Bilbao, the Basque Country & La Rioja
Bilbao
Around Bilbao
The Central Basque Coast
San Sebastian
East of San Sebastian
South of San Sebastian
Vitoria
Pamplona
North of Pamplona
East of Pamplona
The Pyrenees
South of Pamplona
West of Pamplona
Logrono
West of Logrono
Wine Region
Bilbao, the Basque Country & La Rioja
Why Go?
The jade hills and drizzle-filled skies of this pocket of Spain are quite a contrast to the popular image of the country. The Basques, the people who inhabit this corner, also consider themselves different. They claim to be the oldest Europeans and to speak the original European language. Whether or not this is actually the case remains unproven, but what is beyond doubt is that they live in a land of exceptional beauty and diversity. There are mountains watched over by almost-forgotten gods, cultural museums and art galleries, street parties a million people strong, and arguably the best food in Spain.
Leave the rugged north behind and feel the temperature rise as you hit the open, classically Spanish plains south of Pamplona. Here you enter the world of Navarra and La Rioja. It’s a region awash with glorious wine, sunburst colours, dreamy landscapes, medieval monasteries and enticing wine towns.
When to Go
AMay–Jun Beat the crowds to the art galleries of Bilbao and the pintxo bars of San Sebastián.
A6–14 Jul Savour the chaos of Pamplona's world-renowned Sanfermines festival.
ASep Hike the high passes of the Navarran Pyrenees and relish the autumnal colours.
Best Places to Eat
Best Places to Stay
Advance Planning
Book accommodation for San Sebastián in high summer and for Pamplona during the Sanfermines at least six months in advance – more if you can. Reserve a table at any of San Sebastián's three-Michelin-star restaurants as far in advance as possible. And buy tickets for the Museo Guggenheim online in advance to save queuing – Bilbao gets very busy over Easter.
Five Perfect Days
Day One: Bilbao
Check out the art in the Museo Guggenheim and the Museo de Bellas Artes, follow our walking tour of the city and peck at some pintxos in the old town.
Day Two: San Sebastián
Catch some rays on Playa de la Concha, one of the most beautiful urban beaches in Europe. Admire the views from the summit of Monte Igueldo and dine in one of the city's multi-Michelin-star restaurants.
Day Three: Pyrenees
Drive lazily through Pyrenean foothills taking in picture-perfect villages like Zugarramurdi, Roncesvalles and Ochagavía.
Day Four: Southern Navarra
Climb the castle turrets in Olite and marvel at the desert scenery in the Parque Natural de las Bárdenas Reales.
Day Five: La Rioja
Tour the wine bodegas in La Rioja and visit the Dinastía Vivanco wine museum.
Top Five Food Experiences
AGraze through a plate of pintxos, the culinary masterpieces of San Sebastián (Click here).
AEat a dinner you'll remember forever in one of the Basque country's three-Michelin-star restaurants (Click here).
ASip a glass of wine in La Rioja, home to the best vino in the land.
AGo on a pintxo-making course (Click here).
ASavour barbecued fish on the seashore in Getaria (Click here).
Hiking the Basque Country & Navarra
The Navarran Pyrenees crash into several Basque massifs, making this prime hiking country, with numerous trails winding across the mountain passes. However, finding a suitable place to start walking can be a little confusing. Almost every bookshop in the region stocks locally produced hiking guides, but most are in Spanish only. If your Spanish isn't up to it, head to the nearest tourist office, where staff can normally conjure up a booklet detailing route descriptions in English.
Best Wine Experiences
AVisit the best wine museum in Spain: Dinastía Vivanco.
AMake your own bottle of wine with Rioja Trek.
ATour a bodega around Haro.
ALearn about the history and culture of the vine in Olite's Museo de la Viña y el Vino de Navarra.
ABuy a bota from Félix Barbero Botas Rioja.
Experiences to Tell the Grandchildren About
AFor the ultimate 'You should have seen it' tale, run with the bulls at Pamplona's Sanfermines festival (Click here).
ARide the Puente Colgante, the worlds first transporter bridge, near Bilbao.
AWitness a 'tug of goose' between two teams of muscle men during Lekeitio's annual festival (Click here).
ALearn all there is to know about knights in shining armour at the Museo de Armeria in Vitoria.
Basque Country
No matter where you’ve just come from, be it the hot, southern plains of Spain or gentle and pristine France, the Basque Country is different. Known to Basques as Euskadi or Euskal Herria (‘the land of Basque Speakers’) and called El Pais Vasco in Spanish, this is where mountain peaks reach for the sky and sublime rocky coves are battered by mighty Atlantic swells. It’s a place that demands exploration beyond the delightful and cosmopolitan main cities of Bilbao, Vitoria and San Sebastián. You travel through the Basque Country always curious, and always rewarded.
History
No one quite knows where the Basque people came from (they have no migration myth in their oral history), but their presence here is believed to predate even the earliest known migrations. The Romans left the hilly Basque Country more or less to itself, but the expansionist Castilian crown gained sovereignty over Basque territories during the Middle Ages (1000–1450), although with considerable difficulty; Navarra constituted a separate kingdom until 1512. Even when they came within the Castilian orbit, Navarra and the three other Basque provinces (Guipúzcoa, Vizcaya and Álava) extracted broad autonomy arrangements, known as the fueros (the ancient laws of the Basques).
After the Second Carlist War in 1876, all provinces except Navarra were stripped of their coveted fueros, thereby fuelling nascent Basque nationalism. Yet, although the Partido Nacionalista Vasco (PNV; Basque Nationalist Party) was established in 1894, support was never uniform as all Basque provinces included a considerable Castilian contingent.
When the Republican government in Madrid proposed the possibility of home rule (self-government) to the Basques in 1936, both Guipúzcoa and Vizcaya took up the offer. When the Spanish Civil War erupted, conservative rural Navarra and Álava supported Franco, while Vizcaya and Guipúzcoa sided with the Republicans, a decision they paid a high price for in the four decades that followed.
It was during the Franco days that Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA; Basque Homeland and Freedom) was first born. It was originally set up to fight against the Franco regime, which suppressed the Basques through banning the language and almost all forms of Basque culture. After the death of Franco, ETA called for nothing less than total independence and continued its bloody fight against the Spanish government until, in October 2011, the group announced a 'definitive cessation of its armed activity'.
Bilbao, the Basque Country & La Rioja Highlights
1 Play on a perfect beach, gorge on fabulous pintxos (Basque tapas), dance all night and dream of staying forever in stylish San Sebastián, the food capital of the planet.
2 Wish that you too could paint like a genius in the galleries of Bilbao.
3 Get barrelled in the surf at Mundaka and re-create the Guggenheim in sand-castle form on a beautiful Basque beach.
4 Learn the secrets of a good drop in the museums and vineyards of La Rioja.
5 Roll back the years in the medieval fortress towns of Olite and Ujué.
6 Climb mist-shrouded slopes haunted by witches and vultures in the Navarran Pyrenees.
7 Pretend you’re Hemingway during the Sanfermines week of debauchery in Pamplona.
TOP PICKS FOR KIDS
With all those tiring outdoor activities, the Basque Country, Navarra and La Rioja are great places for children. In no particular order, here are our top picks:
- Hunting for dinosaurs in Enciso.
- Playing dungeons and dragons in the castles of Olite and Javier.
- Gawping at Nemo and Jaws in San Sebastián’s aquarium.
- Sandcastle-building for the tots and learning to surf for the big boys and girls almost anywhere along the Basque coast.
- For older children, playing Jack and Jill went up the (very big) hill in the Pyrenees.
- Turning your little sister into a frog with the witches of Zugarramurdi.
- Fiesta, fiesta! The daylight hours of almost every fiesta are tailor-made for children.
Bilbao
CITY TOURS
There are a number of different city tours available. Some are general-interest tours, others focus on specific aspects of the city such as architecture or food. The following are recommended.
- Bilbao tourist office Organises 1½-hour walking tours (€4.50; 10am Saturday and Sunday) covering either the old town or the architecture in the newer parts of town. At busy times tours can run with more frequency.
- Bilboats (
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;
%946 42 41 57; www.bilboats.com; Plaza Pío Baroja; adult/child from € 12/7) Runs boat cruises along the Nervión several times a day. - Bilbao Greeters (www.bilbaogreeters.com; Adult €12) One of the more original, and interesting, ways to see the city and get to know a local is through the Bilbao Greeters organisation. Essentially a local person gives you a tour of the city showing you their favourite sights, places to hang out and, of course, pintxo (Basque tapas) bars. You need to reserve through the website at least a fortnight in advance.
Pop 354,200
Bilbao (Bilbo in Basque) had a tough upbringing. Growing up in an environment of heavy industry and industrial wastelands, it was abused for years by those in power and had to work hard to get anywhere. But, like the kid from the estates who made it big, Bilbao’s graft paid off when a few wise investments left it with a shimmering titanium fish called the Museo Guggenheim and a horde of arty groupies around the world.
