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Spain in July - but where?

Hi all,
I have a week to visit Spain this July. I know the timing isn't great but I am a teacher so the summer is what we get! I've gotten excited about so many places I don't know what to pick.

I'm drawn to smaller cities / towns because I am interested in experiencing the culture of the area and using the small amount of Spanish I am learning if possible. With the time of year and the summer heat, I'm leaning towards coastal, northern or eastern Spain.

My interests: nature/hiking, food, bird watching, art
Areas that I have read about:
- hiking portions of the Camino del Norte in Basque Irun to Bilbao (might not be able to practice as much Spanish but that's okay!)
- choosing a home base in Aragon in Pyrenees and doing some day hiking and visiting smaller towns and Zaragoza
- coast north of Barcelona with Cadaques and Girona
- northern coast of Spain to include Cudillero, Luarca, Picos de Europa

Help! Is there an area above you would recommend considering the time of year and my interests? Is there a different area you would recommend that I haven't read about yet?

Greatly appreciate your advice and recommendations! I'm overwhelmed with good options and need to focus on one place. Any tips or possible itineraries you can offer would be helpful. Thank you!

Posted by
6790 posts

Picos de Europa, and the entire north coast. It's beautiful. Cool and green, it reminded me of the Pacific Northwest/British Columbia coast. Celtic stone crosses on graves in the churchyards, freckled, red-headed people, bagpipes. Delightful and uncrowded. Shhhhh.

Posted by
7157 posts

If your week is literally 7 days and it includes travel time you only have 5 days in country. One of those is getting over jet lag, so you really only have 4 days. Find a city or town and take days trips from it. Andalucía, Extremadura, and Zaragoza will be very hot in July, so if you want cooler, then stay in the north. How you’re getting around will also impact what you can see.