With seemingly the vast majority of Spaniards enjoying a long weekend break after yesterday's International Labour Day bank holiday - though today is only officially a public holiday in the Madrid region - Spain's beaches are packed to the gills again today with holidaymakers enjoying a welcome spell of hot, sunny weather following the recent storms, and the ideal sunbathing conditions are forecast to continue throughout the weekend.

As usual at this time of year, there were major hold-ups on almost all the major routes out of the capital yesterday owing to the massive exodous with tailbacks of up to 30km reported for Galicia-bound travelers. Similar frustrating delays are expected in and around Madrid on Sunday afternoon and evening as people return for work on Monday. The main photo shows the scene on Salou's Levante beach yesterday while the second shows the situation on the approach to the Tarragona toll station on the AP-7.