Spain and Portugal are overwhelmingly rich in history, art and culture. Any preliminary reading, viewing or listening you can do will help you get the most from your trip. For a description of any of these books, visit amazon.com; for videos, go to imdb.com. Rick Steves guidebooks are available at our office in Edmonds and also on our website's Travel Store.
Recommended Reading
Non-Fiction (Spain)
- The New Spaniards — John Hooper
- The Basque History of the World — Mark Kurlansky
- Homage to Catalonia — George Orwell
- Iberia — James Michener
- Death in the Afternoon; The Dangerous Summer — Ernest Hemingway
- Travelers' Tales: Spain — Lucy McCauley
- Discovering Spain: An Uncommon Guide; Tapas: The Little Dishes of Spain — Penelope Casas
- Marling Menu-Master for Spain
- Following the Milky Way: A Pilgrimage on the Camino De Santiago — Elyn Aviva
- On Pilgrimage — Jennifer Lash
- South from Granada — Gerald Brenan
- Driving Over Lemons — Chris Stewart
- Culture Shock: Spain — Marie Graff
Non-Fiction (Portugal)
- Portugal: A Companion History — Jose H. Saraiva
- The History of Portugal — James Anderson
- The Portuguese Empire, 1415-1808: A World on the Move — A. J. R. Russell-Wood
- Prince Henry the Navigator: A Life — Peter Russell
- Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe — Laurence Bergreen
- Food of Portugal — Jean Anderson
Fiction (Spain)
- Don Quixote — Miguel de Cervantes
- Tales of the Alhambra — Washington Irving
- The Sun Also Rises; For Whom the Bell Tolls — Ernest Hemingway
- The Heretic — Lewis Weinstein
- Stories from Spain — Genevieve Barlow & William Stivers
- The Shadow of the Wind — Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Fiction (Portugal)
- The Lusiads — Luís Vaz de Camões
- The Crime of Father Amaro — Jose Maria Eça De Queiros
- Baltasar and Blimunda; Blindness — Jose Saramago
- Pereira Declares: A Testimony — Antonio Tabucchi
- A Small Death in Lisbon — Robert Wilson
- Distant Music — Lee Langley
General Europe
- Europe 101 — Rick Steves & Gene Openshaw: History and art overview for the traveler; humorous and easy to read.
- Innocents Abroad — Mark Twain: Humorous classic recounts an American group's 1867 "Grand Tour" through Europe and the Holy Land.
- Civilisation — Kenneth Clark: BBC-TV series and book that teaches European art and civilization like nothing else. BBC-TV series and book that teaches European art and civilization like nothing else.
- Connections — James Burke: Fascinating book and TV series that links historical events and scientific discoveries across the centuries.
Rick Steves' Travel DVDs
For a fun, informative preview of your next tour destination, watch a DVD from our "Rick Steves' Europe" TV series! Our online Travel Store has 80 shows available on 12 DVDs (a generous four to eight shows per disc).
Films With a Spanish Accent
The Mystery of Picasso (1956); Man of La Mancha (1972); Blood Wedding (1981); Carmen (1983); El Amor Brujo (1986); Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988); Barcelona (1994); Pereira Declares (1996); Capitães de Abril (2000); Volver (2006)
Mood Music
Georges Bizet: Carmen, Placido Domingo, José Carreras (opera); Joaquin Rodrigo, Andres Segovia, Paco Peña: Misa Flamenca (classical guitar); Paco de Lucia (flamenco guitar)
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