The Botxo (Hole), as it’s fondly known to its inhabitants, has now matured into its role of major European art centre. However, in doing so, it hasn’t gone all toffee-nosed and forgotten its past: at heart it remains a hard-working and, physically, rather ugly town, but it’s one that has real character. It’s this down-to-earth soul, rather than its plethora of art galleries, that is the real attraction of the vital, exciting and cultured city of Bilbao.
History
Bilbao was granted the title of villa (city-state) in 1300 and medieval bilbaínos went about their business in the bustle of Las Siete Calles, the original seven streets of the old town, and down on the wharves. The conquest of the Americas stimulated trade and Basque fishers, merchants and settlers soon built strong links to cities such as Boston. By the late 19th century the smokestacks of steelworks, shipbuilding yards and chemical plants dominated the area’s skyline.
From the Carlist Wars through to the Spanish Civil War, Bilbao was always considered the greatest prize in the north, largely for its industrial value. Franco took the city in the spring of 1937 and reprisals against Basque nationalists were massive and long lasting. Yet during the Franco era, the city prospered as it fed Spanish industrial needs. This was followed by the seemingly terminal economic decline that has been so dynamically reversed in recent years.
Bilbao
1Sights
2Activities, Courses & Tours
4Sleeping
5Eating
6Drinking & Nightlife
7Shopping
1Sights
oMuseo GuggenheimART GALLERY
(
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; www.guggenheim-bilbao.es; Avenida Abandoibarra 2; adult/student/child €13/11/free; 
h10am-8pm, closed Mon Sep-Jun)
Opened in September 1997, Bilbao’s Museo Guggenheim lifted modern architecture and Bilbao into the 21st century – with sensation. It boosted the city’s already inspired regeneration, stimulated further development and placed Bilbao firmly in the world art and tourism spotlight.
Some might say, probably quite rightly, that structure overwhelms function here, and that the Guggenheim is more famous for its architecture than its content. But Canadian architect Frank Gehry’s inspired use of flowing canopies, cliffs, promontories, ship shapes, towers and flying fins is irresistible.
Like all great architects, Gehry designed the Guggenheim with historical and geographical contexts in mind. The site was an industrial wasteland, part of Bilbao’s wretched and decaying warehouse district on the banks of Ría de Bilbao. The city’s historical industries of shipbuilding and fishing reflected Gehry’s own interests, not least his engagement with industrial materials in previous works. The gleaming titanium tiles that sheathe most of the building like giant herring scales are said to have been inspired by the architect’s childhood fascination with fish.
Other artists have added their touch to the Guggenheim as well. Lying between the glass buttresses of the central atrium and Río Nervión is a simple pool of water that emits at intervals a mist ‘sculpture’ by Fuyiko Nakaya. Nearby on the riverbank is a sculpture by Louise Bourgeois, a skeletal canopy representing a spider, entitled Maman, said to symbolise a protective embrace. In the open area to the west of the museum, a fountain sculpture randomly fires off jets of water into the air and youngsters leap to and fro across it. On the Alameda Mazarredo, the city side of the museum, is Jeff Koons’ kitsch whimsy Puppy, a 12m-tall Highland terrier made up of thousands of begonias. Bilbao has hung on to ‘El Poop’, who was supposed to be a passing attraction as part of a world tour. Bilbaínos will tell you that El Poop came first – and then they had to build a kennel behind it.
Heading inside, the interior of the Guggenheim is purposely vast. The cathedral-like atrium is more than 45m high. Light pours in through the glass cliffs. Permanent exhibits fill the ground floor and include such wonders as mazes of metal and phrases of light reaching for the skies.
For most people, though, it is the temporary exhibitions that are the main attraction (check the website for upcoming shows).
Admission prices vary depending on special exhibitions and time of year. The prices we have quoted are the maxiumn (and most common); the last ticket sales are half an hour before closing. Free guided tours in Spanish take place at 11am and 5pm; sign up half an hour before at the information desk. Tours can be conducted in other languages but you must ask at the information desk beforehand. Groups are limited to 20, so get there early. It’s also possible to organise private group tours with advance request in Spanish, English, French and German, among others. The museum is equipped with specially adapted magnetic loop PDA video guides for those with hearing impairments. Excellent self-guided audio tours in various languages are free with admission and there is a special children's audio guide. Entry queues can be horrendous, with wet summer days and Easter almost guaranteeing you a wait of over an hour. The museum is wheelchair accessible.
oMuseo de Bellas ArtesART GALLERY
(
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; www.museobilbao.com; Plaza del Museo 2; adult/student/child €7/5/free, free Wed; h10am-8pm Wed-Mon)
The Museo de Bellas Artes houses a compelling collection that includes everything from Gothic sculptures to 20th-century pop art. There are three main subcollections: classical art, with works by Murillo, Zurbarán, El Greco, Goya and van Dyck; contemporary art, featuring works by Gauguin, Francis Bacon and Anthony Caro; and Basque art, with works of the great sculptors Jorge de Oteiza and Eduardo Chillida, and strong paintings by the likes of Ignacio Zuloago and Juan de Echevarria.
As good as the permanent collection is, it's the temporary exhibitions (see the website for upcoming exhibitions) that really draw the crowds. Exhibitions in 2014 showcased Japanese art and hyperrealism.
Casco ViejoOLD TOWN
The compact Casco Viejo, Bilbao’s atmospheric old quarter, is full of charming streets, boisterous bars and plenty of quirky and independent shops. At the heart of the casco are Bilbao’s original seven streets, Las Siete Calles, which date from the 1400s.
The 14th-century Gothic Catedral de Santiago (
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; Plaza de Santiago; h11am-1pm & 5-7pm Tue-Sat, 11am-12pm Sun) has a splendid Renaissance portico and pretty little cloister. Further north, the 19th-century arcaded Plaza Nueva (
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) is a rewarding pintxo (Basque tapas) haunt. There’s a lively Sunday-morning flea market here, which is full of secondhand book and record stalls, and pet ‘shops’ selling chirpy birds (some kept in old-fashioned wooden cages), fluffy mice and tiny baby terrapins. Elsewhere in the market, children and adults alike swap and barter football cards and old stamps from countries you’ve never heard of; in between weave street performers and waiters with trays piled high. The market is much more subdued in winter. A sweeter-smelling flower market takes place on Sunday mornings in the nearby Plaza del Arenal.
Euskal MuseoaMUSEUM
(Museo Vasco;
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; www.euskal-museoa.org/es/hasiera; Plaza Miguel Unamuno 4; adult/child €3/free, free Thu; h10am-7pm Tue-Fri, 10am-1.30pm & 4-7pm Sat, 10am-2pm Sun)
This museum is probably the most complete museum of Basque culture and history in all of Spain. The story kicks off back in the days of prehistory and from this murky period the displays bound rapidly through to the modern age.
The main problem with the museum is that, unless you speak Spanish (or perhaps you studied Euskara at school?), it’s all a little meaningless as there are no English or French translations.
The museum is housed in a fine old building, at the centre of which is a peaceful cloister that was part of an original 17th-century Jesuit college. In the cloister is the Mikeldi Idol, a powerful pre-Christian, possibly Iron Age, symbolic figure.
Museo Marítimo Ría de BilbaoMUSEUM
(
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; www.museomaritimobilbao.org; Muelle Ramón de la Sota 1; adult/student/child €6/3.50/free; h10am-8pm Tue-Sun, to 6pm Mon-Fri in winter)
This space-age maritime museum, appropriately sited down on the waterfront, uses bright and well-thought-out displays to bring the watery depths of Bilbao and Basque maritime history to life. There’s an outdoor section where children (and nautically inclined grown-ups) can clamber about a range of boats pretending to be pirates and sailors.
Arkeologi MuseoMUSEUM
(
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; Calzadas de Mallona 2; adult/student/child €3/1.50/free, free Fri; h10am-2pm & 4-7.30pm Tue-Sat, 10.30am-2pm Sun)
Through the use of numerous flashing lights, beeping things and a fair few spearheads and old pots, this museum reinforces the point that the inhabitants of this corner of Spain have lived here for a very long time indeed. Labelling is in Spanish and Basque only.
Parque de Doña Casilda de IturrizarPARK
( MAP GOOGLE MAP )
Floating on waves of peace and quiet just beyond the Museo de Bellas Artes is another work of fine art – the Parque de Doña Casilda de Iturrizar. The centrepiece of this whimsical park is the large pond filled with ornamental ducks and other waterfowl.
Funicular de ArtxandaFUNICULAR
(
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; Plaza Funicular; adult/child €0.95/0.30; h7.15am-10pm Mon-Sat, 8.15am-10pm Sun)
Bilbao is a city hemmed by hills and mountains into a tight valley. For a breathtaking view over the city, the valley it sits in and the wild Basque mountains beyond, take a trip on the funicular railway that has creaked and moaned its way up the steep slope to the summit of Artxanda for nearly a century.
