gtrekker

The BBC Profiles provide an economic, historical, and political overview, with a section on current leaders. The Profiles also list the media outlets, which include television and radio stations and the press.

Going Ape in Gibraltar
The empire's last outpost stars staggering views, cute monkeys and dismal nightlife.

Destination Spain
Ben and Marina are in the Basque country for a evening with the Gastronomique Society. Hear the clang and sizzle in this tasty podcast.

Spanish Sounds
Listen to the magical mayhem of Galicia where markets hum, bagpipes skirl and oysters are shucked like castanets.

National Geographic's People and Places feature provides a short overview of the destination and include a Features section with related articles, photos, and videos, depending on the destination.

Travel + Leisure Magazine's guide to the greatest hotels worldwide as selected by its team of reporters and editors.

Weatherbase provides historical weather information such as "average number of day above 90," "average number of days with thunderstorms," and other similar types of data.

From website: Visiting Spain is not only about sun, great cuisine, and a warm welcome, but also its rich monumental heritage and dazzling natural environment. There is a perfect destination for everyone: Choose yours...click for website

Up-to-date information provided by the State Department on matters such as passport and visa requirements, safety and security, crime, health and medical issues, any areas of instability, and the location of the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. It also links to Travel Warnings for that country, if there is one.

From website: So ask us about Spain! Anything at all. The season of festivals and fiestas is revving up to full throttle, from streets carpeted in flowers to films-by-the-sea, from the running of the bulls to concerts and ballet in the gardens of the caliphs. Paella and sangría are world-famous, but we want you to know about an evolving cuisine whose contemporary practitioners are as daring and celebrated as any on the planet...click for website

Frommer's Forums are divided into countries, and all the messages relating to a country are presented in a list that makes it easy to browse through the topics.

Review site with hotel reviews and candid photos posted by users.

Asiarooms.com Travel Guides provide information on topics such as Culture, Tourist Attractions, Festivals, Things to do, How to get in, and Where to Eat.

Concierge.com destinations guides include information on getting there, getting around, lodging, places to eat, see and do, ... etc. Although Concierge.com may not have as many hotel recommendations as some guide books, they provide hotel photos along with the recommendations. The destinations guides also have links to articles about the destination published by Concierge.com or Conde Nast Traveler.

Frommer's has put a substantial amount of content online, making Frommers.com a good resource for travel planning. The site is easy to navigate since all the destinations are organized by similar topics such as "Getting There," "Restaurants," and "Suggested Itineraries."

USA Today's Country Guides have information on topics such as Money, Health, Accommodations, Entertainment, Top Things To Do and See, Getting There, Getting Around, Climate, and Map. You can also select the topics you are interested in and create a mini guide that puts all the information on one page for easy reading.

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published August 2007
Three second cities of the first order

Under $225 a day
Where
Yokohama, Japan
Why
This harbor city 16 miles south of Tokyo was largely industrial until a recent influx of art altered the cultural landscape. On Yokohama Bay in a futuristic development known as Minato Mirai 21, the Yokohama Triennale draws an international crowd with modern art; the next is in 2008 (yokohamatriennale.jp/2008/en/). Cafes and shops line the pedestrian esplanades, and there are world-class exhibitions at BankART 1929, in a Beaux Artsstyle building (81-45-663-2812; bankart1929.com, in Japanese). ... click for full article

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published June 2007
The ghosts of many Hollywood blockbusters inhabit Spain's Almería Province. Mark Jolly rides out to join them

Early on in Lawrence of Arabia, after the young Peter O'Toole receives his desert posting, he is summoned for a briefing by General Allenby's wily political adviser, Dryden. The desert, Lieutenant Lawrence proclaims, is going to be fun. But Dryden's got news for the maverick soldier: "Lawrence, only two kinds of creatures get fun out of the desert-bedouins and gods, and you're neither. Take it from me, for ordinary men it's a burning, fiery furnace." To which O'Toole deadpans: "No, Dryden, it's going to be fun." ... click for full article

