Northern Spain Itinerary

4 days in Oviedo or Gijon is too much. Oviedo is very small. Never been to Gijon but I did some research on it--again, small town that does not require 4 days.

I'd add this extra day to Santiago d'Compostela--some of the smaller coastal towns are cute.

Bilbo?
Guggenheim.

In addition to Santiago de Compostela, I enjoyed visiting other Galician towns, including Pontevedra, A Coruna and Betanzos (hilly but nearly devoid of foreign tourists). There are some cute small coastal towns as well, as already mentioned.

I agree that with a rental car you probably don't need 4 days in Oviedo/Gijon. Oviedo has some very old churches but is a rather quiet town. Gijon has a bit of Art Nouveau architecture and a very small historic center; it's primarily a port, I think. You could probably get a look at both of them with only 2 nights in the area. Leon is quite a bit livelier. There's a Gaudi-designed building in Leon and another in Astorga, just west of Leon.

I realize you have pretty much allocated all the time you have, but for what it's worth, I liked Bilbao better than very touristy San Sebastian, and I also enjoyed Vitoria-Gasteiz (the inland capital of the Basque Country), the scenic Picos de Europa area and the city of Burgos (busy with pilgrims, primarily).

4 days in Donostia-San Sebastian and missing Bilbao (much more than the Guggenheim)? I would split those two days in two.

Another voice to slim that stop in Asturias, and I agree that your probable short-changing Galicia.

Three days is more than you’d probably need in Santiago, but get the desire to not hotel-hop too much. Pontevedra is dreamy, and A Coruña is worth it for the Tower of Hercules alone (and its views of the dramatic coast)

I find that you are missing most of the beautiful coast. Since you have a car, you can take advantage of it a bit more.

Get the car while in Santiago and use it for a day trip to the coast: Muros is a lovely old town, and the coast west of there towards Finisterre is beautiful. It makes for a great day trip.

Leon is nice to break the journey if you pass by, but it is not really on the most direct way from Galicia and Asturias. I would perhaps skip it: the cathedral sure is amazing, but I do not remember much of note otherwise (another poster mentions Gaudi, but art nouveau / modernisme is really not my jam). At the very least, it's definitely not a 2-night stay.

Asturias does deserve the 4 days that you allocate, and perhaps even 5 if possible, but I would not pick Oviedo or Gijon as a base. Somewhere coastal, like Lastres (the Palacio de Luces is an amazing place to stay if budget allows), would be more charming and it is very easy to do a day trip to Oviedo / the Naranco churches from there. Gijon is even closer; an afternoon/evening would do there. With the extra time, you can visit some of the caves (e.g. Tito Bustillo), and/or go to the Picos de Europa (Covadonga lakes, for example).

I agree about Bilbao, you should visit. Perhaps pick a base between Donostia (San Sebastian) and Bilbao, such as Gernika, and visit both cities as day trips?

I know next to nothing about La Rioja.

If you skip Leon, you can stop by Burgos to see the cathedral on the way back Madrid.

7 days is a long time in Madrid. 5-6 is plenty for a slow discovery of the city, especially if you are not museum hounds.

Hi Donna,

first I agree with some of the other, try to fit some days in for Bilbao, best to take them from Oviedo-Gijon nights.

Normally I´d suggest that you spent the three night in Logroño. There is regular buses from Logroño to Laguardia and also Haro, and Logroño makes a better base. Also, if you don´t want a car in Madrid, you can leave it in Logroño and take the bus to Madrid.

If I understand your calendar correctly, you will be in Logroño/La Rioja around the 20th of September. The 21st is San Mateo, and it is the harvest festival, which usually is about a week long. In Logroño in particular, there is a large festival that you may or may not want to visit. Either way, there will be lots of tourist and you may have some problems with lodging if you wait too long to book. In general they will be harvesting grapes and the wineries are usually very busy at that time, and you may not be able to visit them.

Not sure if this fits in your itinerary, but I’m throwing it out there because it was one of our favorite places we have ever stayed. That is Hotel Rural 3 Cabos. It’s on the coast near Luarca in Asturias, about an hour from Oviedo. It is seriously heaven on earth. It’s up on a hill surrounded by picturesque farms with an expansive view of the water. The food is to die for; if you go, be sure to stay for dinner.

Fairly close to 3 Cabos is Castro de Coana, an ancient Celtic hill fort with about 80 round stone huts that was abandoned in 200 BC. We were the only people there when we visited (in November), and we loved it. Something to consider if you are history buffs like us.

Muxia, west of Santiago de Compostela on the coast, is worth a short visit. Lugo has a Roman wall encircling the town and nice to visit. Along the north coast is Cathedral beach. It is best seen at low tide.

If taking in southern, interior, route, both León and Burgos are worth visiting. There are a number of places you could stop between Burgos and the coast depending on what you feel like doing, such as, Ermita rupestre de San Martín, Iglesia Rupestre y Necropolis de Santa María de Valverde, Colegiata de San Martín de Elines, Cueva de Agua (water cave) in Orbaneja del Castillo.