ARTEAN PASS
The Artean Pass is a joint ticket for the Guggenheim and the Museo de Bellas Artes, which, at €14 for adults, offers significant savings. It’s available from either museum.
2Walking Tour
Architecture & River Views
Start Teatro Arriaga
End Teatro Arriaga
Length About 4km; three hours
One of the pleasures of a visit to Bilbao is just walking around admiring its crazy mix of architectural styles and the riverside walkways.
Start at the Baroque 1Teatro Arriaga, on the edge of the Casco Viejo, which was built in 1890. Follow the river through the 2Plaza del Arenal and pass by the grand 3ayuntamiento (town hall), dating from the late 19th century. Continue upriver along the Paseo Campo Volantin, which is lined with buildings covering a range of styles. Cross over the 4Puente Zubizuri; this wave-like bridge was designed by Santiago Calatrava and is the most striking bridge in the city.
Arriving on the other side of the river turn right and carry on up the waterfront towards the most famous building in the city, the 5Museo Guggenheim. It’s hard to unhinge your eyes from the Guggenheim, but do be sure to check out the spider-like 6Maman and 7Puppy, the sweetest-smelling dog you ever did see.
Continue walking along the river past numerous sculptures. On your left is the 8Iberdrola tower, a 165m glass office block, the tallest building in the region. Eventually you arrive at the modern 9Euskalduna Palace. Turn left and enjoy the stroll through the whimsical aParque de Doña Casilda de Iturrizar, pass by the bMuseo de Bellas Artes and head down Calle de Elcano to cPlaza de Federico Moyúa, which marks the centre of the new town. This square is lined by impressive buildings including, on your right, the early-20th-century Flemish-style dPalacio de Chávarri and, opposite, the oh-so-grand eHotel Carlton. Turn down Calle Ercilla, then right down Alameda Mazarredo until you come to the pretty fJardines Albia, overlooked by the 16th-century church gIglesia San Vicente Mátir. Cut down to Calle López de Haro and, passing the art-nouveau facade of the hFEVE train station, cross the Puente del Arenal to arrive back at the start of the walk.
zFestivals & Events
Bilbao has a packed festival calendar. The following are just the big daddies.
CarnavalCARNIVAL
(hFeb)
Carnaval is celebrated with vigour in Bilbao.
Festival Internacional de Blues de GetxoMUSIC
(Getxo International Blues Festival; hearly Jul)
High-quality blues festival in Getxo, 16km north of central Bilbao.
Bilbao BBK LiveMUSIC
(www.bilbaobbklive.com; hmid-Jul)
Bilbao’s biggest musical event is Bilbao BBK Live, which takes place over three days.
Jazz EuskadiMUSIC
(www.jazzeuskadi.com; hJul)
This is one of the region's first major jazz festivals of the summer season. It takes place over five days in the seaside suburb of Getxo.
Semana GrandeCULTURAL
(hAug)
Bilbao’s grandest fiesta begins on the first Saturday after 15 August. It has a full program of cultural events over 10 days.
Festival Internacional de Folk de GetxoFOLK MUSIC
(hSep)
Held in Getxo, this cultural festival promotes regional dance, music and traditions.
4Sleeping
Bilbao welcomes quite a lot of tourists and the most popular hotels and guesthouses can get booked up early in high season, so it pays to book as far ahead as possible. The Bilbao tourism authority has a very useful reservations department (%902 877298; www.bilbaoreservas.com).
Pensión GureaPENSIóN
(
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; %944 16 32 99; www.hostalgurea.com; Calle de Bidebarrieta 14; s/d from €40/48; 
W)
The family-run Gurea has been revamped and has arty, modern rooms with wooden floors and large bathrooms (most of which have bath tubs) and exceptionally friendly staff. Add it all up and you get what is easily one of the best deals in the old town.
Pensión LaderoPENSIóN
(
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; %944 15 09 32; Calle Lotería 1; s/d without bathroom €22/32; W)
The no-fuss rooms here (all with shared bathrooms) are as cheap as Bilbao gets and represent good bang for your buck. You could probably get sponsored for clambering up the zillion-odd steps to the 4th storey where this pensión is located.
oPensión Iturrienea Ostatua BOUTIQUE HOTEL
(
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; %944 16 15 00; www.iturrieneaostatua.com; Calle de Santa María 14; r €50-70; W
c)
Easily the most eccentric hotel in Bilbao, it’s part farmyard, part old-fashioned toyshop, and a work of art in its own right. The nine rooms here are so full of character that there’ll be barely enough room for your own!
There’s a lovely breakfast area, and with baby beds and chairs and lots of toys, it’s family friendly. If you do stay here, remember: whatever else you do, for goodness’ sake don’t let the sheep escape.
Hostal BegoñaBOUTIQUE HOTEL
(
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; %944 23 01 34; www.hostalbegona.com; Calle de la Amistad 2; s/d from €57/66; 
p
iW)
The owners of this outstanding place don’t need voguish labels for their very stylish and individual creation. Begoña speaks for itself with colourful rooms decorated with modern artworks, all with funky tiled bathrooms and wrought-iron beds. The common areas have mountains of books, traveller information and a rack of computers for internet usage.
It’s probably the best hotel in the city in which to meet other travellers. There’s a car park nearby.
Barceló NerviónHOTEL
(
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; %944 45 47 00; www.barcelonervion.com; Paseo Campo Volantin 11; d from €90; p
aWc)
Part of the nationwide chain, the rooms here, which are smart, comfortable and spacious, offer superb value for money, although the hotel charges over the odds for everything else. The location, on the riverfront and equidistant between the old town and the Guggenheim, is ideal.
Miró HotelDESIGN HOTEL
(
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; %946 61 18 80; www.mirohotelbilbao.com; Alameda Mazarredo 77; d from €127; aiW)
This stunning hotel facing Bilbao’s most famous designer building has common areas filled with modern photographic art and rooms that are of a slick, minimalist city style. All up, it’s a perfect fit with arty Bilbao.
Hotel Bilbao JardinesBOUTIQUE HOTEL
(
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; %944 79 42 10; www.hotelbilbaojardines.com; Calle Jardines 9; s €60-65, d €75; aW)
A welcome change from the dusty facades of Casco Viejo (Old Town), the Jardines has fresh, green decor and rooms that lap up light like a sunbathing lizard. Good value for money.
Gran Hotel DomineDESIGN HOTEL
(
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; %944 25 33 00; www.granhoteldominebilbao.com; Alameda Mazarredo 61; s/d from €170/190; pai
s)
Designer chic all the way, this stellar showpiece of the Silken chain has views of the Guggenheim from some of its pricier rooms, a giant column of rounded beach stones reaching for the heavens and a water feature filled with plates and glasses.Yes, it's a little different.
Booking online beforehand can lead to big discounts.
Hotel CarltonHISTORIC HOTEL
(
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; %944 16 22 00; www.hotelcarlton.es; Plaza de Frederico Moyúa 2; s/d €320/329; paiWc)
Style, class and sophistication: the reception area is overpoweringly ornate and the rooms are all classic old-fashioned class (although some might also call this dull!). When James Bond came to Bilbao in The World Is Not Enough, you can be absolutely sure that this is where he stayed.
The prices quoted here are maxiumn walk-in rates. By booking online in advance, it's pretty easy to come by discounts of 50% to 60%.
WHAT'S COOKING IN THE BASQUE COUNTRY, NAVARRA AND LA RIOJA
Food and drink is almost the cornerstone of life in this part of Spain. Basque food is generally considered about the best in the country, and the wines of La Rioja are the finest in Spain. Seafood is big on the coast: bacalao al pil-pil (salted cod and garlic in an olive-oil emulsion) and chipirones en su tinta (baby squid served in its own ink) are both popular. Further into the hills and mountains people tuck into chuleton de buey (steaks – never less than massive). Look out also for fine mountain cheese in the Pyrenees and tiny baby elvers on the coast (although nowadays a substitute is often used due to the rarity of elvers).
5Eating
In the world of trade and commerce, the Basques are an outward-looking lot, but when it comes to food they refuse to believe that any other people could possibly match their culinary skills (and they may well have a point). This means that eating out in Bilbao is generally a choice of Basque, Basque or Basque food. Still, life could be worse and there are some terrific places to eat.
The porticoed Plaza Nueva is a good spot for coffee and people-watching, especially in summer.
Rio-OjaBASQUE
(
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; %944 15 08 71; Calle de Perro 4; mains €7-12; h9am-11pm)
An institution that shouldn’t be missed. It specialises in light Basque seafood and heavy inland fare, but to most foreigners the snails, sheep brains or squid floating in pools of its own ink are the makings of a culinary adventure story they’ll be recounting for years. Don’t worry, though: it really does taste much better than it sounds.
