julies

We really like Brittany, but for the overall ambience and not for going to the heavily touristed beach resorts. In Spain we have only been to Andalucia (which we really enjoyed) and are now contemplating Galicia because I understand it is relatively untouristed and has that Celtic flavor. If I like Brittany will I also like Galicia? Also, if we make this trip we'd like to rent a small, unassuming house or cottage (the equivalent of a gite) for a week. Do you have any ideas on nice centrally located places for day trips and outdoor hiking or biking type activities? thanks much.

JudyC

I have enjoyed the visits to Brittany and Galicia very much.

Both have beautiful/rugged coastline and less populated countryside, ideal for walking; both are green with plants and floweres, offer excellent seafood; but with quite different ambience.

In Brittany, I enjoyed more the natural sceneries and walking; certainly some towns such as St.Malo, Quimper, Dinan, Cancarneau, Carnac, Pont-Avon and Vannes have ineresting features, but none of them standing out as major attractions.

In Galicia, Camino de Santiago and Santiago de Compostala have been well known for hundreds (if not thousand )years. I visited the area for the historical monuments, well-kept medieval villages. A coruna, Lugo and Pontevedra were some of the highlight of my trip, besides the walk along the wild Costa de Morte.

I am afraid I can't help about the cottage as my both visits were base at Santiago de Compostala.

Robert2533

Brittany and Galicia are worlds apart, but if you like magnificent scenery, friendly people and a more relaxed lifestyle, then you'll definitely like Galicia. If you are looking to rent a property for a week or so, then the can check out the Top Rural web site which covers country homes in all of Spain, or you can contact Totally Spain to see what they are arrange for you. Their office in now in Cantabria and they are very familiar with the Casa Rural (country home) system. There is also another company, Basque Country Travels, that deals in the Basque Country and Green Spain that can make the arrangements for you.

julies

Thanks so much both of you.

cova

Julies, Turgalicia, the galician tourist promotion service, has a wealth of information on its website, and it allows to check the different places and even book them :
http://www.turgalicia.es

For cycling I would probably tend to the Salnés area in Pontevedra, although most of the apartments mentioned by Turgalicia are in Sanxenxo, and the town is a bit overdeveloped (nothing like the craziness of the mediterranean coast, but different to the rest of Galicia).

Near Sanxenxo we have stayed at a place called Casa Mataman http://www.casamataman.com/ Very nice and good price. Rural tourism accomodation in Galicia is well worth a look.

Rgds, Cova

NEDSIRELAND

I've gone thru Brittany (Bretagne?) but haven't spent much time there. I have spent considerable time in Galicia, most recently on a Holy Year (2004) Pilgrimage to Santiago where I stayed in VilaGarcia de Arousa, a coastal village: Try http://www.galinor.es

But I like Cantabria most of all. The website I mention includes Cantabria.
As for "untouristed" beaches, you can forget about those, especially during the period 16 Jul (Virgen de Carmen) and 15 Sep (dia de Cantabria). Santiago (25 Jul) falls within that time frame: Santander, Cantabria's Capital celebrates Santiago for about a week in mid-July.

julies

Cova--

Am I interpreting the Casa Mataman site accurately to mean that we can access the kitchen if we wish to do some cooking? Also, could you please describe the general vicinity of this place?

Nedsireland--

Why do you prefer Cantabria to Galicia? We prefer more untouristed places of natural beauty and are not looking for resorts or days on the beaches. We'd like to hike or see interesting small towns with ambience or just enjoy real people in real towns vs. resorts developed to cater to tourists. Is Cantabria a better bet for us knowing this?

NEDSIRELAND

I think you will find more of nature's beauty in Asturias and Cantabria: the Picos de Europa straddle the border along the rio Deva. A region called Liebana, Cantabria, is in a Geographic 'Park,' like Estes Park or Innsbruck. You may find Celtic villages throughout that region but none as impressive as Monte Santa Tecla near la Guardia in Pontevedra province on the Spain-Portugal border (rio Minho).

Maybe I like Cantabria because that's where I studied Spanish many years ago at waht was then called Universidad Internacional de Santander (now UIMP: Universidad Internacional de Menendez Pelayo), and I recently visited the family with whom I stayed 40-years ago. Fond memoriea ...

Cantabria also has Santillana del mar, Comillas, Limpias (Cristo de Limpias: a Crucifix that is said to bleed), the Monastery of Santo Toribio where the largest fragment of the Cross on which Christ was crucified, is guarded; and then, in northern Asturias, there's Covadonga, where the reconquista began.

cova

Hi Julies,

IŽve done a quick check with my sister. The kitchen is included if you rent the whole house (and it is a big place, I donŽt think it is what you were looking for).

And, none of the regions in the north of Spain are heavily touristed (unless you count some places like Laredo, Noja and the likes in Cantabria, or some places in the east side of Asturias ... Llanes and Ribadesella come to my mind). We have an apartment in Laredo and go there every summer and often in winter (tomorrow IŽll be going there), and I would really go to Galicia

Bye, Cova

Molloy95

Check out the thread titled (oddly enough) "AVE Club -- Madrid and Sevilla"
There is a nice little digression about beautiful Galicia on there. BTW, my friends in Madrid (Spanish woman, Spanish-English man, early 40s, hip Madrilenos) love vacationing on the lovely, quiet stretches of beach in Galicia. I don't think you'll run into the heavy beach tourism of the rest of Spain up there. Have a wonderful time and good luck with your research. Please report back on your trip and let us know what you found!

Maribel

Hi julies,
You will love Galicia (as Molloy tells you)- guaranteed.

Since the great turgalicia site seems to be heavy in accomodations in Sangenjo (not my favorite; as cova says, very apartment over developed, but not as ugly, ugly overdeveloped as some parts of the Costa del Sol),
try www.toprural.com

It has somewhat of an English interface.
Choose English then...
Click on the map, very upper left hand corner of Spain to get the rentals in A Coruña, or choose Pontevedra (my personal preference) from the drop down menu for rentals there. Strangely enough, A Coruña doesn't appear on the drop down menu (at least not on my imac).
Then the site goes into Spanish. Under "tipo de alojamiento", check "casa rural, alquiler íntegro" (rental of complete house) plus "apartamento rural". Leave "Precio noche por persona" at "todos los precios" to give you more options. The options will then appear, and you can see the capacity of each. I assume you want something small for 2-4 persons.
Many of these options have web sites and you can read the guest feedback.

I use toprural.com all the time. You can find some charming, very well-priced places there. I never book a rural property without
checking Top Rural first.

There's also the British rental co.
www.casacantab.co.uk
but their prices may be more than you wish to spend.

Hope this helps.
And hi Ann!

julies

Thanks much. More checking to do now. It is always more difficult when one wants to visit an area that there is not as much info on, but it is also much more up our alley to visit lesser touristed places.