IzabellaBella

We will be traveling to Spain for the first time and would love some ideas. We were in Italy in 2013 and France in 2014.

Couple tips about us when you provide suggestions:
We are foodies. Love great food. Love wineries and vinyards. We love quaint little towns over large cities. We will have a car again and would love to stay on a vinyard or farmhouse.

To give you an idea on how we like to vacation here are some highlights of past trips:

ITALY: Florence, we stayed in an apartment rented on housetrip.com. We absolutely loved florence especially the country side where we stayed on vinyard as well. We took a Vespa tour around the Chianti region visiting many wineries and just riding through the rolling hills and through small villages stopping at markets and center of towns. We took a day trip to Venice from Florence and a day trip to Bologna and surrounding area. Visited a cheese farm and Prosciutto maker. From Florence we went to Capri and Ana Capri. Here we just relaxed all while taking in the scenery and other Amalfi Coastline towns(Sorrento and Positono). From Capri we headed to Rome where we visited the must see historical sites and did some shopping. We visited many markets throughout our trip. We also took part in cooking classes.

FRANCE: we flew into Paris and out of Nice. In Paris we stayed in an apartments as well and visited the obvious sites, had dinner atop the Eiffel Tower at Jules Verne. We had amazing food here at many great hole in the wall restaurants and top tiered Michelin starred restaurants. We took a day trip to Versailles via Fat tire bike tours where we started out by riding out biked through the town to the market where we shopped for picnic foods. Then off we went to bike around the grounds of Versailles visiting MArie Antoinnettes farm and the other areas of the large palace grounds. Before heading to the palace we had a picnic along the lake on the property. We also visited many markets in Paris.

From Paris we took a train to Avignon where we picked up our car. We stayed at a private home Villa Velleron in Velleron which was absolutely wonderful. We stayed 3 nights here. About a 10 minute drive was Isle la Sorgue which was one of our favorite quintessential towns with lots of shopping. I did 85% of my shopping here. While in the Provence region, we drove around everywhere. Doing this we felt the essence of the villages and oasis of calmness. Some trips included
1) St. Remy, Les Baux and other stops along the way
2) from Velleron our next stop was Lacoste where we stayed on a beautiful property that was restored and now run by an Art restorer. Bastide de Magnas was the name.
3) Our drive from Velleron looked like this: Pernes les Fontaines, drove through the Gorges, into Sault to Lacoste where we settled. When here, we drove from village to village ( Bonnieux, Apt, Roussillon ect.).
4) We drove 1 day to Vaison la Romaine where we took part in an amazing cooking class and had dinner. The drive was far from bad. It was beautiful and we did not drive through the Gorges this time. We probably never will again because it was ver scary.
5) we drove to Valensole one day and had the most amazing views of Lavender fields. Just like out of the magazines.

Nice: we drove her from Lacoste and returned the car. Here we just walked around and visited Monoco for a Day. We also loved Eze.

Thank You!

IzabellaBella

To add, we love smaller towns and villages

IMDonehere

You would like San Sebastian/Donostia which has the best food in Spain. From there you could travel across northern Spain by car. Look at a guide book for what specific towns, vineyards, and sights might be of interest. You could complete your trip in Santiago de Compostela and fly to a connecting city.

ribeirasacra

****Couple tips about us when you provide suggestions:
We are foodies. Love great food. Love wineries and vinyards. We love quaint little towns over large cities. We will have a car again and would love to stay on a vinyard or farmhouse.****
Well that covers around 90% of Spain.
For accommodation I would suggest http://www.booking.com. Here you can see the accommodation cost in your currency. Read genuine reviews too. The main portal for a Casa Rural (countryside accommodation) was TopRural. However since Trip Advisor took it over the websites standing in the Casa Rural business has dropped. Others are mainly in Spanish. For wine areas have a look at wiki and choose one or two areas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_wine_regions
Some tips for planning.
The less you travel the more you will see.
One nighters will not allow you sufficient time to see an area.
Finding drink driving laws are quite strict in Spian
Quote from Wiki
Spain: 0.05% (0,25 mg/l) [46] and 0.03% (0,15 mg/l) for drivers with less than 2 years experience and drivers of freight vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, and of passenger vehicles with more than 9 seats. Surpassing the limit is a serious offence, fined with €500.[47] Driving with an alcohol rate over 0.12% is a crime (up to 6 months imprisonment and license suspension up to 4 years).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drunk_d...law_by_country
Do not forget your I.D.P.