La Mary RestauranteBASQUE
(
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; www.lamaryrestaurant.com; Plaza de Arriquíbar 3; menú del día €9.90; h1-4pm & 8-11.30pm)
From the outside this looks like quite a swanky place, but in fact it's very relaxed and so exceptionally well priced that to enjoy its bargain lunch menu you must arrive early to avoid joining a queue of locals waiting for a table.
oCasa Rufo BASQUE
(
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; %944 43 21 72; www.casarufo.com; Hurtado de Amézaga 5; mains €10-15; h1.30-4pm & 8.30-11.30pm Mon-Sat)
Despite the emergence of numerous glitzy restaurants that are temples to haute cuisine this resolutely old-fashioned place, with its shelves full of dusty bottles of top-quality olive oil and wine, still stands out as one of the best places to eat traditional Basque food in Bilbao.
The restaurant also doubles as a deli and many of the products lining the shelves are for sale.
Advance reservations are a very good idea.
BascookCONTEMPORARY BASQUE
(
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; %944 00 99 77; www.bascook.com; Calle de Barroeta Aldamar 8; menú del día €23; hlunch Mon-Sat, evenings Thu-Sat)
The style of this unique place won't appeal to all. The lighting is more nightclub than restaurant and the menu is printed in the form of a newspaper, but even if the decor doesn't appeal the food probably will: an utterly modern and unusual take on Basque classics that's good enough to have locals battling for tables.
Agape RestauranteBASQUE
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %944 16 05 06; www.restauranteagape.com; Calle de Hernani 13; menus €12-36; h1-4pm Sun-Wed, 1-4pm & 8.30-11.30pm Thu-Sat)
With a solid reputation among locals for good-value meals that don't sacrifice quality, this place is a great place for a slice of real Bilbao culinary life. It's well away from the standard tourist circuit.
Larruzz BilbaoMEDITERRANEAN
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %944 23 08 20; www.larruzzbilbao.com; Calle Uribitarte 24; mains €12-17, menu from €17; hnoon-midnight)
Set on the banks of the Nervión, this incredibly popular restaurant (book ahead) has a polished business exterior, but a stone-cottage country interior. Its real speciality is paella, but it also serves various meaty Mediterranean dishes.
Casa Victor MontesBASQUE
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %944 15 70 67; www.victormontesbilbao.com; Plaza Nueva 8; mains €15, pintxos from €2.50; h10.30am-11pm Mon-Thu, 10.30am-midnight Fri-Sun)
Part bar, part shop, part restaurant, total work of art, the Victor Montes is quite touristy but locals also appreciate its over-the-top decoration, its good food and the 1000 or so bottles of wine lined up behind the bar. If you’re stopping by for a full meal, book in advance and savour the house special, bacalao (dried cod).
oMina RestauranteCONTEMPORARY BASQUE
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %944 79 59 38; www.restaurantemina.es; Muelle Marzana; tasting menu from €60; hclosed Tue & Sun evening & Mon)
Offering unexpected sophistication and fine dining in an otherwise fairly grimy neighbourhood, this riverside, and appropriately fish-based, restaurant has some critics citing it as the current número uno of Basque cooking. Reservations are essential.
Zortziko RestauranteCONTEMPORARY BASQUE
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %944 23 97 43; www.zortziko.es; Alameda Mazarredo 17; menus from €85, mains €26-38; hTue-Sat; 
v)
Michelin-starred chef Daniel García presents immaculate modern Basque cuisine in a formal 1920s-style French dining room. The highly inventive menu changes frequently but can include such delicacies as lamb sweetbreads stew with milk and thyme ice cream.
If the food excites your taste buds that much, then sign up for one of his occasional cooking courses (€40).
NeruaCONTEMPORARY BASQUE
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %944 00 04 30; www.nerua.com; tasting menu from €72; hclosed Mon & 2 weeks in mid-Jan)
The Guggenheim’s modernist, chic restaurant, Nerua, is under the direction of multi-award-winning chef Josean Martínez Alija. Needless to say, the nueva cocina vasca (Basque nouvelle cuisine) is breathtaking – even the olives are vintage classics: all come from 1000-year-old olive trees!
Reservations are essential. If the gourmet restaurant is too extravagant for you, try El Goog’s Bistro, which has set menus from €28.
YandiolaCONTEMPORARY BASQUE
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %944 13 36 36; www.yandiola.com; Plaza Alhóndiga 4; menus from €42; hclosed Mon, Sun pm, Easter & early Sep)
Inside the Alhóndiga building, Bilbao's new pride and joy, is this outstanding restaurant where chef Ricardo Perez prepares modern Basque and Spanish fare that is also quickly becoming a pride and joy of Bilbao.
The complex houses some cheaper eating options as well.
BEST PINTXO BARS IN BILBAO
Although it lacks San Sebastián’s stellar reputation for pintxos (Basque tapas), prices are generally slightly lower here (all charge from around €2.50 per pintxo) and the quality is about equal. There are literally hundreds of pintxo bars throughout Bilbao, but the Plaza Nueva on the edge of the Casco Viejo offers especially rich pickings, as do Calle de Perro and Calle Jardines. Some of the city’s standouts, in no particular order:
Bar Gure Toki ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Plaza Nueva 12; pintxos from €2.50) With a subtle but simple line in creative pintxos including some made with ostrich.
Café-Bar Bilbao (
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Plaza Nueva 6; pintxos from €2.50; h7am-11pm Mon-Thu, 7am-11.30pm Fri, Sat- 9am-11.30pm, Sun-10am-3pm) Cool blue southern tile work and warm northern atmosphere.
Casa Victor Montes As well known for its pintxos as its full meals.
Sorginzulo (
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Plaza Nueva 12; pintxos from €2.50; h9.30am-12.30am) A matchbox-sized bar with an exemplary spread of pintxos. The house special is calamari but it’s only served on weekends.
Berton Sasibil (
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Calle Jardines 8; pintxos from €2.50; h8.30am-midnight Mon-Sat, 10am-4pm Sun) Here you can watch informative films on the crafting of the same superb pintxos that you’re munching on.
Claudio: La Feria del Jamón ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Calle Iparragirre 9-18; pintxos from €2.50) A creaky old place full of ancient furnishings. As you’ll guess from the name and the dozens of legs of ham hanging from the ceiling, it’s all about pigs. Opposite the bar, it has a shop selling hams to take away.
La Viña del Ensanche (
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %944 15 56 15; www.lavinadelensanche.com; Calle de la Diputación 10; pintxos from €2.50; h8.30am-11pm Mon-Sat) Hundreds of bottles of wine line the walls of this outstanding pintxos bar. And when we say outstanding, we mean that it could well be the best place to eat pintxos in the city.
Museo del Vino (
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Calle de Ledesma 10; pintxos from €2.50; h1-5pm & 8-11pm Mon-Fri) Tiled white interior, Gaudíesque windows, delicous octopus pintxos and an excellent wine selection (as you'd hope with a name like this). This place makes us smile.
Bitoque de Albia (
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; www.bitoque.net; Alameda Mazarredo 6; pintxos from €2.50; h1.30-4pm Mon-Wed, 1.30-4pm & 8.30-11.15pm Thu-Sat) Award-winning modern pintxos bar serving such unclassic dishes as miniature red tuna burgers, salmon sushi and clams with wild mushrooms. It also offers a pintxos tasting menu (€12).
El Globo (
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Calle de Diputación 8; pintxos from €2.50; h8am-11pm Mon-Thu, 8am-midnight Fri & Sat) This is an unassuming but popular bar with favourites such as txangurro gratinado (spider crab).
Los Candiles (
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Calle de Diputación 1; pintxos from €2.50; h7am-10pm Mon-Sat) A narrow, low-key little bar, with some subtle pintxos filled with the taste of the sea.
Mugi (
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Licenciado Poza 55; pintxos from €2.50; h7am-midnight Mon-Sat, noon-midnight Sun) Widely regarded pintxo bar. It can get so busy that you might have to stand outside.
6Drinking & Entertainment
In the Casco Viejo, around Calles Barrenkale, Ronda and de Somera, there are plenty of terrific hole-in-the-wall, no-nonsense bars with a generally youngish crowd.
Across the river, in the web of streets around Muelle Marzana and Bilbao la Vieja, are scores more little bars and clubs. This is gritty Bilbao as it used to be in the days before the arty makeover. It’s both a Basque heartland and the centre of the city’s ethnic community. The many bars around here are normally welcoming, but one or two can be a bit seedy. It’s not a great idea for a woman to walk here alone at night.
There are plenty of clubs and live-music venues in Bilbao, and the vibe is friendly and generally easy-going. Venues’ websites usually have details of upcoming gigs.
Bilbao offers regular performances of dance, opera and drama at the city’s principal theatre and the Kafe Antzokia. Check the theatre websites for current information.
