Or, like me, to find my roots and meet long lost family.

I second the suggestion for Mérida, especially the Roman ruins--the theater, etc.

My travel companion had never been to Europe before, so she was inexperienced as to the kinds of things she'd see. When she first spotted the Roman theater, she stopped--stunned. She said she was so overwhelmed that she had to fight back tears.

I also loved Caceres. Other places I've visited are well-known, but off the beaten track, such as Avila and Segovia.

Yes, Erro is on the main Camino Frances, over the pass at Roncesvalles, where Roland met his demise in the year 778 AD (http://www.patheos.com/blogs/scripto...-roncesvalles/). See "Le Chanson de Roland", the Song of Roland.

Well, not exactly off the beaten path, but I enjoyed staying in our own apartment for 2 weeks in Salamanca, while attending Spanish language classes each morning.

Great suggestions!

Ribeirasacra - April/May would be my first choice.

Robert, Then I would have driven through it on my first exploration to find a business to purchase. It is small so i cannot say I took much notice of the village at the time. The area was just to my liking though.
Emily, That will be a great time of year for flowers and around here maybe a wine festival. I will get back to you on that later on.

https://www.google.es/search?q=ruta+...fN5XGxDoZvM%3A

Ruta Califato in Andalucia. A string of castles built by the Moors from Cordoba to Granada. Look at the lovely details on the website. Off the beaten track and no tourists in sight. I am there right now!

After my trip on/off the beaten path in Spain, I fly home tomorrow. I am currently finishing with several days in Madrid. I did visit Santiago de Compostella, but did my pilgrimage in the car. To really get "off the beaten path" you do need a car to get into the countryside.

Sorry about the delay in replying:

Easter, in 2014 will be at the beginning of April. This means that some of the other religious festivals will also be a bit later in the year too.
Extremadura has a website, which features festivals of what is deemed as festivals of interest to tourists.
Having said that this website is not in English(????)
http://www.turismoextremadura.com/PI...egionales.html
I do think this website is a good resource, as it does also list the smaller festivals like this one.
http://www.turismoextremadura.com/PI...asfiestas.html

In Galicia there is a similar online resource:
Just like the one covering Extremadura it shows the festivals by location and not by date. However, this one has an English version. :-)
http://www.turgalicia.es/localizador...s?langId=en_US

<i>Having said that this website is not in English(????) </i>

This is 2013 so that's not a problem. Google translate will save you! It won_

No, Ribeirasacra. Easter in 2014 is at the end of April, not the beginning. April 20th.

What regions do you plan to visit? Aragon has a ton of off-the-beaten path destinations. In fact, most of that region could be considered off the main tourist circuit.

This website has a great guide to hidden gems.

http://www.secretosdeespana.com/