DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Northern Spain - Top Attractions, Maps & Itineraries for Your Spanish Adventure - Perfect for Road Trips, Cultural Tours & Food Exploration

In anticipation of our upcoming trip to Northern Spain, I visited several websites, and also read some of the other books I have on Spain. I was never really able to get a good 'picture' of the territory, however, until I read this book.The Guide is organized around each region in Northern Spain; Galicia, Asturias/Cantabria, Basque Country, Navarra/La Rioja, Central/Eastern Pyrenees. Each region is also color coded, so if you want to read about the Basque Country, for example, just look for the blue tabs. There is a brief section on the history of Northern Spain, coupled with detailed information about each region.When we travelled elsewhere in Spain, we read various books. While useful information was learned, it would have been sufficient to get by with only taking the Eyewitness guide with us while there. The maps included in these books are detailed, accurate, and very useful.Like most Eyewitness guides, the photos are extensive and beautiful; buildings, art, beaches, castles, parks, heck, even photos of wine bottles and food ( :> ).There is a small language guide in the back of the book, but do yourself a favor and learn more of the language than what you'll get from a guidebook such as this. We just got back from Madrid (and last year, Barcelona), and while you can get by with English at the popular sites, your experience will be richer if you can speak/understand some of the language. I gather this is especially important in Northern Spain, given the different dialects/languages (Basque, Spanish, Catalan).As I research our upcoming trip, I'll look to other books and websites, but I'm impressed with how this book lays it all out for the reader in a straight-forward, accessible manner.