El Balcón de la LolaCLUB
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Calle Bailén 10; admission Fri & Sat €10; h11.45pm-6.15am Thu & Fri, noon-3.30pm & 11.45pm-6.15am Sat, noon-4.30pm Sun)
One of Bilbao’s most popular mixed gay-and-straight clubs, this is the place to come if you’re looking for hip industrial decor and a packed Saturday-night disco. It’s located under the railway lines.
oKafe AntzokiaLIVE MUSIC
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %944 24 61 07; www.kafeantzokia.com; Calle San Vicente 2)
This is the vibrant heart of contemporary Basque Bilbao, featuring international rock bands, blues and reggae, but also the cream of Basque rock-pop. Weekend concerts run from 10pm to 1am, followed by DJs until 5am. Cover charge for concerts can range from about €15 upwards. During the day it’s a cafe, restaurant and cultural centre all rolled into one and has frequent exciting events on.
Teatro ArriagaTHEATRE
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %944 79 20 36; www.teatroarriaga.com; Plaza Arriaga)
The baroque facade of this venue commands the open spaces of El Arenal between the Casco Viejo and the river. It stages theatrical performances and classical-music concerts.
Euskalduna PalaceLIVE MUSIC
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %944 03 50 00; www.euskalduna.net; Avenida Abandoibarra)
About 600m downriver from the Guggenheim is another modernist gem, built on the riverbank in a style that echoes the great shipbuilding works of the 19th century. The Euskalduna houses the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra and the Basque Symphony Orchestra.
BILBAO CAFES
Bilbao has some classic cafes in which to enjoy a caffeine shot and a sweet snack. Styles range from fusty and old fashioned to modern and flash. Here’s our pick of the crop.
Café Iruña (
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; www.cafesdebilbao.net; cnr Calles de Colón de Larreátegui & Berástegui; h7am-1am Mon-Thu, 7am-2am Fri, 9am-1am Sat, noon-1am Sun) Ornate Moorish style and a century of gossip are the defining characteristics of this grand old dame. It’s the perfect place to indulge in a bit of people-watching. Dont miss the delicous pinchos morunos (spicy kebabs).
La Granja (
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; www.cafesdebilbao.net; Plaza Circular 3; h7.30am-12.30am Mon-Fri, 10.30am-1.30am Sat) With its period furnishings and polished wooden bar top, this place, which first opened its doors in 1926, is another of Bilbao’s old time-warp cafes.
Opila ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Calle de Sendeja 4) Fantastic patisserie and cafe. Downstairs is all art-deco furnishings and glass display cabinets and upstairs is way more up to the moment.
Mami Lou Cupcake (
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Calle Barraincua 7; h11am-8.30pm Mon-Sat) Relive your childhood at this cute little cafe with 1950s decor and colourful homemade cupcakes.
Casa del Café & Té (
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Alaveda Doctor Areliza 22; h9am-9pm Mon-Fri, 9am-2pm & 5-9pm Sat) This cute little blue teashop sells tea leaves to take away or you can sit and sup your brew in situ.
7Shopping
For major department stores and big-name fashion labels trawl the streets of El Ensanche. For more one of a kind, independent boutiques, Casco Viejo is the place to look (although even here the chain shops are increasingly making their presence felt).
Bilbao is also a great place for food shopping (of course!).
Almacen Coloniales y Bacalao Gregorio Martín FOOD
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Calle Artekale 32; h10am-2pm & 4-8pm Mon-Sat)
Specialising in bacalao (salted cod) since it first opened some 80 years ago. Today it also sells oils, pulses and hams.
ArreseFOOD
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Calle Lopez de Haro 24; h10am-2pm & 4-8pm Mon-Sat)
With 160 years of baking experience behind them, you'd expect the cakes at this little patisserie to taste divine, but frankly they're even better than you'd expect.
Chocolates de Medaro FOOD
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; www.chocolatesdemendaro.com; Calle de Licenciado Poza 16; h10am-2pm & 4-8pm Mon-Sat)
This old-time chocolate shop created its first chocolate treats way back in 1850 and is hands down the best place to ruin a diet in Bilbao.
Elkar MegadendaBOOKS
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Calle de Iparragirre 26; h10am-2pm & 4-8pm Mon-Sat)
Basque publications are strongly represented here. It also stocks books in Spanish and a few in English, and there’s an excellent map and travel section. There are a couple of other branches in the city.
TxorierriFOOD
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Calle Artekale 19; h10am-2pm & 4-8pm Mon-Sat)
High-quality deli selling the full tummy-pleasing array of local culinary delicacies.
8Information
Emergency
Tourist Information
Tourist OfficeTOURIST INFORMATION
main tourist office (
GOOGLE MAP
; %944 79 57 60; www.bilbaoturismo.net; Plaza Circular 1; h9am-9pm; iW); airport (%944 71 03 01; www.bilbaoturismo.net; h9am-9pm Mon-Sat, 9am-3pm Sun); Guggenheim (
GOOGLE MAP
; www.bilbaoturismo.net; Alameda Mazarredo 66; h10am-7pm daily, till 3pm Sun Sep-Jun); Bilbao’s friendly tourist-office staffers are extremely helpful, well informed and, above all, enthusiastic about their city. At all offices ask for the free bimonthly Bilbao Guía, with its entertainment listings plus tips on restaurants, bars and nightlife. At the newly opened, state-of-the-art main tourist office there's free wi-fi access, a bank of touch-screen information computers and, best of all, some humans to help answer questions.
TRAVEL PASSES
The Bilbaocard (one-/two-/three-day pass €6/10/12) entitles the user to reduced rates on all city transport as well as reductions at many of the sights. It can be purchased from any of the tourist offices. Creditrans give significant discounts on the metro, tram and city-bus network. They are available in €5, €10 and €15 denominations from all metro and tram stations.
8Getting There & Away
Air
Bilbao’s airport (BIO; %902 404704; www.aena.es) is near Sondika, to the northeast of the city. A number of European flag carriers serve the city. Of the budget airlines, EasyJet (www.easyjet.com) and Vueling (www.vueling.com) cover the widest range of destinations.
Bus
Bilbao’s main bus station, Termibus (
GOOGLE MAP
; %944 39 50 77; Gurtubay 1, San Mamés), is west of the centre. There are regular services to the following destinations:
Bizkaibus travels to destinations throughout the rural Basque Country, including coastal communities such as Lekeitio (€3.25) and Guernica (Gernika; €2.45).
Train
The Abando train station is just across the river from Plaza Arriaga and the Casco Viejo. There are frequent trains to the following destinations:
Next door is the Concordia train station ( GOOGLE MAP ), with its handsome art-nouveau facade of wrought iron and tiles. It is used by the FEVE (www.feve.es), a formerly private rail company that was recently purchased by RENFE. It has trains running west into Cantabria. There are three daily trains to Santander (from €8.75, three hours) where you can change for stations in Asturias.
The Atxuri train station ( GOOGLE MAP ) is just upriver from Casco Viejo. From here, Eusko Tren/Ferrocarril Vasco (www.euskotren.es) operates services every half-hour to the following:
Hourly Eusko Tren trains go to San Sebastián (€5.30, 2¾ hours) via Durango, Zumaia and Zarautz, but the bus is much quicker.
8Getting Around
To/From the Airport
The airport bus (Bizkaibus A3247; GOOGLE MAP ; €1.40) departs from a stand on the extreme right as you leave arrivals. It runs through the northwestern section of the city, passing the Museo Guggenheim, stopping at Plaza de Federico Moyúa and terminating at the Termibus (bus station). It runs from the airport every 20 minutes in summer and every 30 minutes in winter from 6.20am to midnight. There is also a direct hourly bus from the airport to San Sebastián (€15.70, 1¼ hours). It runs from 7.45am to 11.45pm.
Taxis from the airport to the Casco Viejo cost about €21 to €26 depending on traffic.
Metro
There are metro stations at all the main focal points of El Ensanche and at Casco Viejo. Tickets start at €1.50. The metro runs to the north coast from a number of stations on both sides of the river and makes it easy to get to the beaches closest to Bilbao.
Tram
Bilbao’s Eusko Tren tramline is a boon to locals and visitors alike. It runs to and fro between Basurtu, in the southwest of the city, and the Atxuri train station. Stops include the Termibus station, the Guggenheim and Teatro Arriaga by the Casco Viejo. Tickets cost €1.50 and need to be validated in the machine next to the ticket dispenser before boarding.
Around Bilbao
Guernica
Pop 15,600
Guernica (Basque: Gernika) is a state of mind. At a glance it seems no more than a modern and none-too-attractive country town. Apparently, prior to the morning of 26 April 1937, Guernica wasn’t quite so ugly, but the horrifying events of that day meant that the town was later reconstructed as fast as possible with little regard for aesthetics.
