Bradt's newly published Catalonia & Barcelona has the most extensive coverage of any travel guide to this fiercely independent region (both French and Spanish sides), which is proud of its strong identity and packs a huge amount of fascination and contrast into a conveniently small area – from the Pyrenees mountains and sparkling Mediterranean coves to crisp cava and world-renowned cuisine.

Although Barcelona, with its Gaudí architecture, may be the best-known destination, the rest of Catalonia creates the identity that local residents are so proud of. Although officially a semi-autonomous community, Catalonia feels like a separate country – as arguably befits its history as a medieval kingdom that ruled parts of southernmost France, the Balearic Islands, and even what is now the Italian island of Sardinia.

Written by long-time travel authors Dana Facaros, Michael Pauls, and Mary-Ann Gallagher, who has lived in Barcelona since the mid-2000s, Bradt's new guidebook offers detailed background and practical information in eight easy-to-follow chapters, providing in-depth guides to Barcelona plus the provincial capitals of Girona, Tarragona, and Lleida, alongside sections covering the Costa Brava (where charming fishing villages and isolated beaches offset mass-tourism resorts), the Pyrenees (including Andorra) and French Catalonia (including Perpignan).

Written with a light, deft touch that conveys a genuine passion for Catalan culture and people, Catalonia & Barcelona offers numerous reasons to venture off the beaten path and explore areas that boast outstanding natural beauty, great food, history, and culture. In this region of contrasting landscapes, it is entirely possible to ski in the Pyrenees in the morning and then sunbathe on a Mediterranean beach in the afternoon.

Discover Catalonia's strangest festivals, from pet blessings and silent choirs to dancing eggs and human castles. Bring history to life by visiting Iberian villages, Roman walls and baths, haunting Romanesque frescoes, medieval hamlets where time seems to have stopped. Explore blissfully uncrowded nature reserves and mountain ranges, smuggler paths along rugged coasts, valleys scented with almond and cherry blossom. And enjoy the best Catalan cuisine, considered one of the world's finest, from traditional countryside towns to avant-garde culinary fireworks in internationally renowned restaurants.

AUTHORS: Dana Facaros and Michael Pauls spent a year in Spain and for the last two decades have lived in southwest France, only three hours from the Catalan border. They first visited the region in 1980, when the food was awful and parts of Barcelona were still very questionable, but they could buy a flat for a few thousand (unfortunately they didn’t!). They return as often as possible. Originally from the UK, Mary-Ann Gallagher is a writer, translator, and editor who has lived in Barcelona for the past 20 years and has contributed to more than two dozen guidebooks on Catalonia and Spain. She has explored every nook and cranny of the region over the years, gaining a deep understanding of its unique culture, traditions, and landscape. It’s hard to resist a place where people build human castles ten stories high, unleash fire-spitting dragons at every festival, and where food – from humble bread with tomato to the finest foams – is always central to every gathering.

40 color photos, 23 maps. Pages: 392, Year of Publication: 2017