The top reasons for visiting Spain have shifted a bit since since Catalá n chef Ferran Adrià began driving food critics to their knees to utter the unspeakable -- that the chefs of Catalonia and the Basque region may be overtaking the great chefs of France. Granted, Adrià 's Bulli is closed in winter, books a year in advance, and costs $150 a head sans wine. Many critics agree, though, that a weeklong trip's worth of experimental restaurants in Barcelona, with affordable tasting menus, in themselves warrant a trip to Iberia. And, for budget travelers, there's better news still: In Madrid, Adrià now owns a fast food restaurant -- yes, you heard that right -- called Fast Good, in the Hotel NH Eurobuilding, near the Palacio de Congresos. Granted, hamburgers -- even those served with olive tapenade and French fries whose recipe took eight months to perfect -- may not warrant trans-Atlantic airfare. But very inexpensive off-season packages to both Madrid and Barcelona, from Go Today (tel. 425/487-9632; www.go-today.com), make them well worth a lunch stop during your travels.
Go Today's Madrid package is the very best deal: $489 for six nights at the 3-star Sercotel Togumar. Located in the financial center, the hotel is close to the Prado -- one of Spain's other single-sites-worth traveling for, with its superlative collection of works by Goya, Bosch, and Velá squez (including "Las Meninas"). The lowest price is good from Newark or New York, JFK, for travel January 6 to March 9. Travel must be booked by January 6. From Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., add $50; $100 from Atlanta and Chicago.
The Barcelona package is slightly more, but still a deal, at $539 a person for 6 nights. Accommodations are more basic at the Coronado Hotel, basic budget lodgings that seem to be very popular with student travelers. The Coronado fares well on Trip Advisor though -- "small, but very clean and pleasant," seems to be the concensus. And it's ideally located, near Gaudi's fantastical home and gardens, Palau Guell, and Las Ramblas, Barcelona's flamboyantly lively pedestrian market area. For three-star accommodations, at the NH Numancia, the price rises only slightly, to $599. Rates are good for travel from Newark or New York JFK, January 6 to February 27, and must be booked by January 6. From Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia, and DC, add $80; $100 from Atlanta and Chicago.
If you're an adventurous eater, put your money where your mouth is during your stay in Barcelona. The following restaurants have won accolades as representatives of the wildly inventive cuisine issuing from northern Spain in recent years. All have affordable tasting menus, for $20 to $35. Try chef Jordi Vilà 's Alkimia, 79 Carrer Indústria, Barcelona, 207-61-15; Teresa Olivella's Cata 181, 181 Carrer València, Barcelona, 323-68-18; Carles Abellá n's Comerç 24, 24 Carrer Comerç, Barcelona, 319-21-02; the dessert school and restaurant, Espai Sucre, Calle Princesse 53; Barcelona, 932 68 16 30; Oriol Ivern and Guillem Pla's Hisop, 9 Passatge Marimon, 241-32-33; Paco Guzman's Santa Maria, 17 Carrer Comerç, 315-12-27. Dial 34 for Spain; 93 for Barcelona.
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