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Rating: 
Summary: A great map, with just a few drawbacks
Review: Before I review this map, I might mention that Deb Watson's review below refers to another item, the DK Travel Guide, not the Travel Planner, which is the supplementary map and 64-page reference guide. I hope this clears up any confusion.On to the map, then. It's a great map, with a reasonabe amount of detail for its size. It covers the roads you're most likely to take and indicates some of the major and minor sites in Spain, like national parks, great beaches, cathedrals, and archaeological ruins. The average traveler will find that this map, measuring approximately 3 feet x 3 feet, is pretty adequate for most of his or her needs. The reverse includes some decent maps of downtown Madrid, Barcelona, and the center of Seville. (I wish I had had this map with me a couple of years ago when I was lost in the old quarter of Seville. My Spanish was faulty at the time and, without a peseta in my pocket to pay for a cab, I walked approximately half way across the city twice. Luckily Seville's a nice place!) If you're planning to venture out into some of the outlying areas of these cities, though, this map won't help you. One thing that makes this item especially valuable is the accompanying Index-Gazeteer. This is a 50-page index to probably every town and village in Spain. I use it often as a reference guide in my domestic forays into Spanish history. But nothing is perfect, and this map has one potential drawback for the traveler who wants to get to know any particular region of Spain in depth. If you're looking to spend a week or two in the Pyrenées, for instance, I suggest finding either a regional map, with all the local roads and city streets, or just a good pocket guide (the Cadogan guides to Northern and Southern Spain are among the best). The current map just doesn't give enough detail. All in all, though, an excellent travel tool for an unbeatable price.
Rating: 
Summary: Great for Orientation!
Review: I can honestly say that no other brand of travel guide will give you the feel of a country more than DK's Eyewitness series. Eyewitness Spain is a beautiful book that uses excellent pictures, maps, and illustrations more than words to bring across the FEEL of Spain. When planning a trip to Spain, I would recommend this book along with the Rough Guide to Spain as an unbeatable duo. Whereas Rough Guide provides you with the nitty-gritty and exhaustive traveling advice, Eyewitness Spain will ensure that you will be anticipating your trip like none other. The most aesthetically pleasing of all the Spanish Travel Guides, Eyewitness Spain is a beautiful book to read, whether it's employed on the plane there or on the coffee table at home.
Rating:
Summary: Great for Orientation!
Review: I can honestly say that no other brand of travel guide will give you the feel of a country more than DK's Eyewitness series. Eyewitness Spain is a beautiful book that uses excellent pictures, maps, and illustrations more than words to bring across the FEEL of Spain. When planning a trip to Spain, I would reccomend this book along with the Rough Guide to Spain as an unbeatable duo. Whereas Rough Guide provides you with the nitty-gritty and exhaustive traveling advice, Eyewitness Spain will ensure that you will be anticipating your trip like none other. The most aesthetically pleasing of all the Spanish Travel Guides, Eyewitness Spain is a beautiful book to read, whether it's employed on the plane there or on the coffee table at home.
Rating:
Summary: The best travel books on the market!
Review: I spent countless hours in the bookstore preparing for my first trip to Europe (Italy). I bought books from several sources. I received an Eyewitness Travel Guide for Florence as a gift and I have been hooked since. Now they are the only book I buy for planning my itenerary. Recently I began planning a vacation to Spain. The book on Spain is formatted with the same pictorials, graphic, and short summaries that I have come to enjoy. The book covers all regions of Spain, each with a dedicated chapter. The introduction gives you a history of the country, weather,and background information on art, architecture, food, sports and seasonal activities. The chapters by region start with a map of key points of interests and are followed by descriptions of each site including hours, location, contact info, and accessibility. For major attractions 3-d views and points of interest are noted. The book contains photos of many attractions and floor plans or cutaway views of key architectural sights. The back of the book has a hotel and restaurant guide. In the past, I have found the maps to be good for location reference but not navigation. You will need to buy a map. The hotel information does not provide adequate descriptions or any photos, so you may want to purchase a companion book for accomodations reference.
Rating:
Summary: The best travel books on the market!
Review: I spent countless hours in the bookstore preparing for my first trip to Europe (Italy). I bought books from several sources. I received an Eyewitness Travel Guide for Florence as a gift and I have been hooked since. Now they are the only book I buy for planning my itenerary. Recently I began planning a vacation to Spain. The book on Spain is formatted with the same pictorials, graphic, and short summaries that I have come to enjoy. The book covers all regions of Spain, each with a dedicated chapter. The introduction gives you a history of the country, weather,and background information on art, architecture, food, sports and seasonal activities. The chapters by region start with a map of key points of interests and are followed by descriptions of each site including hours, location, contact info, and accessibility. For major attractions 3-d views and points of interest are noted. The book contains photos of many attractions and floor plans or cutaway views of key architectural sights. The back of the book has a hotel and restaurant guide. In the past, I have found the maps to be good for location reference but not navigation. You will need to buy a map. The hotel information does not provide adequate descriptions or any photos, so you may want to purchase a companion book for accomodations reference.
