We will be in San Sebastian for 8 days and Bilbao for 2 days after a tour, which will guide us in both cities in mid May. Does anyone have a suggestion for other towns nearby that would be interesting--even into France. Gracias
Are the places suggested day trips from San Sebastian and Bilbao?
In Basque Spain visit Getaria and Hondarribia. In Basque France do not miss the Basque villages above St. Jean de Luz : Ainhoa, Saré, Ascain, and Espellette. Saré was our favorite and is a member of the Most Villages of France. The villages all have Pelota courts which you may know as Jai Alai in the USA.
8 days in Donostia-San Sebastian seem a lot for this city, it can be visited in a couple of days maximum. It´s not a beach resort in any way, as our weather is very unreliable and tends to be rainy, so I would spend time visiting Getaria, the flysch at Zumaia, Hondarribia, Pasai Donibane, Tolosa...and on the French side Baiona-Bayonne, St Jean de Luz, Espelette, Ainhoa, etc.
Bilbao would probably deserve a minimum of three nights. From here you may want to visit Getxo and the fishing port of Algorta, Puente Bizkaia, Bermeo, Gernika and it´s Assembly Hall, Plentzia, Lekeitio, Ea, Elantxobe, Elorrio, Oñati, Arantzazu...
(as a comment to previous poster, "pelota" includes several types of ball games, Jai Alai is just one of them (it means "happy game" and it´s played with a kind of basket, while "pelota" is normally played with your bare hands)
From Bilbao, consider a day trip to Guernika, site of an infamous aerial massacre during the Spanish civil war, which inspired the Picasso painting.
There is a moving memorial museum, (and some good bars for lunch).
Agee with the excellent feedback and suggestions above. Would also highly recommend a visit to Chillida Leku:
https://www.museochillidaleku.com/en/
And in San Sebastian, don’t miss Chillida’s El Peine del Viento sculptures.
Gernika is famous for the bombing, and thus the museum, but IMO the real highlight is the Casa de Juntas, one of the oldest forms of parliamentary representation in the world, still running and part of our government and symbol of our liberties (the Tree of Gernika is where our President takes his oath of presidency). John Adams visited Bilbao in 1780 and dedicated some words to the Basque way of government, customs and language (John Quincy and Richard, his other two sons, came with him).
Smaller towns that were attractive to us were Getaria and Castro Urdiales. Warm weather would make them at their best, and not so many tourists because relatively off the main tourist routes.
Mikel, do you have an opinion on Balmaseda?
I visited last week, and we had a nice walk around the town and a lunch.
I really liked it, but there was lots of life as they were practicing the kids Pasion Vivente. But maybe it is boring the rest of the year.
Balmaseda is nice for a morning stroll, it has a great visit in the Museum of Beret (they were actually making BAsque berets until the 90s and you can see all the machinery of a 19th century factory); Torre Loizaga is very close too, the largest Rolls Royce collection in the world kept in a castle (visits on Sundays only, for car lovers), and the 14th century iron foundry of El Pobal. Beautiful, unexplored area.
If you have a car, there is a beautiful drive from San Sebastian to Hondarribia. It's through the mountains with watch towers that you can hike to. The road is the GI-3440 to the Jaizkibel Hiridibea. It was pouring rain when we did the drive, but you should be able to see the ocean from the pull off. We also did a great drive through Tolosa, VIllabona, into San Sebastian. We loved Hondarribia. We felt San Sebastian was good for about 2 days and we spent a long time in the Basque Museum (the San Telmo).
My wife, two adult daughters and I will be in Bilbao and San Sebastian in September. We're now thinking of adding a couple of day in France, possibly Bayonne, but prefer some small inland communities instead. Anyone have recommendations for that part of the Basque France? Thank you!
Bayonne is a charming small city/town, well worth a couple of days. It's at the confluence of two rivers with a cathedral, ancient cobbled streets, small shops and great bars and restaurants.
Espelette, Ainhöa, Cambo-Les-Bains, St Jean de Pied de Port (Donibane Garazi in Basque) and on the coast, St Jean de Luz (Donibane Lohizune in Basque), Bidart, Gethary...