Once you have your main stops figured out, research the surrounding areas. My guess is you’ll find plenty of small sights worth visiting.

Wow, so much good information. I am glad that I started here. I was thinking of a day trip to Bilbao from San Sebastian. Is that unreasonable? Maybe someplace in between is a better solution. I am going to do more research and adjust the itinerary. This is already more stops than DH would like, and we would rather drive a bit further for our day trips than move hotels. I will do more research with your suggestions and revise my itinerary.
Thank you for your help!

We traveled to this part of Spain last year. Perhaps my trip reports might be of use? Here and Here and Here

You'll note a passing reference to the region around a couple rivers: Rio Mino and Rio Sil. If you have your own car, I would seriously consider researching this area and potentially spending some time there. It is breathtaking. Now, there's also a very good chance it will be rainy. But we are 100% train aficionados, and yet this is one of the few regions in Europe that made me regret not having a car to explore more on our own. It might be TOO off the beaten path, but I throw it out there. I know I'd love to return one day to uncover more.

You may find San Sebastian with much less to do and see than Bilbao, so a day trip may not be enough for this city. Of course, it depends on your interests, but Donostia-San Sebastian can easily be seen in one day so you would have time for other places in the area like Bilbao.

We were in Coimbra last year. Our opinion is that one night there is adequate. The University is interesting and the library is beautiful. There is also a small museum and church in the same neighborhood.

Keep in mind that both of those places are on the top of a steep hill.

I did the RS Basque tour last May and we spent 2 nights in San Sebastián and 2 nights in Bilbao. I definitely recommend giving some time to Bilbao. There’s more to do there compared to SS, especially the Guggenheim.

I disagree that Coimbra is only worth one night, but each to his own. Just past the Mercado Municipal D. Pedro V there is a funicular that will take you up the steep hill to the university if you don’t want to walk it. While visiting the university walk the extra few minutes over to the aqueduct.

The new cathedral was nice and was the Church of Santa Cruz. To get a good view of the city and upper town walk along the river on the opposite bank. If you enjoy or are interested in Fado, there are nightly performances at Café Santa Cruz. The performances are free but you will need to buy a drink. The cafe is cash only. When we were in Coimbra there were folk dancing performances by a few local groups in the plaza in front of Santa Cruz Church one of the evenings.

We really enjoyed San Sebastian AND Bilbao. In San Sebastian we did visit the churches within walking distance and did the walks in the RS guide. The San Telmo museum was very worthwhile. If you are interested in food, I would suggest you need at least 2 nights cruising the pintxos restaurants in San Sebastian, and more than a day to see the sights. We are not beachy people, but it was lovely to walk along the beach and see all the activity including the sand art.

Bilbao does have much to do beyond the Guggenheim. We walked along the river from the funicular to the Guggenheim and then from the Guggenheim to the old town which was really interesting to stroll. We were extremely disappointed and surprised that the Basque museum in Bilbao (Euskal Museo) was closed for renovation. There is also a great pinxtos scene in Bilbao, a lot of really interesting restaurants around the Plaza Barria and a few blocks beyond. With all there is to do in Bilbao, I don't think a day trip is feasible unless with a guide.

We drove to Bilbao from San Sebastian and yes the drive is beautiful and there were many towns we would have liked to stop in. There were very few places to pull out to see the views and the driver sees very little both because he/she is, you know, driving, but also because of the angles and other obstructions. There were wonderful little towns where it was extremely difficult to find parking. Also we ran into three situations where people were standing on parking spaces holding them for someone "coming". Once we did actually find a spot, walked past the squatter and when we returned to the lot a half hour later, the person still was holding the spot for someone "coming". We did stop in Guernica, and I would highly recommend that town, even considering it a "must see". The historic parliament is stunning and the tour is quite interesting. You need to make a reservation in advance. There also are a number of sites around town. If you wish to visit Guernica, in addition to reservation, you should do all the research and collect maps in advance. Granted we arrived mid day, but we couldn't find anything in the way of a TI, and the posted tourists maps were beyond usable. Very worn and faded.

EDITED, We enjoyed the PINXTOS in San Sebastian, Bilbao and Logrono. Not tapas. Thanks Mikel and I've edited.

...and do not mistake "tapas" with "pintxos", it´s a very different concept, Spain is very varied in its types of food and appetizers and although many people use the term "tapas" to refer to the small appetizers on the counters of Basque bars (not restaurants, they are never a meal for us), we call them pintxos as tapas is another thing. Thanks for your vote for Bilbao, my hometown, so often ignored in the past but getting kind of "trendy" in the past couple of years.

Just to add... we stayed in San Sebastian and mNaged a day trip to French Basque towns Bayonne , Biarritz and St Jean de Luc... all beautiful and a pretty coastal drive.

I'm here just to agree with one of the above comments (and necessarily disagree with an earlier one): Coimbra deserves more than one night.