We are in the beginning stages of thinking about planning a trip to Basque Country with a heavy emphasis on food. We thought that we might fly into Paris, eat like crazy for a couple of days, then head south and do a bit of a tour. What makes sense? Rent a car for the journey? Take a train, then rent a car? Train from place to place the entire time? We will have limited funds and will want to save our money for food (since, really, that's our main interest!) What are some thoughts?! Thanks!
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Not sure how much time you have as you head to Basque Country. Nor, have you indicated how you will be flying back to the U.S. You could fly into Paris and out of Madrid for example. As for your journey from Paris to the Basque Country, you could head first to the Bordeau region by train, spend some time there and then head south to Basque Country via Bayonne. Or, if you need to get there more quickly, you could consider the train to Toulouse and rent a car there for your journey through Basque Country. By train to Toulouse, it's about 6.5hrs and I see advance fares of 15Euro (no refunds or exchanges). Or, if you are planning to return to the U.S. via Madrid, wait until you get into Spain before you rent your car. If you have saved up enough money for food, look into ARZAK. It's one of the top 50 restaurants in the world. It's Basque and it's in San Sabastian-Donostia, Spain. 3-Star Michelin. It's not cheap.
Posted by
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
4088 posts
Both Iberia and Vueling fly non-stop from Paris Orly to Bilbao, where there is a modern airport with easy transportation into the city centre. Cheap fares, too, if booked well in advance. Bilbao has good food, especially pintxos, the Basque version of tapas.
The trouble with going by train is that the fast inter-city services do not go directly into the Basque centres. There are awkward connections at the France-Spain border, or you will be routed via Madrid, far out of your way.