Where to "live" in Spain for a month next summer.

At that time of year I'd want to stay out of Andalucía and Extremadura because of the heat. The central plateau all around Madrid also tends to be hot. I just can't bring myself to recommend a place in that area; I hope others can help you out there. I have no experience with the eastern coast of Spain more than a few miles south of Barcelona, so I have no suggestions there, either. And I don't know anything about horseback-riding opportunities.

Girona is not on the coast, but it is a beautiful place with good transportation links to northern Catalunya. No shortage of beaches within day-trip distance. There's quite a lot to do in the city itself, including two historic cathedrals and a very nice (not huge) art museum. Barcelona is less than an hour away by fast train, but those tickets would need to be booked well in advance to keep the cost reasonable. A negative may be that I suspect a monthly rental will be more costly there than in many other places in Spain, and Spanish lessons might also be more expensive.

Bilbao (not quite on the coast) and San Sebastian (very touristy, and with fewer museums) are possibilities. The Basque Country is lovely, and there are quite a lot of nice side-trips, probably more from San Sebastian. Bilbao is affluent but not particularly touristy, so your costs might not be too bad.

Perhaps somewhere in Galicia? Santiago de Compostela is beautiful and has some cultural offerings, but it is by far the most touristy place in that part of Spain, and thus not cheap. It's also not on the coast. But it has good transportation connections. I liked A Coruna (on the north coast) and Pontevedra (on the west coast), but I'm not sure there's enough to keep you busy in either place.

You didn't say what ages your kids are, however, Valencia has a reputation of being a "family-friendly" city ...
https://www.anepiceducation.com/top-23-things-valencia-spain-kids/

Thank you both!

Really, we like heat so don't worry about that.

My kids range in age from 9-18. They are seasoned travelers and we do not seek out "kiddie" activities. We do like pretty parks for picnics, historic homes, art museums, good bakeries, hiking, book shops, concerts ... I am fluent in Spanish, the kids are learning.

Since you indicate that you do not mind summer heat (trusting you on this lol) then I would recommend a combination of Jerez and Cádiz, which gives you the best of both worlds and ticks a lot off your wish-list. The two cites are about 30 min from each other via public transportation. Jerez/Cádiz are also well connected with the region as a whole, about a 1 hr train south of Sevilla, the major transportation hub in Andalucía.

Jerez's old quarter is dominated by the Alcázar de Jerez, an 11th century Moorish fortress. Another highlight of the town is the Royal Andalucian School of Equestrian Art, which is a famous riding school complete with a museum and "horse dancing" shows. The city is also famous for it's Sherry Wine, which gets its namesake from the town's name "Jerez".

The ancient port town of Cádiz, is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Western Europe (even older than Rome!) At the Archaeological Museum of Cádiz you can find various artifacts from the early Phoenician, Carthaginian, and Roman periods from the city's history. A few thousand years later, during the Age of Exploration, Cádiz was the home port of Spain's Imperial Fleet. Thus Cádiz has deep roots in naval tradition.

An alternate region could be Cantabria, Spain's little-visited north coast. Cantabria’s lush landscapes are a far-cry from the image of Spain many visitors have. You could use the port city of Santander as a base to explore the region and beyond. A few reasons why I lean towards Cantabria:

1. From a fishing perspective, the best fish in Spain come from the Cantabrian Sea, this is where the famous Bonito del Norte Tuna is caught. The Bonito del Norte season runs from June to September, I am sure that there are sport-fishing outings that capitalise on this.

2. The weather will be much more survivable in mid July in Cantabria than Andalucía.

3. While Santander is not the most beautiful of cities, most of the old town burned down in a huge fire in 1941, I think that it makes for a good base to explore the Cantabria region. There's a lot to see - from prehistoric cave paintings, to quaint coastal villages, and one of Europe’s most spectacular and overlooked mountain ranges, the Picos de Europa National Park.

4. Cantabria has a long history of horsemanship since the Roman times. There are many horse tours that explore the striking Cantabrian coastlines and mountains.

Take a deep dive researching Valencia.

Pepita, take a look a visiting Logroño.

First transportation. Logroño is a small city/town with no need for a car or even to use the bus. In fact the historic center is a pedestrian zone so you can stay there and never have any traffic problems (noise, pollution, etc). While it is not the best connected place, you can make easy day trips to Burgos, Vitoria, Bilbao, San Sebastian, Pamplona and Zaragaza by bus and train (the new stations are a 10 min. walk from the center) There is also a good regional bus system that allows you to visit the different towns of La Rioja.

Besides the well known rental platforms, in the old town there several tourist apartment, for example Sagasta apartments and Laurel apartments.

About fishing, I don't know the whole situation, but many people throw a line into the Ebro. In Casalareina there is a fishing zone in the the river Oja. There is a picnic area there and in the town you can visit the monastery of Nuestra Sra de la Piedad, it makes for a nice day. There are stables around Logroño that have horse riding.

The Museum of the Rioja, is okay, but there are many historical sites you can visit. There is San Millan a UNESCO site, and the birth place of Castillan (and written Basque) or the cathedral in Santo Domingo de la Calzada or Najera with its pantheon of the Kings of Navarra. In Enciso you have some of the best dinosaur tracks in Europe.

In Logroño you could brush up on your Spanish at the La Rioja Spanish school, which is also in the center.

I won't comment on the dining options but you will eat well. In fact, according to some, the tapa experience here is better than in San Sebastian. About bakeries, there are several ones in the center. The local bread is call Pan Sobado.

Just something to think about.

I know about the bus service from Logrono to Vitoria-Gasteiz (by way of the charming Laguardia), but the other major Basque cities look like problematic day-trips to me. Bilbao's 2-1/2 hours one way by train, but the earliest remotely acceptable option I see on the Deutsche Bahn website doesn't get you there until 2:04 PM.