The reasons Franco wished to destroy Guernica are pretty clear. The Spanish Civil War was raging and World War II was looming on the horizon. Franco’s Nationalist troops were advancing across Spain, but the Basques, who had their own autonomous regional government consisting of supporters of the Left and Basque nationalists, stood opposed to Franco and Guernica was the final town between the Nationalists and the capture of Bilbao. What's harder to understand is why Hitler got involved, but it's generally thought that the Nazis wanted to test the concept of 'terror bombing' on civilian targets. So when Franco asked Hitler for some help he was only too happy to oblige. On that fateful April morning planes from Hitler’s Condor Legion flew backwards and forwards over the town demonstrating their newfound concept of saturation bombing. In the space of a few hours, the town was destroyed and many people were left dead or injured. Exactly how many people were killed remains hard to quantify, with figures ranging from a couple of hundred to well over 1000. The Museo de la Paz de Gernika claims that around 250 civilians were killed and several hundred injured. What makes the bombings even more shocking is that it wasn’t the first time this had happened. Just days earlier, the nearby town of Durango suffered a similar fate, but that time the world had simply not believed what it was being told.
Aside from blocking the path to Bilbao, Guernica may also have been targeted by Franco because of its symbolic value to the Basques. It’s the ancient seat of Basque democracy and the site at which the Basque parliament met beneath the branches of a sacred oak tree from medieval times until 1876. Today the original oak is nothing but a stump, but the Tree of Guernica lives on in the form of a young oak tree.
The tragedy of Guernica gained international resonance with Picasso’s iconic painting Guernica, which has come to symbolise the violence of the 20th century. A copy of the painting now hangs in the entrance hall of the UN headquarters in New York, while the original hangs in the Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid.
Accommodation in Guernica is pretty unremarkable. Most people just come on a day trip from Bilbao.
1Sights
Museo de la Paz de GernikaMUSEUM
(Guernica Peace Museum; www.peacemuseumguernica.org; Plaza Foru 1; adult/child €5/3; h10am-7pm Tue-Sat, 10am-2pm Sun Mar-Sep, 10am-2pm & 4-6pm Tue-Sat, 10am-2pm Sun Oct-Feb)
Guernica’s seminal experience is a visit to the museum, where audiovisual displays calmly reveal the horror of war and hatred, both in the Basque Country and around the world. Display panels are in Castilian and Basque, but translations are available. A couple of blocks north, on Calle Allende Salazar, is a ceramic-tile version of Picasso’s Guernica.
Euskal Herriko MuseoaMUSEUM
(Calle Allende Salazar; adult/child €3/1.50; h10am-2pm & 4-7pm Tue-Sat, 10.30am-2.30pm Sun)
Housed in the 18th-century Palacio de Montefuerte, this museum contains a comprehensive exhibition on Basque history and culture, with fine old maps, engravings and a range of other documents and portraits.
Parque de los Pueblos de EuropaPARK, MONUMENT
The pleasant Parque de los Pueblos de Europa contains a couple of typically curvaceous sculptures by Henry Moore and other works by Eduardo Chillida. The park leads to the attractive Casa de Juntas, where the provincial government has met since 1979. Nearby is the famous Tree of Guernica, sheltered by a neoclassical gazebo.
8Information
Tourist OfficeTOURIST INFORMATION
(%946 25 58 92; www.gernika-lumo.org; Artekalea 8; h10am-2pm & 4-7pm Mon-Sat, 10am-2pm Sun)
This helpful office has friendly multilingual staff.
8Getting There & Away
Guernica is an easy day trip from Bilbao by ET/FV train from Atxuri train station (€2.85, one hour). Trains run every half-hour.
WORTH A TRIP
PUENTE COLGANTE
A worthwhile stop en route to the beaches is the Unesco World Heritage–listed Puente Colgante, designed by Alberto Palacio, a disciple of Gustave Eiffel (he of Parisian tower fame). Opening in 1893, it was the world’s first transporter bridge and links the suburbs of Getxo and Portugalete. A platform, suspended from the actual bridge high above, is loaded with up to six cars plus foot passengers; it then glides silently over Río Nervión to the other bank. Rides cost €0.35 one way per person. You can also take a lift up to the superstructure at 46m (€7) and walk across the river and back for some great views (not for those prone to vertigo). Another choice is to cross the river by small ferry boat (€0.35). The nearest metro stop from Bilbao is Areeta or Portugalete (both €1.50).
Mundaka
pop 1800
Universally regarded as the home of the best wave in Europe, Mundaka is a name of legend for surfers across the world. The wave breaks on a perfectly tapering sandbar formed by the outflow of the Río Urdaibai and, on a good day, offers heavy, barrelling lefts that can reel off for hundreds of metres. Fantastic for experienced surfers, Mundaka is absolutely not a place for novices to take to the waves.
Despite all the focus being on the waves, Mundaka has done a sterling job of not turning itself into just another ‘hey dude’ surf town and remains a resolutely Basque port with a pretty main square and harbour area. There’s a small tourist office.
Buses and ET/FV trains between Bilbao and Bermeo stop here.
4Sleeping & Eating
Those wishing to stay and practise their tube-riding skills should pull in at one of the following, but be warned prices are high in this popular little town.
For food there are a couple of buzzing bars down by the harbourside selling pintxos and more.
Camping PortuondoCAMPGROUND
(%946 87 77 01; www.campingportuondo.com; sites per person/tent €8.60/15, bungalows from €100; Ws)
Just to the south of town, this campground has pleasant terraced grounds, a pool and a restaurant, but gets overrun in the summer.
Hotel AtalayaHOTEL
(%946 17 70 00; www.atalayahotel.es; Kalea Itxaropena 1; s/d €96/121; pW)
This grand hotel is in a lovely old building near the waterfront and has clean and reliable rooms – although, like everywhere in Mundaka, it’s a little overpriced.
8Information
Tourist OfficeTOURIST INFORMATION
(%946 17 72 01; www.mundaka.org; Calle Kepa Deuna; h10.30am-1.30pm & 4-7pm Tue-Sat, 11am-2pm Sun)
A small tourist office.
The Central Basque Coast
The coast road from Bilbao to San Sebastián is a glorious journey past spectacular seascapes, with cove after cove stretching east and verdant fields suddenly ending where cliffs plunge into the sea. Casas rurales (village or farmstead accommodation) and campgrounds are plentiful and well signposted.
Elantxobe
Pop 444
The tiny hamlet of Elantxobe, with its colourful houses clasping like geckos to an almost sheer cliff face, is undeniably one of the most attractive spots along the entire coast. The difficulty of building here, and the lack of a beach, has meant that it has been saved from the worst of tourist-related development, but it's a pretty place to explore, and on hot days you can join the local children jumping into the sea off the harbour walls.
Lekeitio
Pop 7300
Bustling Lekeitio is gorgeous. The attractive old core is centred on the unnaturally large and slightly out-of-place late-Gothic Iglesia de Santa María de la Asunción and a busy harbour lined by multicoloured, half-timbered old buildings – some of which house fine seafood restaurants and pintxo bars. But for most visitors, it’s the two beaches that are the main draw. The one just east of the river, with a small rocky mound of an island offshore, is one of the finest beaches in the Basque Country. In many ways the town is like a miniature version of San Sebastián, but for the moment at least, Lekeitio remains a fairly low-key and predominantly Spanish and French holiday town.
The ‘highlight’ of Lekeitio’s annual Fiesta de San Antolín (5 September) involves a tug of war with a goose. The fun and games end when the goose’s head falls off (nowadays they use a pre-killed goose).
4Sleeping
Accommodation is fairly scarce and pricey, but the tourist office can point you in the direction of private rooms.
oHotel ZubietaBOUTIQUE HOTEL
(%946 84 30 30; www.hotelzubieta.com; Calle Atea; s/d from €90/108; pW)
A gorgeous and romantic boutique hotel, five minutes' walk from the centre of town, which is filled with memories of upper-class 18th-century life. It sits within beautiful flower gardens and is surrounded by spring-blossoming cherry trees.
Hotel Palacio OxangoitiBOUTIQUE HOTEL
(%944 65 05 55; www.oxangoiti.net; Kalea Gamarra 2; s/d from €88/110; W)
This lovely 16th-century 'palace' is now a small boutique hotel. It's filled with the smells of ancient polished wood and elegantly combines old and new to produce a very memorable place to stay. The hotel is right in the centre of town and next to the church, so be prepared for some bell clanging after 8am.
Street noise may be problematic for some on busy summer nights.
Hotel Aisia ZitaHOTEL
(%946 84 26 55; www.aisiahoteles.com; Avenida Santa Elena; s/d from €78/101; pW)
In a former life this large place, which directly overlooks the beach, was the holiday home of a Hungarian princess, although today its huge rooms with their 1920s period style are looking a little tired. There's an in-house thalassotherapy centre.
5Eating
Lekeitio has some good places to eat, and self-caterers can pick up fish, straight from the boats, from the harbourside stalls.
