Madrid & Northern Spain – April 2019

If you are interested in archaeology, culture, and history I would recommend you visit Zaragoza, the capital of Aragon, for a few nights and then drive on to San Sebastian. Zaragoza has more than 2,000 years of history including Roman ruins of the city walls and amphitheater, as well as the Aljafería, an 11th-century Moorish palace. It also has the famous pilgrimage site of Nuestra Señora del Pilar Basilica, housing the miraculous image of the Virgin Mary. I don't think any visit to Northern Spain is complete without seeing the Pilar Basilica, my vote for the most beautiful exterior of any church in Spain.

Driving from Zaragoza to San Sebastian, I would also stop at the medieval town and Royal Palace of Olite, the seat of the Kings of Navarre. For me, one of the most impressive medieval palaces in Europe.

For your travels in the Picos de Europa, I would recommend staying at the Fuente Dé Parador (http://www.parador.es/en/paradores/parador-de-fuente-de), which is a historic hotel that sits below a string imposing vertical mountains. From there you can take numerous nature hikes and even a cable car that takes you all the way to the top of the mountains. I would also recommend at least two nights in the Picos de Europa.

If you are looking for a place to eat close to Potes, I would heartily recommend Mesón del Oso (https://www.hoteldeloso.com/), which is a rustic tavern/hotel in a picturesque forested valley. They serve the traditional Cantabrian/Asturian mountain cuisine.

Also, be aware that you will be traveling in Spain during Holy Week (Semana Santa) April 14-22. The majority of Spain's cities, towns and villages, all have their own processions and celebrations combining music, art, and color. There may be some slowdown in those cities, towns and villages attributed to Holy Week. Note that Easter Monday (April 22) is a public holiday in Spain, so the large majority of shops and restaurants will be closed.

Bilbao has a larger historic district than San Sebastian, and the city is far less touristy. The Guggenheim isn't the only museum in town, either. I also enjoyed the turn-of-the-20th-century architecture in the business district.

Santander is a rather large city and to my mind not a particularly attractive one. There was a catastrophic fire in the 1940s that took out most of the historic buildings. I'd opt to stay somewhere else since you have a car and don't need to stick to places with good public transportation. No sense risking getting tied up in city traffic for no good reason.

Oviedo has some extremely old churches and is far less touristy than Leon. Leon, though, has a large, handsome historic quarter now full of restaurants and bars. I'm not a bar person, but the environment seemed pleasant and everyone seemed to be having a good time the day I walked through there.

I thought the old stone town of Potes was really lovely. It's worth an hour or two just to walk around it.

Am concerned about strikes and closures on May 1 due to holiday. I can't speak to that, but you should be concerned about Semana Santa, from Palm Sunday (14th) to Easter Sunday (21st).

As already mentioned, watch the days around Easter. In Logroño for example there are processions every night, and they aren't really a problem. Nor are they like the ones in Andalucia, but here are some photos of Good Friday. On Holy Thursday and Good Friday most things are closed.

I would suggest going Madrid – La Rioja – Donostia – Bilbao - Cantabria, as it is more of a loop and not a zig zag. Depending on how much you want to drive, you could go through Zaragoza and up to the north stopping in Olite.

First, instead of Laguardia or Elciego (neither of which is in La Rioja) I suggest Briones, a pueblo con encanto. Most important is that it is right next to Dinastia Vivancos (BTW right now they are having an exhibition of Picasso works related to wine). A must visit. Haro is nearby and you can visit the wineries there. Also you can visit the Monastary of San Millan, the birth place of Spanish and Euskera, and an UNESCO heritage site. Depending on the day you are in Briones, you can cross the Ebro and in the next town you can watch the procession of Los Picaos. “Los Picaos are a penance of the Christian religion, now professed only in the town of San Vicente de la Sonsierra in La Rioja (Spain). It takes place during processions and Stations of the Cross. It consists in the self-flagellation of the back, of a group of people as an act of faith and voluntarily, called disciplinantes, by the beating continued with a ball.”

