Hey all,

A friend and I are looking for where to travel this June in somewhat Northern Spain. We would really like to avoid the mass tourism while still being in a city that has a lot to offer. Some places we are looking are Valencia, Barcelona, Valladolid, and Salamanca. We plan on staying at least three weeks, and want to travel some but still be centered in one place (both of us have already been to Madrid so were looking at different cities). Hoping to be around lots of art, nature, and not masses of tourists. Are cities like Barcelona and Valencia so big that they'd be overwhelming and commercial?

thanks! (I hope this isn't a repeat question, I tried searching)

hey siabean, welcome to the board

please see the recent thread by juliebean HERE on non-touristy places in spain, it may help you a lot.

luckily, in june you will be ok, it is not nearly as bad as july and august especially if you stick to the north.

quote:

Are cities like Barcelona and Valencia so big that they'd be overwhelming and commercial?

in my opinion, that is very subjective. would depend a lot on what other cities you consider to be "big, overwhelming and commercial?"

saludos,
jer...

Dang, somehow the message I was typing disappeared, so I'll summarize it.

For the cities, I'd swap Burgos for Valladolid anyday...I've been to both.

"cities with a lot to offer = mass tourism" is mostly a fact of life. Like Jer says, June is better than later in the summer.

Maybe you might consider a two-prong approach: time spent in cities, with time in more tranquil, natural areas in between.

Here's what we did in early May a few years ago: Visited "heavily touristed" Santiago de Compostela, then rented a car to drive across Spain for a week. We dropped the car off in Bilbao, saw the Guggenheim Museum, then took the night train to "heavily touristed" Barcelona.

On our drive, we loved the Picos de Europa's mountains and valleys, as well as the coastline and beaches of Galicia and Asturias (we were blessed with good weather). In the cities, we loved the nightlife, cathedrals and museums. Both parts were great, but different; I wouldn't have eliminated either.

IMHO it would be a shame to pass up on all the great art and culture that cities have to offer, just because of crowds. With some planning you can overcome the big city tourist hassles.
For example, we ended up seeing museums early in the morning, and cathedrals when others were eating lunch.

just my 2 cents.