5 night road trip from Madrid to Bilbao

Valladolid is OK and Oviedo has Fernando Alonso's F1 museum if you are interested. He has a clause in each contract that he gets to keep his cars. Haven't been to the others on #2.
Burgos and Logrono are good destinations.
Consider a side trip to Guernika.

Be aware that you may encounter early snow crossing the mountains - look into the rules on snow chains.

Of the two options, I prefer the first, going via Burgos and Logroño. There are plenty of small towns worth visiting along that route.

As Lin stated, weather could be an issue.

Agree with option 2, staying several nights in beautiful Laguardia and spending the days visiting nearby wineries and small towns. Would love to return for a third visit!

Also agree that Guernica is a worthwhile side trip from Bilbao.

I'm going to throw in another vote for the Burgos/Logroño route.

Lots of possibilities. Here is one thought.

• 2 nights Burgos

  1 night Soria****

  2 nights Logroño.

Day one from Madrid you could drive to Peñafiel and visit the Castle and wine museum. Later a visit to Aranda de Duero or Lerma, and finish in Burgos.

Day two visit Burgos.

Day three leave Burgos and visit Covarrubias and the monastary of Silos. If it is dry, and there is interest, there is the route of "The Good the Bad and the Ugly" where there filmed several scenes of the movie. If you like Roman things, Clunia is in the area too.

**** In Soria in November they have "Jornadas Micológicas" or Mushroom days. Various bars in the Soria area will compete in a tapa with fresh wild mushrooms contest. The Parador in Soria usually has an entry, and I like Burgo de Osma, and they also have some bars that compete. This is last year's Jornadas and the poster.

For something really different, the Fundacion Vicente Marin might interest you. You can stay in the village.

Day four finish in Soria, and head to Logroño. First night you can try tapas in Calle del Laurel.

Day five visit La Rioja. If the weather is good you can drive to some wineries. If the weather is bad, there are several in the town. In the evening try the tapas in Calle San Juan.

Day six, head to Bilbao.

Thanks you all for the replies - some good intel here and has helped make the decision of choosing the Rioja route. Will save the Asturias for when we have more time, and better weather! Is there anywhere that shouldn't be missed between Madrid + Burgos? I was contemplating a night in Segovia or just keeping that as a day trip from Madrid. Thanks again!

Segovia is worth a day for the aqueduct alone.

Since you’re driving, spending a night in Segovia makes sense since you’re heading north from Madrid anyway. From there you could still visit the places dlindstrom mentioned.

Segovia to Burgos is about a 2.5 hours drive. It’s an easy drive. From Segovia, head north to Cuellar. There’s is a castle in Cuellar and you could make a quick stop to see it. From Cuellar head towards Peñalfiel and its castle. That castle is unique in that it is long and narrow. You can’t miss seeing it while heading down the road. The museum was closed when I visited the castle years ago.

The last time we visited Burgos we stayed at Abba Burgos Hotel. It has its own parking garage and is a five or so minutes walk from the cathedral. The hotel itself was nice, but not elegant or fancy. I’d have no problem staying there again.

If you decide to stay in Soria, consider staying at the Parador. It’s a modern building at the top of the hill with nice views. I was unimpressed with the town itself. Nearby, we enjoyed visiting Monasterio de San Juan de Duero and Ermita de San Saturio. There is a 1/4 miles walk along the river to reach the latter from the free parking area.

The mentioned Burgo de Osma is a charming formerly walled town with a nice main plaza with restaurants. Some of the walls remain while parts of the old wall have been incorporated into other structures. The main plaza seemed to be the town gathering place on the day we stopped by.