My family and I (husband, 20 month old toddler, and my older parents) will be going to Spain. We are arriving in Madrid on Dec 13 and have plans to meet up with more family in Barcelona on Dec 22. I need some help planning this trip as we would like to explore Northern Spain and possibly southern France (close to the border). We were thinking of taking the train up North from Madrid, but not sure on what all to do. We are expecting to rent a car to help get around. So any ideas anyone is able to share, I would be grateful! I would like ideas on where to go and what to do, especially with a toddler in Northern Spain/Southern France. Also, if anyone has recommendations on what to do in Barcelona through the holidays (Dec22-26). Thank you in advance for your help!
Posted by
Irving
2950 posts
You want to visit the Basque Country in both Spain (ES) and France (FR). In ES go to San Sebastián and Bilbao. In FR go to St-Jean-de-Luz and Bayonne. If you rent a car, make sure you can take it across the border. There is also a train: https://www.euskotren.eus/en that travels between the two countries.
Posted by
Hudson Valley
2267 posts
Technically, “Northern Spain” reaches from above Portugal all the way to Barcelona. It sounds like you’re maybe more interested in the Basque Region, is that right? If that’s the case, some focused research on the area could help—there’s a full Rick Steves episode on the region—it's available on YouTube.
I suggest you start off by deciding how much time, if any, you want to spend in Madrid before heading north. Determining how much time you have to explore will, of course, affect your itinerary.
Posted by
Washington DC
27112 posts
I believe Rick covers the French Basque country in his guide to Spain.
The Basque Country is lovely, but it's green for a reason: It gets a lot of rain, and December is no exception. Check weather statistics for Bilbao and San Sebastian to be sure you're willing to take the risk of seeing the sun only rarely. Average total hours of sunshine for the entire month of December in those two cities are 78 and 80.
I am more weather-focused than the average traveler. At that time of year I'd head to Andalucia. Seville averages 186 hours of sunshine in December, gets much less rain and has less than half as many rainy days as compared to the largest Basque cities (all averages, of course; weather varies from year to year).
Alternatively, I'd focus on Barcelona and Catalunya. While not as warm and sunny in the daytime as Seville and Cordoba, the weather stats look a lot more promising than those for the Basque Country. Barcelona doesn't cool off as much at night as Seville, and it gets less rain in December, despite being cloudier.
I wouldn't plan to hang out in Madrid in December unless I had must-see sights to visit. Madrid's average high and low temperatures run about 10 degrees (F) colder than Barcelona's at that time of year.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
6539 posts
My biggest concern would be whether there would be snow in the Pyrenees at the higher elevations. Since there are few roads through the mountains, any bad weather could mess things up.
Places on my to visit list for that area include, Núria, Camprodon, Castellfollit de la Roca, Besalú, Rupit, and Vic. All are north of Barcelona.
Posted by
Bilbao
642 posts
(writing from Bilbao) We´ve had the driest September in history and the highest temperature ever recorded (45,6ºC) in the Basque Country, a very weird year in terms of weather. It´s very unpredictable, we´ve had beautifully sunny Decembers and also very rainy ones. Rain is always a possibility up here...forget the classic ideas about Spain when in the North, it´s just the opposite. But it´s compensated with the beautiful landscapes (Pyrenees are not much close to Bilbao or Donostia-San Sebastian) and snow is rare, except for a week or so and it does not stay on the ground much. Mild temperatures, but it´s not the Mediterranean, very far from it!!!