We are thinking of ways to combine some France vacation time with an introduction to Spain. The only Spanish speakers in our family are our sons, so this is a stretch for us!
It looks like we should be able to take a train from Toulouse to either city - but I've never used the Spanish train system. Any advice about this connection, and also thoughts about visiting these two cities for our first Spanish vacation would be appreciated!
Also, best route to fly back home?
Thanks,
Laurie
You can get between Toulouse and the French border town of Hendaye with one connection, usually at Bayonne, to either bus or train. For an afternoon ride, it's possible to connect at Bordeaux to a train that goes one stop further to the Spanish border town of Irun.
From Hendaye/Hendaia or Irun to San Sebastian/Donostia, and from San Sebastian/Donostia to Bilbao (2.5 hours), take the more frequent local Euskotren service (info in Spanish or Euskara only, but you'll figure it out). Or several bus companies operate frequent, faster buses between San Sebastian and Bilbao (1.5 hours). See details in Rick's big Spain guidebook or Snapshot Basque guide.
Bilbao has an international airport.
The Euskotren route between Bilbao and San Sebastian is very scenic, but it is slow, as Laura noted. Maybe take it one way and do the return by bus. On the Bilbao end the station is quite near the old town, whereas the bus station is quite a walk away (with tram service, though).
Although the Bilbao and San Sebastian residents speak Spanish, for many the native language is Basque/Euskera. Don't expect to be able to decode the Basque signage.
Both Bilbao and San Sebastian have attractive historic districts as well as some very attractive newer buildings. Bilbao has more art; SS has an extremely lively tapas district. I sort of preferred Bilbao, but it's a close call and SS has one heck of an impressive beach.
There are many pretty, smaller cities in that part of Spain, including the interior capital of Vitoria-Gasteiz, the winey hill town of Laguardia, the coastal border town of Hondarribia (with both a fishermen's district and a hilly medieval quarter), and a bunch of picturesque former fishing villages, including but not limited to Bermeo, Lekeitio, Zumaia, Getaria and Zarautz. Visiting just about any of those will take you through some lovely countryside.
You didn't mention what time of year you plan to travel. The Basque Country is cooler and rainier than central and southern Spain.