Bar LumentzaPINTXOS
(Calle Buenaventura Zapiran 3; pintxos €2-5)
A big hit with the locals, this no-fuss pintxos bar is tucked in the sidestreets. Try the octopus cooked on the plancha (hot plate).
OskarbiSEAFOOD
(Kaia Txatxo 5; menú del día €12)
Pleasing harbourside restaurant with a suitably fishy, and very good value, lunchtime menu.
8Information
Tourist OfficeTOURIST INFORMATION
(%946 84 40 17; Plaza Independancia; h10am-2pm & 4-8pm)
8Getting There & Away
Bizkaibus A3513 (€3.25) leaves from Calle Hurtado de Amézaga, by Bilbao’s Abando train station, about eight times a day (except Sunday) and goes via Guernica and Elantxobe. Fairly regular buses also run from Lekeitio to San Sebastián. Drivers take note: finding a parking space can be borderline impossible in the summer.
Getaria & Zarautz
Pop 2525 & 22,000
The attractive medieval fishing settlement of Getaria is a world away from nearby cosmopolitan San Sebastián and is a much better place to get a feel for coastal Basque culture. The old village tilts gently downhill to a baby-sized harbour, at the end of which is a forested island known as El Ratón (the Mouse), on account of its similarity to a mouse (this similarity is easiest to see after several strong drinks!).
It might have been this giant mouse that first encouraged the town’s most famous son, the sailor Juan Sebastián Elcano, to take to the ocean waves. His adventures eventually culminated in him becoming the first man to sail around the world, after the captain of his ship, Magellan, died halfway through the endeavour.
Getaria has a short but very pleasant beach next to the town's busy harbour, which is almost totally sheltered from all but the heaviest Atlantic swells. Its safe bathing makes it an ideal family beach. If you’re more a culture vulture than a bronzed god or goddess, get your kicks at the new Cristóbal Balenciaga Museoa (www.cristobalbalenciagamuseoa.com; adult/child/under 9yr €10/8/free; h10am-7pm Jul-Aug, shorter hr Sep-Jun). Local boy Cristóbal became one of the big names in fashion design in the 1950s and '60s and this impressive museum showcases some of his best works.
Just 2km further east, along a coastal road that battles with cliffs, ocean waves and several cavelike tunnels, is Zarautz, which consists of a 2.5km-long soft sand beach backed by a largely modern strip of tower blocks. The town is a popular resort for Spaniards, and in the summer it has a lively atmosphere with plenty of places to eat, drink and stay. The beach, which is one of the longest in the Basque Country, has some of the most consistent surfing conditions in the area, and a number of surf schools will help you ‘hang ten’.
4Sleeping & Eating
Despite Zarautz’s more energetic atmosphere, Getaria makes for the more attractive base.
We’re willing to bet you won’t be able walk past one of Getaria’s harbour-front restaurants – where the day's catch is barbecued on open fires – without feeling hungry. Wash your lunch down with a glass of crisp, locally produced txakoli (white wine).
Getariano PentsioaHOTEL
(%943 14 05 67; www.pensiongetariano.es; Calle Herrieta 3, Getaria; s €40-50, d €55-70; W)
This is a charming, mellow yellow building with flower-filled balconies and comfortable rooms. It's on the edge of the main road through town.
Gran Camping ZarautzCAMPGROUND
(%943 83 12 38; www.grancampingzarautz.com; Zarautz; sites for 2 people, tent & car €24; pWc)
In Zarautz, campers will find Gran Camping Zarautz, which has memorable views off the cliffs, at the far eastern end of town.
Hotel Itxas-GainHOTEL
(%943 14 10 35; www.hotelitxasgain.com; Roke Devnal, Getaria; s €50, d €70-125; W)
The Hotel Itxas-Gain is a very good deal and has a mixture of room types: some have little balconies and whirlpool baths that overlook the whirlpool-like ocean. Weather permitting, breakfast is served in the peaceful gardens.
San Sebastián
Pop 183,300
It’s said that nothing is impossible. This is wrong. It’s impossible to lay eyes on San Sebastián (Basque: Donostia) and not fall madly in love. This stunning city is cool, svelte and flirtatious by night, charming and well mannered by day. It's a city that loves to indulge, and with Michelin stars apparently falling from the heavens onto its resturants and a pintxo (tapas) culture almost unmatched anywhere else in Spain, San Sebastián frequently tops lists of the world's best places to eat. But just as good as the food is the summer fun in the sun. For its setting, form and attitude, Playa de la Concha is the equal of any city beach in Europe. Then there’s Playa de Gros (also known as Playa de la Zurriola), with its surfers and sultry beach-goers. As the sun falls on another sweltering summer’s day, you’ll sit back with a drink and an artistic pintxo and realise that, yes, you too are in love with San Sebastián.
San Sebastián has four main centres of action. The lively Parte Vieja (old town) lies across the neck of Monte Urgull, the bay’s eastern headland, and is where the most popular pintxo bars and many of the cheap lodgings are to be found. South of the Parte Vieja is the commercial and shopping district, the Centro Romántico, its handsome grid of late-19th-century buildings extending from behind Playa de la Concha to the banks of Río Urumea. On the east side of the river is the district of Gros, a pleasant enclave that, with its relaxed ambience and the surfing beach of Playa de Gros, makes a cheerful alternative to the honeypots on the west side of the river. Right at the opposite, western end, of the city is Playa de Ondarreta (essentially a continuation of Playa de la Concha), a very upmarket district known as a millionaires' belt on account of its lavish holiday homes.
San Sebastián
1Sights
4Sleeping
5Eating
History
San Sebastián was for centuries little more than a fishing village, but by 1180 it was granted self-governing status by the kingdom of Navarra, for which the bay was the principal outlet to the sea. Whale and cod fishing were the main occupations, along with the export of Castilian products to European ports and then to the Americas. After years of knockabout trans-European conflicts that included the razing of the city by Anglo-Portuguese forces during the Peninsular War, San Sebastián was hoisted into 19th-century stardom as a fashionable watering hole by Spanish royalty dodging the searing heat of the southern meseta (tableland). By the close of the century, the city had been given a superb belle-époque makeover that has left a legacy of elegant art-nouveau buildings and beachfront swagger.
After WWII the city’s popularity sagged, but it’s now undergoing a major revival, and its overall style and excitement are giving it a growing reputation as an important venue for international cultural and commercial events. The beachfront area now contains some of the most expensive properties in Spain and the city is firmly entrenched on the Spanish tourist trail, which gives it a highly international feel (and, sadly, ever-rising prices).
In 2016 it will share the title of European City of Culture with the Polish city of Wrocław.
SAN SEBASTIáN CARD
The San Sebastián Card entitles users to free or reduced admission rates at many of the city’s sights, free citywide transport, discounts in various shops and, with the more expensive cards, a free city tour. Cards are valid for three days (€8) and five days (€15) and are available at the tourist office.
1Sights
oPlaya de la ConchaBEACH
( MAP GOOGLE MAP )
Fulfilling almost every idea of how a perfect city beach should be formed, Playa de la Concha and its westerly extension, Playa de Ondarreta, are easily among the best city beaches in Europe. Throughout the long summer months a fiesta atmosphere prevails, with thousands of tanned and toned bodies spread across the sands. The swimming is almost always safe.
oAquariumAQUARIUM
(
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; www.aquariumss.com; Plaza Carlos Blasco de Imaz 1; adult/child €13/6.50; h10am-9pm daily Jul-Aug, 10am-8pm Mon-Fri, 10am-9pm Sat & Sun Easter-Jun & Sep, shorter hr rest of yr)
In the city’s excellent aquarium you will fear for your life as huge sharks bear down on you and will get tripped-out by fancy fluoro jellyfish. The highlights of a visit are the cinema-screen-sized deep-ocean and coral-reef exhibits and the long tunnel, around which swim monsters of the deep. The aquarium also contains a maritime museum section. Allow at least 1½ hours for a visit.
Isla de Santa ClaraISLAND
( GOOGLE MAP )
About 700m from Playa de la Concha, this island is accessible by glass-bottom boats (to the island €3.80, tour the bay €6; hJun-Sep) that run every half-hour from the fishing port. At low tide the island gains its own tiny beach.
Playa de GrosBEACH
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Playa de la Zurriola)
Less popular than nearby Playa de la Concha, but just as showy, Playa de Gros, east of Río Urumea, is the city’s main surf beach. Though swimming here is more dangerous than at Playa de la Concha, it has more of a local vibe.
Monte IgueldoVIEWPOINT
( GOOGLE MAP )
The views from the summit of Monte Igueldo, just west of town, will make you feel like a circling hawk staring over the vast panorama of the Bahía de la Concha and the surrounding coastline and mountains. The best way to get there is via the old-world funicular railway (
GOOGLE MAP
; www.monteigueldo.es; return adult/child €3.10/2.30; h10am-9pm Jul, 10am-10pm Aug shorter hr rest of yr) to the Parque de Atracciones (
GOOGLE MAP
; www.monteigueldo.es; admission €2.20; h11.15am-2pm & 4-8pm Mon-Fri, until 8.30pm Sat & Sun Jul-Sep, shorter hr rest of yr), a slightly tacky mini theme park at the top of the hill. Individual rides (which include roller coasters, boat rides, carousels and pony rides) cost between €1 and €2.50 extra. Trains on the funicular railway depart every 15 minutes.