Rating: 
Summary: pretty for your coffee table, not very useful for traveling
Review: I think the title of my review wraps it all up: the eyewitness guide to Spain is a work of graphic art. Its highlight is probably the great work on the maps, both small and large scale, which are of great help as you navigate around the citise and towns looking for the hot spots. As a tool for reaching all of the sights you want to see, I would say that the Eyewitness Guide is among the best, with its close-up street maps, neighborhood maps and public transportation guides. In addition to this, as another positive comment I would say that it is a great guide to take on a trip if you don't have much time and you need information presented in an easy-to-read, simple manner. The drawings and photos, and the way they are laid out, is very appealing. The advantages stop there, however. If you really want to get to know a city, town or region, you simply need more in-depth historical and cultural information on the sights you are seeing. Most of the descriptions of places in the Eyewitness Guide for Spain do not stretch beyond a paragraph or two, which is quite superficial in my opinion. The country is simply to big to be covered in this sort of book with so many nice pictures and drawings, but so little of the written word that you will need as you travel around. If you really want to know about the history behind the church, monument, museum or park you have traveled so far to see, you will definitely need another guidebook to give you any kind of detail, since the information here is utterly superficial. This flaw becomes far worse when you read the sections on sights that are off the beaten track (which are so many!). The descriptions become utterly superficial, with sometimes no more than a sentence dedicated to a whole town or village filled with things to see. VERY harsh critique also for the hotel and restaurant information, which is limited to places designed for the rich and famous, or at least the very upper of the upper-middle class, especially in a country like Spain, which has so much to offer at a lower price but with high quality. The best guides give you a little information on all styles of lodging and food, from low budget to luxury, but these guides make little effort to do so, and even the information on the laps of luxury is limited to little symbols, instead of providing descriptions like other guides do. If you rely on this book for advice, you will think Spain is outrageously expensive, and this simply is not true. With this combination of characteristics, I think Eyewitness is good to take along for a short trip in which you have little time to spend seeing the city and you don't really care about getting any deep information on what you're seeing. Otherwise, keep looking for another guidebook, ESPECIALLY if you are going anywhere outside of the big cities.
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Summary: Stock Photo from Mallorca
Review: If you like this book about Mallorca, take a look to one of the following links: http://www.balearicpictures.net http://www.mallorcapictures.com http://www.menorcapictures.com http://www.ibizapictures.net http://balearicpictures.net http://mallorcapictures.com http://menorcapictures.com http://ibizapictures.net
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Summary: Sets a new bar for travel guides.
Review: This is the best travel guide I have ever used for any country. The photos are spectacular and comprehensive beyond any expectation. Clearly tabbed by region and covering towns and villages covered sparsely if at all by other guides, this guide also allows the reader to learn basics of history, architecture, art, food, wine, and adventure with cross-references to the tutorials as you tour the country. An adventurous independent traveler should not be without this book! Armchair travelers will also find this the next best thing to being there. Viva Eyewitness!
Rating:
Summary: Stock Photo from Mallorca
Review: This travel guide is superb. There are probably an average of four pictures on each page. Pictures showing the wildlife--butterflies, birds, mammals; foods--cheeses, wines, seafood, fruits, local specialties; architecture; beautifully drawn maps showing exactly where all the notable sights are located. There is a 20 page history of Spain at the beginning of the book. At the back of the book are the hotel, restaurant, and survival guides. In between are the wonderful descriptions of all the notable sights ordered by geographic region. The one problem I see with the book is that after you look at it, it will be impossible to determine how to spend a limited amount of time among all the things to see. (Also the print is kind of small, 7 pt?. The index must be 5 pt.
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: This travel guide is superb. There are probably an average of four pictures on each page. Pictures showing the wildlife--butterflies, birds, mammals; foods--cheeses, wines, seafood, fruits, local specialties; architecture; beautifully drawn maps showing exactly where all the notable sights are located. There is a 20 page history of Spain at the beginning of the book. At the back of the book are the hotel, restaurant, and survival guides. In between are the wonderful descriptions of all the notable sights ordered by geographic region. The one problem I see with the book is that after you look at it, it will be impossible to determine how to spend a limited amount of time among all the things to see. (Also the print is kind of small, 7 pt?. The index must be 5 pt.
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