Product Description

This title presents off the beaten track locations and doors into local culture including expanded coverage of Northern Spain. It includes themed colour highlights to cater to readers' interests and introduce them to new areas of Spain. All authors are Spain-based and experts in their respective areas of hiking, surfing and more. This work features a colour section on Green Escapes that inspires readers with ideas for top sustainable holiday options supplemented with GreenDex.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #26386 in Books
• Published on: 2009-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 924 pages

Book Information
Whether you're keen to sip sangria on a palm-lined Balearic beach or snow-ski down the Sierra Nevada, this practical guide will show you why Spain is a número uno destination.

• 147 detailed maps, including colour maps of Madrid and Barcelona
• the best places to stay, eat and drink for all budgets and tastes
• insiders' tips on where to trek, ski, canoe, cycle, surf ... and dance
• detailed sections on architecture, bullfighting and the Camino de Santiago pilgrims' route
• invaluable language guide to Castilian, Basque, Catalan and Galician Spanish.

Customer Reviews

An excellent addition to the Lonely Planet list
The Lonely Planet guidebooks are deservedly the default choice for many travellers. This lastest edition (2007) of the Lonely Planet guide to Spain goes a long way to answering those critics who say that European countries have sometimes been Lonely Planet's Achille's heel. This is an excellent guidebook to Spain, both for those who just want to visit the well-known highlights as well as for those who enjoy getting off the beaten track. The language is informal, perhaps a reflection of the publisher's target audience and the overall feel is unstuffy.

The book is organised into regional chapters, with Madrid and Barcelona being given their own. The first hundred pages or so are dedicated to themes such as history, culture architecture, the outdoors, and so on, a valuable tool for the uninitiated to get to grips with this complex country.

There are nice touches for readers who enjoy exploring cities and towns beyond the usual sightseeing draws. For example, there are suggested walking tours for places like Madrid, Toledo, Barcelona, Valencia, and others. Additionally, there are numerous attractions described that go beyond the usual tourist draws. For example, the descriptions of the less well-known museums and gardens of Madrid are valuable to those who enjoy exploring. The city maps are very clear, given the difficulties of mapping labyrithine old quarters. The maps of Barcelona are especially good.

Spain is an especially rewarding country for those who prefer to escape from the tourist trail and this book has much to offer in that regard. There are substantial sections on less-visited towns and areas. For example, there are several pages devoted to the interior of Galicia, an area often ignored. Extremadura, a region that is often bypassed, is particularly well covered. Throughout the book, there are numerous references, with dates, to the many local fiestas for which Spain is justifiably famous.

The sections on public transport between cities and towns are very helpful. Spain has a bewildering number of bus companies and Lonely Planet very wisely gives the name of the bus company that operates a particular service, together with frequency and fares. Train fares and frequency are also detailed.

The eating and sleeping recommendations are reliable although more would be welcome in some cities: I can't help but think that some will be crowded out with bearers of the guide. Then again, some readers might think that's a plus when it comes to meeting kindred spirits. I especially welcome the parking facilities logo for hotels where it's available.

I find the relentless use of black print on white a little difficult for finding my way around the book and for finding the wood amongst the trees. However, that is a minor quibble with what is a valuable resource for any potential visitor to Spain.

Great 2005 edition
The bad reviews given here are old hat. The new edition is easy to use with very clear maps and it does cover places way off the beaten track as well as those familiar to us all. If you need more detail for a particular area then lonely planet do publish more in depth area books such as 'Catalonia and the Costa Brava' for example.

Needs Updating
Couple of problems with this book. First, it needs seriously updating. Especially for prices. One hostal owner laughed when he saw I had this book and advised me that the spot with all the bars and nightlife had been demolished two years ago! This was in Zaragoza. He reckoned on Let's Go being much better for Spain. Also, everyone seems to have the Lonely Planet, which means everything is going round the sometimes limited (e.g. Granada) supply of the same hostals.

Also, some of the maps are dodgy, although to be fair mapping places like Toledo must be a bit of a nightmare and I didn't see any other good maps from the tourist board either.

No other probs to report.