Rubicund

How long do you have for your trip?

IzabellaBella

We will arrive Saturday 5/16 and depart Sunday 5/31. We will have 15 full days.

Robert2533

Since you're into great food and wine, you can do Andalucia, the northwest (Galicia and Leon), northern Spain (Basque Country, Navarra & the Rioja) or the northeast (Aragon, Tarragona, Catalunya), central Spain (Madrid, Castilla-La Mancha and the Ribera), but I advise trying to do too much with only 15 days.

ribeirasacra

So that is 16 May until the 31 may 2015? Allow time for jet lag.
Where are you entering and leaving Spain from?

IzabellaBella

Yes May 16 we will arrive and depart May 31st of 2015. We fly into and out of Barcelona from the USA. When we arrived in France last year and Italy the year prior, we arrived in the morning around 10am and were at our apartment around noonish. We did not experience much jet lag and did activities(low key) such as walking around town and grabbing a bite to eat. We typically go to bed earlier on arrival days but still found we can get a good taste of what's to come on our first day. This is probably because we take an overnight flight and sleep most of the way in.

ribeirasacra

If you in and out of BCN then it should be best to plan to visit some good wine areas based in and around Cataluña.
Priorat http://www.doqpriorat.org/en/conting...er-doq-priorat
Cava http://www.enoturismepenedes.cat/en
Alella http://www.alella.cat/a.php?fer=VILA...itol&idioma=en
Most of theses can be done via organised trips from the city of Barcelona if you felt you did not want to drive.
Hope this helps with your planning.

Supermum

Oh Spain!! Sigh...spent a month mid may to mid June this year travelling around the south and San Sebastian with my sister. We are also foodies...did the whole trip by train, so convenient, so easy. Would not bother with a car on our itinerary...
Started in Madrid, did 2 day trips from there, one to Toledo and the other to Segovia/Avilia. Ate some stunning food in Madrid...fast train to Seville...absolutely gorgeous, 3nts. Train to Cordoba to see the Mesquita. Fabulous 2nts. Train to Granada to see the Alhumbra, amazing. 2 nts. Stayed in the Ssacremonte hills there surrounding the city in caves...awesome. Train to Ronda - YOU MUST VISIT RONDA FOR THE RONDA ROMANTICA!!! The whole township of this samll village dress up for this annual festival to celebrate the historical events. Apparently there were groups of bandits in the surrounding mountains that rode in and assisted the oppressed villagers at some point. It is a fabulous spectacle, on in late May - the 15 - 17 May in 2015. The village with it's spectacular 30ft gorge is amazing...we only stayed one night, wish we had have stayed another...from there we went on to Nerja on the beach, but it was a small average place. Flew from Malaga to Valencia to stay 3 nts with friends. I enjoyed the city there. Train to Peniscola, a gorgeous little seaside town with an atmospheric historic quarter on the hill. Some memorable food there. Train to Barcelona, 5nts, a bit too long, sprawling city. Day trip to Monserratt was good. Train to San Sebastian, 3 nts, the icing on the cake, fab food, charasmatic environs. Stayed at the Hotel Niza right on the gorgoeus promenade. make sure you are located near the old quarter...enjoy, we loved loved loved it!!

sandralist

If you like food and wine as much as you say you do then even though you are flying in and out of Barcelona, I suggest you get over your jet lag in Barcelona but then rent a car and make the 6 hour trip to San Sebastian, and look to spend some time in the wine country of Rioja as well. I think I might actually pick up a car in Barcelona and drive through France to get to San Sebastian (overnighting along the way), and then after San Sebastian, head Rioja country, and ultimately drive to Bilbao to turn in the car and catch a flight to Barcelona. Another option would be to drive from Rioja country to Madrid (get rid of the car there) and do your shopping plus eat very well before taking the train back to Barcelona for your flight out. It's less than a 3 hour train ride.

ribeirasacra

For those who are interested the OP has opened another thread.
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...o-bordeaux.cfm

IzabellaBella

I opened another thread because I thought my original thread "topic" was too long which was why I wasnt receiving many responses.

IzabellaBella

Supermum, wow. Thank you. I agree with Barcelona, we will probably do 4 nights max. Im sure it's a sprawling city as you say. We felt the same about Paris and Rome. Lived them, but big. Deserve 2 seperate trips I think. The first to see the main sites and get aquainted. And the 2nd to get into the noons and cranys of the city, otherwise in my opinion, it would require too many days out of a 2-3 week trip.

kimhe

A few tips from spectacular cutting edge to traditional and very local food in Barcelona.

