Northern Spain - Flying into Bilbao

Northern Spain is delightful. One of the highlights for me, and you’ll need a car to do it, was staying at the Parador in the Picos de Europa. The Parador was wonderful, the drive through the canyons carved by the river amazing and the gondola to the top of the mountain and the museum on the road in memorable.

The Picos de Europa area is really beautiful, but I was there in July and don't know what conditions are like in April. I was limited to public transportation, which is extremely sketchy there, so I ended up taking a one-day bus tour. I loved the old stone town of Potes. It seemed to be the place a lot of people chose to stay, but I didn't mind the other tourists since I was just walking around for a couple of hours.

The Basque Country (and Cantabria, which is the region where the Picos de Europa area is located) are coolish and wettish even in summer--and of course coastal areas are often quite windy, so take layers and good rain gear. You may be very glad to have a hooded rain jacket. If you don't have waterproof shoes, you should perhaps take two pairs.

I preferred Bilbao (larger medieval district and less touristy) to San Sebastian, but SS probably has the liveliest bars and tapas joints--though Bilbao is a major city and certainly will not be dead in April. Transportation between the two is fine by bus but a very long trip (though through pretty, green, hilly countryside--very scenic) if you take the train. Or of course driving would be fine.

I liked the English-language tour offered at the Guggenheim in Bilbao. Rick mentions it in his guide book. There are a couple of other worthwhile museums in town, but I managed to miss them for one reason or another. The walk along the waterfront to the old Casco Viejo is pleasant as long as the weather is decent. Don't skip that area; you may be the only tourists there.

The capital of the interior province of Alava is Vitoria-Gasteiz, which I also liked. The medieval district is up on a hill. The cathedral was under reconstruction in 2016, but I was able to take an English-language tour. Don't know whether they're still doing that. The city has at least two art museums and a playing-card museum.

Between V-G and the city of Logrono (on the bus line but certainly easier with a car) is the charming hilltown of Laguardia. This is very near the La Rioja wine region, and several wine bars were operating in the summer.

The town of Hondarribia over near the French border has both a water-level fishermen's district with restaurants and a hilly medieval quarter. Buses run from San Sebastian. Might be good to check with the SS tourist office about whether they'd recommend the trip to Hondarribia in April.

I spent a summer day cobbling together trains and buses to see three small former fishing villages (now summer beach towns) west of San Sebastian: Zarautz, Getaria and Zumaia. I have no idea what they will be like in April. Ask the S.S. tourist office if just seeing the old architecture will not be enough for you.

A somewhat similar experience (though more colorful architecture, as I recall) awaits you east of Bilbao in the town of Bermeo.

The coastal town of Lekeito, which is between Bermeo and Zarautz/Getaria/Zumaia, is mentioned in several guidebooks, but I did not get there.

I did all of the above (minus Lekeito) by bus and train, but my trip was longer, A car would be more efficient and would provide some protection from spring weather if it is needed.

Something simple maybe ...
Bilbao (2)
LaGuardia (Rioja) (2)
Pamplona (1)
San Sebastián (2)

I am extremely experiences with No. Spain as I have visited my uncles four times and attended a semester many years ago in Santander. Few people know about the drive to Picos de Europe and the Hotel El Oso. it is a great location to the funicular to the top, outstanding restaurant and bar and lodging. The drive from Santander is an hour to Oso and from there is is 20 min. the the funicular.
Once at the top take the two mile downhill waldk to the mountain chalet for a cold beer. The will drive you back to the top.
Also, on the way stop at Santillana to visit the Colegiate Romana which is almost two thousand years old.

Along the north coast of Spain, most people drive or use buses (mutiple companies). I drove last time with no issue, except one highway traffic jam near San Sebastian. If you want to use the (rather slow) FEVE trains, schedules are here: http://www.renfe.com/EN/viajeros/feve/index.html.

The FEVE trip between Bilbao and San Sebastian is quite scenic, but it is best left to very leisurely trips.

Don't miss San Juan de Gaztelugatxe. It is a stop that takes a couple of hours to hike out there and back. We also did the hike in Picos de Europa....Cares Gorge. If you have an inversion to steep drop offs or hikes don't do it but otherwise it's a fabulous experience.

I was in Basque country in May 2017. I didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped, but two exceptions were Bilbao and Vitoria. My very detailed trip report is here: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/basque-country-trip-report-bayonne-san-sebastian-vitoria-gasteiz-and-bilbao-may-2017

We also flew into Bilbao and wished we stayed longer than 2 days. We rented a car in Bilabo, and drove to Getaria where we made our home base for 3 days. We spent a day in Getaria which is a lovely, small seaside town. Getaria is home of the couture designer Balenciaga and there is a lovely, new museum with many of his gowns on display. We spent a day in Getaria (great seafood), and day tripped to Pamplona and French Basque country. We stopped on the way to San Sebastian we stopped to see Hondarribia and then dropped our car off in San Sebastian. Driving in Spain was easy . Enjoy you're trip!

A quick thank you to everyone who has taken the time to respond. This is all very helpful.

The drive from Bilbao airport to downtown includes an elevated section the seems to fly straight through the Guggenheim Museum, a spectacular introduction. The municipal tourism bureau conducts walking tours. The beaux-arts museum is overshadowed by its glamorous brother but does a good job on regional art. The old harbor is worth a look, too; Bilbao's industrial history dates 'way back.