The first train to San Sebastian takes 4 hours one way.

Pamplona is quick enough to be doable, but Zaragoza and Burgos are both about 2 hours by train if not longer.

In all those cases a bus might work better, but I can't find any indication of bus service that takes less than 2 hours each way (except for Pamplona), and that's just the time spent sitting on the bus, so realistically it would probably take close to 3 hours from door of apartment to first sightseeing activity.

I could be missing something on the bus front, though. It's not so easy to locate reliable bus schedules online. In particular, the ALSA website seems to be doing funny things at the moment.

First Logroño has a sorry assed train connection. I don"t know anyone who goes by train to these cities except for Zaragoza.

The Estellaesa bus does Logrono San Sebastian in 2h 15m daily direct. plus there are Logrono to Pamplona to San Sebastian combos that are just a bit longer. By car it is two hours without trying to park.

Buses Cuadra runs daily to Bilbao at 6:30, 7:30, 9:30, 12:30, 15:00, 16:00, 17:30, 18:30, 19:30 and 21:30. It takes 1h 45m to do it and again it is just over an hour drive without parking or paying tolls.
Autobuses Jimenez has a very similar schedule going to Zaragoza, taking 2h, and to Burgos also talking 2h.

I understand that to a person traveling around some of these trips would consume precious time. But if someome were "living" here as the OP suggest it would be "living like a local" who does go to Bilbao or Burgos or Zaragoza for the day by bus.

I think it depends on how much you want to see of the surrounding area. If you are only going to take infrequent trips out of town, wouldn't you prefer to stay in a place that has more going on locally? There's also the potential cost of moving four people back and forth to fairly distant destinations.

I have twice stayed for just over two weeks in one place in order to take language classes. Nice worked better than Orvieto. Orvieto's really lovely and has a lot of stuff to do for such a small town, which was a good thing, because there seemed to be limited places one could reach quickly by train or bus. Nice, on the other hand, was a piece of cake. I ran out of time there before I ran out of places to go.

For me as an American with limited time to spend in Europe, it's hard to forget about all the places I want to see and just veg out for an extended period. That's pretty much why my language sessions have only lasted for two weeks rather than four. It would be a different situation if I were moving to Europe for a year. But even then, my home bases for long stays would be larger than Logrono or places rather close to major metropolitan areas with affordable commuter transportation. (As I wrote that I was thinking of Alcala de Henares, outside Madrid.)

When you opt not to rent a car, you forgo one of the major advantages of basing in a small city--the comparative ease of getting in and out of town.

Hello All -

And thanks for the continuing thoughts and recommendations. I am looking into each as you provide them.

To clarify - We are not looking for a "small" town. We can be in a big city, mid-sized city, small city/large town. I mentioned the cities we have already visited to see if there are others you would recommend for what we are seeking, above these.

We walk cities - I rarely use public transportation, walking between 5-15 miles a day with pleasure. And, I prefer to take buses and trains to driving. That is why a good transportation hub is important to us.

We definitely need what to do within walking distance of our apartment. The language classes will be 1 - 2 weeks at most.

We could split the time between two places ...

Thanks!

Oh, I think splitting between two places would be great. It's much easier to find two weeks' worth of activities in an area than four weeks' worth, especially since you've already tackled Barcelona, Madrid and Seville.

Alright, then let me have your two weeks in two places plan, Acraven. :) I will even consider two weeks somewhere in Spain and two weeks elsewhere.

On one point I agree with Acraven, a month in one place, especially like Logroño might be too much. But two weeks would be fine for wonderful experience.

Two last points, Logroño has 2 of the top 80 bakeries in Spain, and one of the best Ice cream shops, Della Sera

Oh, Pepita, you're putting me on the spot. I would consider these places:

• Girona (this would be my clear #1, but not right on the coast)
• Valencia (I haven't been there)
• Bilbao or San Sebastian (I much prefer Bilbao, but I think side-trip possibilities are better from San Sebastian; how about 1 week each?)
• Vitoria-Gasteiz (accessible by bus within about 75 min., I think: Bilbao, San Sebastian, Logrono, LaGuardia, Pamplona; but not near the coast)
• Santiago de Compostela (fairly central location within Galicia but not on the coast)
• Salamanca (nowhere near the coast, but makes Zamora, Ciudad Rodrigo, Segovia and Avila accessible)

Portugal:
- Lisbon
- Porto or perhaps a smaller city in the north

France (hot!):
- Perpignan (not the most beautiful city, but good transportation hub)
- Narbonne
- Montpellier

Of course, if you're staying near a major city you could easily and relatively cheaply hop on a budget flight to a completely different part of Europe for your second 2-week stint.

Oh Pepita, I dont have anything to add to what others have said but I am bumping this up because I am considering the same 'plan': a month with three kids ages 10-16. The eldest could be fluent with some immersion, hence the appeal. I have been looking at the north or northwest, to avoid the worst heat and the beach tourist scene, despite the appeal of experiences further south/southeast, and water in summer.
So Logrono is one Im looking into. I am also looking at Orviedo and surroundings, and places further west. But also checking weather for southern cities like Granada and Seville (heat's not so bad - we are from NM after all - but heat + humidity is a killer. We lived on the east coast for awhile and the 90's there was far worse than 97 here!) ...

so; bump ;p

Dear Acraven -
You are a great resource and very generous with your time! Thank you! I am just seeing your last message and it's so helpful.

Dear Jessica -
Thanks for the bump! I am still researching all options and not ruling out hot areas as I do not mind the heat. I am with you ... just a little more and fluency! Suerte!