partypoet1

I am planning a three week trip to Northern Spain/ and need help with my itinerary. I plan to begin in Barcelona and end in Santiago de Compostela. Any suggestions -- must see places, great restaurants and/or hotels?

danon

What time of the year?

Michael

This might help, but the pictures should actually be seen in reverse as the present order is west to east:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7623190654780/

Aduchamp1

One of the best books we have used is Cadogan's Northern Spain. With three weeks you will time to savor the north and all differences from region to region.

San Sebastian or Donostia in Basque has the best food in Spain and exceptional Belle Epoque architecture.

There are interesting Roman walls in Lugo and if you have time the Islas Cies are a boat ride from Vigo have been described some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

And one hotel recommendation in Santiago is Tafona do peregrino. It is walk to the Cathedral but it is modern, clean, and quiet.

http://www.booking.com/hotel/es/a-ta...egrino.en.html

http://www.amazon.com/Northern-Spain.../dp/1860113958

partypoet1

Thanks for your posts -- keep them coming! We want to go in May.

iris1745

www.maribelsguides.com for downloads of information.

kimhe

San Sebastián is out of this world, and there are plenty of nice small villages along the coast towards vibrant Bilbao. May is an excellent time of year to go: spring will be there but you are still a couple of months from when the summer guests invade the city. About San Sebastián in New York Times about a week ago: http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/08/07...tin-spain.html

Several great hotels in San Sebastián, among others María Cristina, Londres and Villa Soro. Here are some 56 options, rated by guest reviews: http://www.booking.com/searchresults...=0;order=score

I use to stay in one of the large number of inexpensive and good quality, often family run, hostals in San Sebastián. Most of them are hotel standard with private bathroom, wc etc. Generally very friendly and more character than the larger hotels.

All about going for the world famous pintxos in San Sebastián. http://www.todopintxos.com/home/home.php?lang=en
Gourmet experiences for 2-3€/piece. People usually go from place to place and have a pintxo and a glass of something at each stop. You cant do much wrong in the Parte Vieja/Old town. Any place serving less than great food is out of business in two weeks. Everywhere there will be huge amounts of goodies on display at the bar, but also be sure to have some of the warm house specialities, directly brought out from the kitchen. Same, low price.

Going for pintxos in the Parte Vieja/Old Town is a special experience, but remember that some of the best pintxos bars in town are in the Gros district, just across the city river Urumea.

Further along the coast you might want to go up in the Picos de Europa. http://www.google.no/images?rlz=1T4A...w=1379&bih=777

I like small Llanes at the Asturian coast: http://www.llanes.com/

And save time for a tour of Galicia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADQjI...eature=related

ribeirasacra

Well you can hit Soria; Bugos; Leon: Las Medullas (Roman mines), The Ribeira Sacra (Wine area plus the biggest concentration of Romanesque art out side a city in Europe......and where I live) Ourense (with it's thermal baths).. I love the city of Lugo just a bit North of this route and lust under an hour away from The Ribeira Sacra.
http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.c...ribeira-sacra/

danon

San Sebastian gets all the attention, but Santander is also a very lovely town with some of the best beaches in the area.
Santillana del Mar is small but pretty ( the chilling Museum of Torture is worth a visit)

partypoet1

I have been looking at Kimhe's attachments and am so awed by the beauty of the area. There are so many delightful picturesque places that it is going to be difficult to choose which ones to visit!

Egbert

My suggestion would be to skip Barcelona, spend a week in San Sebastian and the rest of the time making your way to Santiago.

Kwoo

Partypoet1,
If you haven't been to Barcelona, I think you should still keep it on your list. It's a great city, & from there you could also drive along the Costa Brava, visit Girona, & drive through the Pyrenees.

Egbert, just curious, why do you think partypoet1 should skip Barcelona?

danon

"Egbert, just curious, why do you think partypoet1 should skip Barcelona?"

And why would a person spend a week in SS unless you can enjoy the beach ( not likely in May) and/or eat all day ?

tdk320n

TTT

Nepenthe

bookmarking

kimhe

San Sebastián in May would be plenty of beach-time, and there are tons of things to do apart from the beach and food parts. Don't know where to begin, but there are great walks in and around the city (San Sebastián is, not least, a walking city), along the coast in both directions, museums, art galleries, etc. etc. Several interesting and beautiful small towns both inland and along the coast, a short bus ride from central SS. Vibrant Bilbao with the spectacular Guggenheim museum is 70 mins away by bus.

And then there is the food, and the beaches...

Aduchamp1

Here is an article from this Sunday NY Times about Santiago.

http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/gui...tml?ref=travel

We stayed at Hostal de Los Reyes Católicos once and it was a bit disappointing. Additionally because it on the main square the rooms can be noisy.

The market mentioned in artcle is interesting but it is up steps and may present problems for some.

partypoet1

I haven't been to Barcelona since l985 and can't wait to see the changes. At that time, Las Ramblas was considered dangerous, so we didn't go there. Besides, the Palao de Musica was being renovated then and we therefore missed it. The Sagrada Familia was nowhere near as completed as it is today. For these reasons and just to be amongst Guell's and other architecture's treasures, I MUST go back.

danon

Barcelona is splendid. GO!

Aduchamp1

Barcelona is one of the world's great cities. It has joie de vivre that is rarely felt and seen elsewhere.