My wife and I are planning our first trip to France and Spain for the month of October. We intend to spend several weeks driving round the country, preferably spending much of our time in smaller towns and villages and choosing our lodging each night as we go. (As sailors say, "We have no itinerary and we are going to stick to it.")
What are the best resources (print and/or online) to find lodging and restaurant recommendations in these more rural areas?
Check The Moon Guide To Spain...one of the best I have found...and a cookbook by Penelope Casas - Discovering Spain...I know your thoughts, but it is an excellent guide for the type of places you are seeking....Small out of the way places with historical notes...
My advice is on the France version of this question.
For Catalonia this is a great resource, especially for smaller towns and villages:
http://bit.ly/CATtouristestablishments
Also, just in case it interests you, here are some good sites for discovering the area:
www.catalunya.com
www.infocatalonia.eu
www.timeout.com/barcelona/travel/great-getaways-in-catalonia
www.descobrir.cat -this magazine is only in Catalan, the local language, but its contents are worthwhile, use Google Translate!
I gather a handful of likely lodging choices at each place I plan to stop (from guide books, trip adviser, etc.) then put their names, addresses, phone numbers, book rates onto a spreadsheet and store it on my Ipod. About ten each morning, I'll call ahead and book a room where I expect to be that night. I got my first choice every night except in Granada (first place was "completo", second didn't have a room for the whole stay but promised to figure something out, third place wasn't very nice, fourth place was perfect) at lower than the book rate almost every night (never higher).
I think the best restaurant recommendations are from locals when you're there. Anything that's published is outdated the second it's in print.
