Rick Steves Spain

by Rick Steves

Overview

Now more than ever, you can count on Rick Steves to tell you what you really need to know when traveling through Spain. Savor authentic paella, run with the bulls in Pamplona, or relax on Barcelona's beaches: experience it all with Rick! Inside Rick Steves Spain you'll find:

• Fully updated, comprehensive coverage for planning a multi-week trip to Spain
• Rick's strategic advice on how to get the most out of your time and money, with rankings of his must-see favorites
• Top sights and hidden gems, from El Escorial and the great mosque of Córdoba to medieval bars serving house-made madroño liqueur
• How to connect with local culture: Enjoy a flamenco show in Madrid, chat with fans about the latest fútbol match, or meander down winding streets in search of the best tapas
• Beat the crowds, skip the lines, and avoid tourist traps with Rick's candid, humorous insight
• The best places to eat, sleep, and relax with a glass of sangria
• Self-guided walking tours of lively neighborhoods and incredible museums
• Vital trip-planning tools, like how to link destinations, build your itinerary, and get from place to place
• Detailed maps, plus a fold-out map for exploring on the go
• Over 1,000 bible-thin pages include everything worth seeing without weighing you down
• Coverage of Barcelona, Basque Country, Bilbao, Santiago de Compostela, León, Salamanca, Madrid, El Escorial, the Valley of the Fallen, Segovia, Toledo, Granada, Sevilla, Córdoba, Andalucía, Spain's Southern Coast, Gibraltar, Morocco, and more
• Covid-related travel info and resources for a smooth trip

Make the most of every day and every dollar with Rick Steves Spain.

Planning a one- to two-week trip? Check out Rick Steves Best of Spain.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781641714655
Publisher:	Avalon Publishing
Publication date:	10/11/2022
Series:	2023 Travel Guide
Edition description:	18th ed.
Pages:	1032
Sales rank:	22,793
Product dimensions:	4.50(w) x 8.00(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Since 1973, Rick Steves has spent about four months a year exploring Europe. His mission: to empower Americans to have European trips that are fun, affordable, and culturally broadening. Rick produces a best-selling guidebook series, a public television series, and a public radio show, and organizes small-group tours that take over 30,000 travelers to Europe annually. He does all of this with the help of more than 100 well-traveled staff members at Rick Steves' Europe in Edmonds, WA (near Seattle). When not on the road, Rick is active in his church and with advocacy groups focused on economic and social justice, drug policy reform, and ending hunger. To recharge, Rick plays piano, relaxes at his family cabin in the Cascade Mountains, and spends time with his son Andy and daughter Jackie. Find out more about Rick at www.ricksteves.com and on Facebook.

Connect with Rick:
facebook.com/RickSteves
twitter: @RickSteves
instagram: ricksteveseurope

Table of Contents

Spain 5

Spain's Top Destinations 11

Planning Your Trip 19

Travel Smart 27

Barcelona 29

Near Barcelona 158

Montserrat 158

Figueres 166

Cadaqués 171

Sitges 179

Basque Country 181

Spanish Basque Country

San Sebastian 189

Bay of Biscay 214

Guernica 216

Bilbao 221

French Basque Country

St-Jean-de-Luz 238

Bayonne 251

Biarritz 259

The Camino de Santiago 265

St-Jean-Pied-de-Port 269

Pamplona 279

Burgos 301

León 314

O Cebreiro 331

Lugo 334

Cantabria 336

Santiago de Compostela 344

Salamanca 373

Madrid 398

Northwest of Madrid 514

El Escorial 516

Valley of the Fallen 528

Segovia 531

Ávila 548

Toledo 556

Granada 606

Sevilla 666

Córdoba 756

Andalucía's White Hill Towns 790

Arcos de la Frontera 791

Ronda 805

Zahara & Grazalema 827

Jerez de la Frontera 832

Spain's South Coast 840

Nerja 841

Gibraltar 865

Tarifa 885

Morocco & Tangier 903

Spain: Past & Present 941

Practicalities 959

Tourist Information 959

Travel Tips 960

Money 962

Sightseeing 967

Sleeping 969

Eating 978

Staying Connected 989

Transportation 993

Resources from Rick Steves 1006

Appendix 1009

Index 1023

Map Index 1047

Post-Pandemic Travels: Expect a Warm Welcome…and a Few Changes Research for this guidebook was limited by the COVID-19 outbreak, and the long-term impact of the crisis on our recommended destinations is unclear. Some details in this book will change for post-pandemic travelers, Now more than ever, it's smart to reconfirm specifics as you plan and travel. As always, you can find major updates at RickSteves.com/update.

Editorial Reviews

"The country's foremost expert in European travel for Americans."—Forbes

"Steves is an absolute master at unlocking the hidden gems of the world's greatest cities, towns, and monuments."—USA Today

“Every country-specific travel guidebook from the Rick Steves publishing empire can be counted upon for clear organization, specificity and timeliness."—Society of American Travel Writers

"Pick the best accommodations and restaurants from Rick Steves…and a traveler searching for good values will seldom go wrong or be blindsided."—NBC News

"His guidebooks are approachable, silly, and even subtly provocative in their insistence that Americans show respect for the people and places they are visiting and not the other way around."—The New Yorker

"Travel, to Steves, is not some frivolous luxury—it is an engine for improving humankind, for connecting people and removing their prejudices, for knocking distant cultures together to make unlikely sparks of joy and insight. Given that millions of people have encountered the work of Steves over the last 40 years, on TV or online or in his guidebooks, and that they have carried those lessons to untold other millions of people, it is fair to say that his life’s work has had a real effect on the collective life of our planet."—The New York Times Magazine

"[Rick Steves] laces his guides with short and vivid histories and a scholar's appreciation for Renaissance art yet knows the best place to start an early tapas crawl in Madrid if you have kids. His clear, hand-drawn maps are Pentagon-worthy; his hints about how to go directly to the best stuff at the Uffizi, avoid the crowds at Versailles and save money everywhere are guilt-free."—TIME Magazine

"Steves is a walking, talking European encyclopedia who yearns to inspire Americans to venture 'beyond Orlando.'"—Forbes

“…he’s become the unofficial guide for entire generations of North American travelers, beloved for his earnest attitude and dad jeans."—Outside Magazine

"His books offer the equivalent of a bus tour without the bus, with boiled-down itineraries and step-by-step instructions on where to go and how to get there, but adding a dash of humor and an element of choice that his travelers find empowering."—The New York Times

"His penchant for creating meaningful experiences for travelers to Europe is as passionate as his inclination for making ethical choices his guiding light."—Forbes

"[Rick Steves'] neighborhood walks are always fun and informative. His museum guides, complete with commentary about historic sculpture and storied artworks are wonderful and add another dimension to sometimes stodgy, hard-to-comprehend museums."—NBC News

From the Publisher