Catalunya & Barcelona including Pyrenees-Orientales

Bradt's newly published Catalunya & Barcelona has the most extensive coverage of any travel guidebook to the whole of 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 Gaudi architecture, may be the best-known destination, the rest of Catalunya generates the identity of which local residents are so proud. Although officially a semi-autonomous comunidad, Catalunya feels like a separate country as arguably befits its history as a medieval kingdom that ruled parts of southernmost France, the Balearics and even what is now the Italian island of Sardinia.