suggestions for travel to Spain
 

We are considering a vacation to Spain this summer. We enjoy a combination of beautiful landscapes (similar to Tuscany), interesting towns and villages, and great shopping. Which parts of Spain should we be focusing on? We would go for about 2 weeks, so we could visit a few different regions. Appreciate any advice to get us started.

Well to me the most interesting part of Spain is the South - Seville, Cordoba, Granada - with all the remnants of arabic culture - combined with a beautiful resort on the Costa del Sol. But I would not recommend this for the summer - it's simply too hot to be enjoyable. And the White Towns - while very picturesque - are nothing like vilages in Tuscany. Spain in general is a much tougher country than Italy - much drier, less green, more mountainous and much hotter. It's a great place to visit - but if you are looking to duplicate Italy, rather than enjoy Spain's uniqueness, you will be very disappointed.

From Madrid consider the northwest quadrant, including Segovia, Avila, Salamanca, Santiago de Compostella, Burgos, Bilbao and the countryside and coast in between. Get a guide book--the Michelin Green Guide is good for historical sites.

To NY traveler - thanks for your comments. I must admit that I am looking for a trip similar to my Italy trip, and I guess you picked that up right away. Do you have any thoughts on where we might go in Europe other than Italy that would give us a similar experience?

I just came back from a 10 day trip to Spain, Barcelona & Madrid with a side trip to Toledo and up the coast from Barcelona to Tossa De Mar and Girona. I loved everything but Barcelona was my favorite and in the summer the coastal towns should be beautiful though crowded. We actually drove up the coast from Barcelona (first time we drove in Europe) and it was very simple with excellent, easy to follow directions. I would concentrate on Barcelona and the surrounding seaside areas. The Gaudi work alone in Barcelona is not to be missed!!

You might want to consider the Riviera - there is lot of great scenery from the coast through the foothills into the beginnings of the mountains and lots of quaint small towns. Many are historic and there are several intersting small museums, chapels, etc. I'm not sure about great shopping - naturally Nice and Cannes wil have lots of exclsuive shops but I wouldn't count on any bargains.

Switzerland/Southern Germany also has pretty scenery (alps, rolling hills, beautiful lakes) and lots of small towns - some just pretty but some also historic. But shopping here would be limited except for local folkish things - and watches in switzerland. This area has the advantage of being at its best in the middle of the summer.