Hello All,
I am returning to Spain but to the northern area. Fiance wants to see that area but has no clue as to why. As for me, I love wine tasting, spas, museums, beaches and cooking.
Any suggestions are so welcome. I am considering finding a group tour, ideally to avoid getting a car. Going for up to 14 days.
Thanks.
Monique of Seattle
This is all easy by train if you are looking to do your own thing.
Madrid (2N)
Burgos (1N)
Bilbao (2N)
San Sebastián (3N)
Pamplona (1N)
Zaragoza (2N)
Barcelona (3N)
The Rioja wine region and Picos de Europa mountains would be difficult to negotiate without a car on your limited time.
Rioja too.
I would suggest spending a few days in the Picos de Europa area especially if you like mountains and hiking. However, you do need a car.
Our recent trip to Spain included the northern regions from Galicia (Santiago de Compostela, Fisterra), the Cantabrian coast, Asturias (Picos de Europa area), and the Basque region (Bilbao, San Sebastian).
Happy travels.
I was able to accomplish a lot in northern Spain last year without,a car. It does often mean that you move more slowly (and I had more than 14 days), but there's a lot you can do by train or bus. These are the things that will be more of a challenge that I know of:
Winery visits. However, the very atmospheric hill town of Laguardia (located between Vitoria-Gasteiz and Logrono) has public-bus service. Be careful about Sundays and holidays, though. Laguardia is near La Rioja and has wine bars. Because of its transportation challenges, I wouldn't want to use it as a base for day-trips unless you have a car. I believe July 25 is the date of the baby-bull running I stumbled on. Don't think Pamplona; there are no people running with the young bulls. But it was interesting to see. However, because it was a holiday the tourist office was closed.
Picos de Europa, though I think you can get to the charming old stone town of Potes by public bus. It looked like a nice place to spend the night. I think it's a center for active sports, but I don't know what activities would be available to folks without a car. Last year there were one-day, once-a-week bus tours to the Picos de Europa from Santander (not otherwise a particular favorite of mine, but it has large beaches) and I think from one other city (possibly Oviedo). Sorry that I don't remember. The tours are Spanish-language only but--probably for that reason--are comparatively cheap. Think of them as transportation to an area that is otherwise difficult to access without a car. This area has lovely, dramatic scenery (I think some guidebooks say the best in Spain) and I second the recommendation that you try to get there.
Prehistoric cave paintings near Santillana del Mar.
There are lots of lovely and historic cities stretched out between San Sebastian and Santiago de Compostela, plus picturesque coastal villages, but don't try to cover too many of them via train and bus. That would cut into your wine and food time.
If getting to do some swimming is important to you, you'll probably need to leave a good bit of flex in your schedule, because northern Spain (excluding the Catalunya coast) cannot be counted on for beach weather even in mid-summer. It comes and it goes. That's the reason that area is so fabulous for mid-summer trips: There's little risk of an extended period of really hot weather.
Bilbao has two good art museums, not just one. The inland capital of Vitoria-Gasteiz (with a really nice, large medieval district) has two smaller art museums. The San TelmomMuseum in San Sebastian is also good, but I think the main reason people go there is for the tapas bars! The beach is beautiful, but there's the weather concern. The surfers were wearing wetsuits and very, very few people were actually in the water in June.
Major cathedral cities are Burgos (very lively, full of pilgrims, a pretty city with a river right running through it), Oviedo (a noticeably quieter town but still with an historic district, plus several really, really old churches, unfortunately not in the old town, but still accessible by bus with patience), Leon (a hopping city with fun restaurant and nightlife districts as well as points of historical interest) and of course Santiago de Compostela, but I really wouldn't want to go that far during a 2-week trip. There's a lot to see just in the Basque Country.
Sorry I have no info on spas. I would guess that your chances are best in the Basque Country, which is the most affluent part of northern Spain (Catalunya excepted).
I'm not mentioning Barcelona--which I love--because I assume you've already been there.
I haven't gotten into the Spanish Pyrenees (just very near them), but that's another nice area that would be good for outdoor activities.
"Bilbao has two good art museums, not just one."
Actually it has three (that I found - maybe there are even more). The Guggenheim is the most well known, and then there's the Bellas Artes (one of the largest in Spain). A third one that I probably enjoyed even more than those two is the Museum of Reproductions. It has exact copies, made from casts, of all sorts of great sculptures from all over western Europe (Rome, Vatican City, Paris, Berlin, Madrid and more). The Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory, the Pergamon Altar, and many more great pieces are all in one place, in a former church, for €3. As a further bonus, while the Guggenheim was crowded and the Bellas Artes had other visitors (although not so many that I couldn't enjoy it), the Museum of Reproductions had only one other visitor while I was there.
"The inland capital of Vitoria-Gasteiz (with a really nice, large medieval district) has two smaller art museums."
Here, my absolute favorite was the Bellas Artes. I enjoyed it even more than the Bellas Artes Museum in Bilbao. Room after room of great stuff, by artists I had never heard of or seen before, and again, I was one of a very few visitors. And it's free!
There's also the Artium (modern art) which was €5 and worth it, and the Bibat (two museums in one - archeology and playing cards), which was free. If you go to the Bibat, get the free audioguide before going to exhibits; it only covers a few pieces in the archeology museum (and the labeling here is only in Basque and Castilian), but covers each room in the playing cards museum.
To get between Vitoria and Bilbao, I took the La Union bus; they run every half hour, take about an hour (they use the highway) and cost €6.30. To get between Vitoria's bus station and the city center, take a taxi (less than €8).
I'm still working on my trip report (I was just in Bayonne, San Sebastian, Vitoria, and Bilbao), and I'll post the link here when it's ready.