From Madrid there are two ways to get to Briones. You can go up the N1 to Burgos and over. If you go this way you can stop in Peñafiel to visit the Ribera de Duero wine museum and tasting. Or a little farther up you can go through part of the Camino del Cid, and visit Burgo de Osma, Covarrubia, and Silos. And if you are a fan of the Spaghetti Western you can stop at Sad Hill Cemetry from “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”.

The other way you can go is through Soria. If you like Roman history you can visit Medinaceli and Numancia.

From La Rioja, depending on you schedule and the weather, you can go to the Baztan Valley before hitting the coast, or in just over an hour you could go to Erriberri which Carlos like to recommend, and it is really rich in history.

Thank you so much for your feedback and excellent suggestions! My apologies for this belated reply. After much thought, we’ve decided to skip the Rioja region for this trip. I should have made it clear in my first post that we’re committed to the timing for Madrid/San Sebastian/Bilbao, due to family and friends’ schedules.
So, this is my thinking at this point for our itinerary (subject to change) after leaving Bilbao:
4/16--4/17 – Stay in Santillana del Mar – 2 nights – Altamira Museum; Cuevas de Monte Castillo (El Castillo & Las Monedas) near Puente Viesgo; drive thru Comilllas & San Vicente de la Barquena; visit Tito Bustillo Cave near Ribadsella; maybe El Soplao or Hornos de la Pena caves (all prehistoric art)
4/18-4/19 – Picos de Europa – Stay near Potes or other area? – 1 or 2 nights? Do you advise that we enter park via Cangas de Onis (west) or Arenas (north) or Potes (east)? Interested in easy-moderate hiking, Fuente De cable car
4/20-4/21 – Leon – 2 nights (drive thru/stop in Olviedo on the way?)
4/22-4/23 – Salamanca – 2 or 3 nights (see below) ¬– drive thru/stop in Zamora on the way?
4/24 – Day trip to Parque Natural Arribbes de Duero (archeological site); stay in Ciudad Rodrigo parador or return to Salamanca for night
4/25 – Return to Madrid, possibly visit Segovia on the way
Regarding May 1-2, does anyone have any feedback about returning from France (family visit) to Madrid? I’ve read that on May 2 there is a big fiesta in Madrid – Any experience with that? We return to the US on May 3 afternoon, so could either experience the fiesta – or avoid it and stay out of town, for example at Alcala de Heneres (or elsewhere with easy transport to/from airport).
Thanks so much for so generously sharing your time and expertise!

We entered Picos from Cangas de Onis. If coming from Santillana Del Mar, probably the quickest way is to take the E70/A8 west to the N634. Then take it to the N625 that will take you into Cangas de Onis. To enter from a different way, if you have the time and don’t mind taking even more rural roads, there are a few different regional roads (beginning with AS for Asturias followed by 3 digits). The roads are fine, but the drive is slow because of the twists and turns. If using a GPS, my GPS said American Samoa for the AS. There is a Parador in Cangas de Onis. I’d stay in Leon over Oviedo. If you like castles, there is a nice one south of Leon in Valencia de Don Juan. The best of Zamora can be seen in a few hours if that’s all you have. Its castle isn’t very interesting.

Thank you for your response, jaimeelsabio!

There is a well-known hike near Las Arenas (40 minutes from Congas de Onis. I think 90-ish minutes from Potes) called the Ruta de Cares. Google it for pictures and more details (trip advisor, for example). The hike can be done one way (3) or out and back (6-ish miles). (I haven't yet been to the Picos, but we are going this summer and this is our plan ;) ). There is a shuttle that picks up in Cain in the afternoon if you opt for the one way option. The first mile is up, but after that it is all flat. We will be driving to the trailhead from the coast (Llanes), through Las Arenas to Poncebos (where the trailhead is, 10 minutes south of Arenas).
We opted to stay just east of Congas because there was more we are interested in around there than Potes, although Potes looks wonderful too. I just didnt want to spread us out over the Picos in two nights/2 days (also we live in the mountains and have lived in Potes-like places so there's that). We are interested in the Basilica in Covadonga, and that hike and hopefully some river swimming and cliff jumping we read about near Covadonga (for the kids). But there are some interesting-sounding churches near Potes, one with a relic of the cross. That was hard to pass up.

Thanks, Jessica!