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published August 2007
Unrivaled access, special connections, destination savvy-these are just some of the tools each of these uber-agents can deploy to bring the most to your next big trip. In parsing the day-to-day events of an actual itinerary, Consumer News Editor Wendy Perrin demonstrates how the intuitive maneuvers of a great travel planner can turn any journey into a smoothly orchestrated, magical experience. ... click for full article

Virtual Tourist has user reviews on topics such as Hotels, Things To Do, Restaurants, Local Customs, Nightlife, Off the Beaten Path, Tourist Traps, Transportation, ... etc.

In addition to standard listings on attractions, restaurants, and lodging, Fodors.com has a section called "Features" that are specific to the destination. For example, the Features section for Paris has articles titled "Cheese Primer," "Bistro to Brasserie," "Pampering Spas," . . . etc.

Gayot's 72 Hour Vacations describe a 3 day itinerary with suggestions of where to eat, what to see, and where to stay.

IGoUGo is a travel review site. The reviews are organized into "journals," which are a collection of reviews by an author about a trip, such as reviews on hotels, restaurants, nightlife, experiences, photos, ... etc.

Podcasts of Traveler Magazine's selection of the world's greatest walking tours. The podcasts last about 20-30 minutes.

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published August 2007
The dollar may be taking a beating in Europe, but you don't have to. Our correspondents have combed five favorite European cities for the best small, stylish, and reasonably priced accommodations (most are $250 a night or less) and restaurants that serve great food at a great value. From a Roman villa on the Tiber to a sleek modern hotel just off Las Ramblas-all you have to do is choose. ... click for full article

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published October 2003
There's more to a travel bargain than price. In the case of city hotels, the best are a balance of style, value, and location. In 15 cities across the world, our editors prove the point with stellar finds. At a time when the buck is on a roller-coaster, these are very sure bets...

In Spain's most fashionable city, the inhabitants pride themselves on their style. On an evening stroll along the Passeig de Gracia, you'll likely see couples at shop windows discussing designer offerings two doors down from Gaudi's Casa Battllo. Good taste abounds here, and, accordingly, it's not hard to find smart accommodations?in any of the city's distinctive neighborhoods?that won't break the bank. ... click for full article

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published December 2003
Why settle for a country house when you can settle in a foreign country? Carolina Buia reports on making yourself at home in nine to-die-for destinations

Overview: Mountains and sea provide the backdrop for the Moorish-inspired architecture of Andalusia, in southern Spain. In the glitzy coastal town of Marbella, luxury two-bedroom condos in oceanfront high-rises range from $400,000 to $700,000, while a gated villa in the mountains with stables will run you $2.6 million. But a number of homes in the $150,000-to-$300,000 range can be had in neighboring towns such as San Pedro de Alcantara. The Balearic Islands of Majorca and Minorca are also popular. Prices on Majorca are as high as in Marbella, but on the smaller island of Minorca you'll pay 10 to 15 percent less. If you need the cultural fix of a cosmopolitan city, a 1,500-square-foot apartment in Barcelona's more desirable districts starts at $650,000. ... click for full article

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published December 2003
This corner of the region, with rare wildlife and its own gourmet traditions, is well worth the detour from Barcelona.

Once you move inland from the Mediterranean, the region of southern Catalonia known as Baix Camp is agreeably rustic. Villages in the rugged highlands, where the Priorat wines are made, lack anywhere suitable for an overnight stay, but small restaurants in Falset, Gratallops, Scala Dei, and Poboleda match the wines with fine local dishes-rabbit, snails, cod, and tuna are staplesas well as the meaty mushrooms of the nearby Montsant range.