Tickets is the new paradise version of traditional tapas style restaurant run by the Adrià brothers of the world's by far most awarded restaurant the past decade, now closed El Bulli. Very affordable Tickets is now ranked #57 restaurant in the world. http://www.theworlds50best.com/

The basic concept is traditional tapas prepared and presented as you never would imagine and with tastes to the maximum. Iberian ham, Spanish cheeses, olives, croquetas, tomatoes, anchoas, shellfish, Iberian pork etc etc plus some surprises from out of this world. Just tell the waiter how much you would like to spend and what kind of food you like, and then leave it up to the kitchen to make it an evening never to forget. The four of us had 17 dishes and payed around around 60-65€ each with wine/cava included. Lived very much up to the high expectations.

You can normally only book online and only two months in advance. Tables are literally gone 10 minutes after midnight two months prior to every day year around, so you have to be online on midnight Barcelona time two months on the day before you want to book a table. http://www.ticketsbar.es/web/en/

7 Portes from 1836 is an institution in town. I always end up thinking that the Arròs caldós here beats everything: http://www.7portes.com/angles/index.php

And La Perla, at the foot of Montjuic (Jewish mountain), is as Barcelona and Catalunya as it gets. Nothing fancy, but plain, solid fabulous: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...Catalonia.html

And the great food novelty in town is the Nikkei (Peruvian-Japanese) restaurant Pakta, close to Tickets (Pakta is also the Adrià Brothers. The only option is the 25 courses tasting menu for 95€. A Michelin star after less than a year: http://en.pakta.es/

And you should visit the Boqueria food market, right on Las Ramblas, one of the finest in the world. http://www.gardenista.com/posts/la-boqueria-market

Ozarksbill

kimhe...am smiling about the tapas description. You certainly can expect variety with these little snacks. In my Spain and Portugal in Depth ongoing report I refer to a huge book Culinaria Spain which has photos of many tapas. I'm thinking Americans and others have become snackers also. And much of what we nibble isn't as healthy as tapas. All that sugar!

Supermum, just described our own brief visit to Ronda. Yes, it certainly has spectacular gorges. Remember eating in a place overlooking a big drop. You and your sis had quite a train adventure in Spain...and here DW and I just took Amtrak for the first time Boston to Baltimore...and found it a great way to travel.

kimhe

Ozarksbill,

Yes, a great, great variety, but you sometimes also must smile of what can be presented as tapas outside Spain. Here in Norway for example, you can almost no longer draw the distinction between what people present as tapas and the traditional Scandinavian smorgaasbord. So, at least when in Spain, I think it's important to do it the traditional way every now and then (let's say once a day ;-), standing in the bar with a glass and a tapa.

progol

I want to say thanks to Supermum for mentioning the Ronda Romantica. It turns out that we are already booked to be in Ronda on May 16-17, so am very glad to know we'll be around for this festival.

Knowing this has also made me reconsider where we stay and what we do with a car! So your post is much appreciated - there is really very little about this new festival on the internet, and most of it is in Spanish, which sadly, I don't read.

kimhe

If you are in Ronda on May 16-17, you are quite close to wonderful Antequera, the so called heart or crossroads of Andalucia.

Antequera (pop 40 000) is almost right in the middle of the Sevilla, Córdoba, Granada, Málaga rectangle. Here you'll find dolmens (some 5000 years old burial chambers), Roman baths, a Moorish Castle, Gothic churches, Renaissance fountains and Baroque bell towers. Antequera was the first of the Granada emirate towns to fall to the Christians in 1410.
http://www.andaluciacoastandcountry....era-spain.html

I love the terrace in the corner of the peaceful square in front of the Real Colegiata de Santa María la Mayor, the first partly Renaissance-style church in Spain (built 1514-1550). Up here it's totally peace and quiet. Next to the recently excavated Roman baths beneath and looking up on the 13th century Moorish alcazaba/fortress. Great views over unique landscapes (the spectacular Torcal limestone mountain etc.). http://www.wild-about-travel.com/201...ing-antequera/

A tapas tour of Antequera:
http://www.andaluciacoastandcountry.com/tapaspain.html

And you are fairly close to Cordoba, once the most advanced city in Europa, which celebrates the almost 24/7 flamenco inspired Feria from May 23 to May 30. http://www.cordoba24.info/english/html/feria.html

This video gives you an idea of the Cordoba (and Andalucian) atmosphere: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyfGdpF55Uk