarce resource and needs to be cared for.

• Agua del grifo: tap water and in most restaurants and bars you can ask a free glass or jug.

• Agua embotellada: bottled water

• Agua sin gas: bottled still water

• Agua con gas: sparkling water