The country code for Spain is 34. Prices quoted are for the current month, which is low season. The tax on car rentals is a hefty 16 percent. The nearest U.S. consulate is at 23 Paseo Reina Elisenda de Montcada, in Barcelona (93-280-22-27; www.embusa.es). ... click for full article

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published October 2004
Beyond-way beyond-the piazzas, the museums, and the foie gras there's a wild side to the Old World. Beginning with Joe Kane cutting loose in the Spanish Pyrenees, our limber reporters go dog-sledding, kayaking, biking, diving, hiking, and trekking into off-road nirvanas ... click for full article

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published April 2007
The author of The Book of Salt on how Federico García Lorca helped her discover Spain-and her own hometown

I first traveled to Andalusia when I was 30 years old. I had been offered a residency at an artists' colony near the village of Mojacar, a tumble of white sugar cubes in the Sierra Cabrera, and so for a month I gladly traded in my (non-) life as a New York City attorney for a simple, spare room of my own where I could work on my first novel. ... click for full article

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published July 2007
Islands and beaches. Both promise pleasure, escape, beauty. Combined, they create that most elusive destination-paradise. After twenty years of global reporting, we present the thirty best island beaches in the world today. Sheltered by reefs or pounded by surf, edged by lagoons or on the brink of the deep, they range from remote alabaster arcs to hip-and-handy sandbox playpens. And they deliver on every desire. Pick your paradise ... click for full article

Gayot's Travel Guides provide a short description of the destination along with a list of restaurant reviews.

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published October 2003
Adam Sachs's 46-city world tour (see Incredible Journey, Conde Nast Traveler, October 2003) is a cornucopia of travel intelligence. Below are the nuts and bolts for every bit of advice he doles out.
All room rates quoted are for the current month. ... click for full article

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published May 2007
Created in partnership with Portfolio, Conde Nast's new business magazine, our city business guides offer guidance for business travelers hoping to maximize their productivity (and enjoyment) while on the road. Stay tuned for more guides in the months to come. ... click for full article

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published July 2004
It means coexistence, and it's in evidence—big-time--reports Jeff Tayler, in post-3/11 Madrid
The belly dancer is late. It is Saturday night at Habibi's, a vibrant Lebanese hole-in-the-wall restaurant in the mostly Moroccan immigrant neighborhood of Lavapies, in central Madrid. I've just spent my first full day in the Spanish capital since studying at university here in 1983, and I'm excited by the unexpected chance the city now offers me to savor something of Arab culture while reacquainting myself with the Latin city I associate with coming-of-age. My seat is a squishy ottoman set in front of a low, tiled table; the music, the mournful, dreamy Arabic ballads of the Lebanese diva Fairouz; the patrons around me, 20-something Spaniards, some with spiked frosted hair, others with dreadlocks of shaggy gold. Curls of peach-scented smoke waft from hookahs burbling with fruit-flavored tobacco and float pale gray against dark wood paneling. Though the menu is Middle Eastern, the wine flows as abundantly here as in any bodega in the more ethnically Spanish parts of town. ... click for full article

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published September 2006
Spain's capital has become a twenty-first-century city without sacrificing its past. Gully Wells tells how. ... click for full article

From Conde Nast Traveler
April
Great architecture doesn't just turn heads, it determines where we're heading. This year's seven show-stoppers range from the witty (Spain's Hotel Puerta America, designed by a dream team of "starchitects") and the sublime (Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum) to the provocative (Portugal's multifaceted Casa da Musica) and the awe-inspiring (Norway's spectacular new scenic lookout). Wherever they are, though, all prove one thing: If they build it, we will come ... click for full article

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published March 2005
As Spain pushes its number of government-owned hotels to 100 by 2010, new developments are putting historic buildings in the spotlight. Last year, the Parador de Limpias debuted in a nineteenth-century Cantabrian palace (34-942-628-900; doubles, $185), ... click for full article

National Geographic Traveler's 48 Hour Destinations Guides list Traveler Magazine's best picks of planning resources, such as blogs, podcasts, maps, newspapers, movies, and books.

Articles with review of several restaurants in Valencia.