San Telmo MuseoaMUSEUM
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; www.santelmomuseoa.com; Plaza Zuloaga 1; adult/student/child €5/3/free, free Tue; h10am-8pm Tue-Sun)
Both the oldest and one of the newest museums in the Basque Country, the San Telmo museum has existed since 1902 – sort of. It was actually closed for many years but after major renovation work it reopened in 2011 and is now a museum of Basque culture and society. The displays range from historical artifacts to the squiggly lines of modern art, and all the pieces reflect Basque culture and society.
Labelling is in Spanish and Basque, but there are free audio guides available in other languages. If you don't speak Spanish, take one of these audio guides because otherwise the connections between the collection's pieces will seem vague.
Monte UrgullCASTLE, MUSEUM
( MAP GOOGLE MAP )
You can walk to the summit of Monte Urgull, topped by low castle walls and a grand statue of Christ, by taking a path from Plaza de Zuloaga or from behind the aquarium. The views are breathtaking. The castle houses the well-presented Mirando a San Sebastián (
MAP
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; h10am-2pm & 3-5.30pm), a small museum focusing on the city’s history.
Museo NavalMUSEUM
(
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; www.untzimuseoa.net; Paseo del Muelle 24; adult/student/child €1.20/0.60/free; h10am-2pm & 4-7pm Tue-Sat, 11am-2pm Sun)
This museum turns the pages of Basque seafaring and naval history. It’s best appreciated by those with at least basic Spanish-language skills.
CCourses & Tours
The tourist office runs several different city tours (including a cinema tour) starting at €10.
San Sebastián FoodTOUR, COOKING COURSE
(
MAP
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; %943 42 11 43; www.sansebastianfood.com; Hotel Maria Cristina, Paseo de la República Argentina 4)
The highly recommended San Sebastián Food runs an array of pintxo tasting tours (from €95), self-guided foodie tours (€75) and cookery courses (from €145) in and around the city, as well as wine tastings (from €45) and day-long wine-tasting tours to La Rioja (€255).
The shop/booking office also sells an array of high-quality local food and drink products.
Pintxos GaloreFOOD TOUR
(%903 443442; www.sansebastianreservas.com; per person €95)
Impress your friends by learning how to become a pintxo chef yourself on these tourist board-run tours that show you how to create six differnet pintxos. Tours last three hours and there must be at least three people in a group for the tours to run.
Sabores de San SebastiánTOUR
(Flavours of San Sebastián; %902 443442; www.sansebastianreservas.com; tour €18; h11.30am Tue & Thu Jul & Aug)
The tourist office runs the Sabores de San Sebastián, a two-hour tour (in Spanish and English, French tours are available on request) of some of the city’s pintxo haunts. Tours are also held with less frequency outside high season – contact the tourist office for dates.
PukasSURFING
(
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; %943 32 00 68; www.pukassurf.com; Paseo de Zurriola 24)
Playa de Gros, with its generally mellow and easy waves, is a good place for learners to get to grips with surfing. Aspiring surfer wannabes should drop by Pukas, where surf lessons, and board and wetsuit hire are available. Prices vary depending on group size and lesson length, but start at €53 for a weekend course comprising a 1½-hour lesson each day.
Catamarán Ciudad San SebastiánBOAT TOUR
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; www.ciudadsansebastian.com; Paseo del Muelle 14; adult/child €9/5; hnoon-8pm Jul-Aug, shorter hr Sep-Jun)
Boat tours of the bay and out onto the open ocean on a motorised catamaran run hourly (except at 3pm) in the summer.
zFestivals & Events
San Sebastián has a busy festival calendar. The main events:
Festividad de San SebastiánCITY FESTIVAL
(h20 Jan)
This is the city’s main winter knees-up.
CarnavalCARNIVAL
(hFeb or Mar)
Carnaval (dates change) is a big event, but nearby Tolosa goes even more berserk.
Heineken JazzaldiaJAZZ
(www.heinekenjazzaldia.com; hJul)
Big-name acts converge for the San Sebastián jazz festival.
Semana GrandeSUMMER FESTIVAL
(hmid-Aug)
Semana Grande is the big summer festival.
Regatta de TrainerasROWING
(hSep)
The Regatta de Traineras, a boat race in which local teams of rowers race out to sea, takes place on the first two Sundays in September.
Film FestivalFILM
(www.sansebastianfestival.com)
The world-renowned, two-week film festival has been an annual fixture in the second half of September since 1957.
BEST PINTXO BARS IN SAN SEBASTIáN
Just rolling the word pintxo around your tongue defines the essence of this cheerful, cheeky little slice of Basque cuisine. The perfect pintxo should have exquisite taste, texture and appearance and should be savoured in two elegant bites. The Basque version of a tapa, the pintxo transcends the commonplace by the sheer panache of its culinary campiness. In San Sebastián especially, Basque chefs have refined the pintxo to such an art form that many people would say that there's simply no other city in Spain that can beat it.
Many pintxos are bedded on small pieces of bread or on tiny half-baguettes, upon which towering creations are constructed and pinned in place by large toothpicks. Some bars specialise in seafood, with much use of marinated anchovies, prawns and strips of squid, all topped with anything from chopped crab to pâté. Others deal in pepper or mushroom delicacies, or simply offer a mix of everything. And the choice isn’t normally limited to what’s on the bar top in front of you: many of the best pintxos are the hot ones you need to order. These are normally chalked up on a blackboard on the wall somewhere.
Locals tend to just eat one or two of the house specials at each bar before moving on somewhere else. When it comes to ordering, tell the bartender what you want first and never just help yourself to a pintxo off the counter!
The following pintxo bars all charge between €2.50 to €3.50 for one pintxo. Not so bad if you just take one, but is one ever enough?
La Cuchara de San Telmo (
MAP
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; www.lacucharadesantelmo.com; Calle de 31 de Agosto 28; pintxos from €2.50; h7.30pm-11pm Tue, noon-3.30pm & 7.30-11pm Wed-Sun) This unfussy, hidden-away (and hard to find) bar offers miniature nueva cocina vasca (Basque nouvelle cuisine) from a supremely creative kitchen. Unlike many San Sebastián bars this one doesn’t have any pintxos laid out on the bar top; instead you must order from the blackboard menu behind the counter. Don’t miss delights such as carrílera de ternera al vino tinto (calf cheeks in red wine), with meat so tender it starts to dissolve almost before it’s past your lips.
Bar Borda Berri (
MAP
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; Calle Fermín Calbetón 12; hnoon-midnight) You won’t find any pintxos sprawled across the counter of this outstanding little bar. Instead you must order them freshly made from the blackboard menu behind the bar. The bar staff are happy to offer advice on the day's best choice, but otherwise the house specials are pigs' ears and delicious calf cheeks.
Bergara Bar (
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; General Artetxe 8; pintxos from €2.50; h9am-11pm) The Bergara Bar, which sits on the edge of a busy square, is one of the most highly regarded pintxo bars in Gros, a growing powerhouse in the pintxo-bar stakes, and has a mouth-watering array of delights piled onto the bar counter as well as others chalked up on the board.
Astelena (
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; Calle de Iñigo 1; pintxos from €2.50; h1-4.30pm & 8-11pm Tue & Thu-Sat, 1-4.30pm Wed) The pintxos draped across the counter in this bar, tucked into the corner of Plaza de la Constitución, stand out. Many of them are a fusion of Basque and Asian inspirations, but the best of all are perhaps the foie-gras-based treats. The great positioning means that prices are slightly elevated.
Bar Goiz-Argi ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Calle de Fermín Calbetón 4; pintxos from €2.50) Gambas a la plancha (prawns cooked on a hotplate) are the house speciality. Sounds simple, we know, but never have we tasted prawns cooked quite as perfectly as this.
La Mejíllonera ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Calle del Puerto 15; pintxos from €2.50) If you thought mussels only came with garlic sauce, come here to discover mussels (from €3.50) by the thousand in all their glorious forms. Mussels not for you? Opt for the calamari and patatas bravas (fried potatoes with a spicy tomato and mayo sauce). We promise you won’t regret it.
Bar Nagusía ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Nagusía Kalea 4; pintxos from €2.50) This bar, reminiscent of old San Sebastián, has a counter that groans under the weight of its pintxos. You’ll be groaning after a few as well – in sheer pleasure.
Bodega Donostiarra (
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; Calle de Peña y Goñi 13; pintxos from €2.50; h9.30am-11pm Mon-Sat) The stone walls, pot plants and window ornaments give this place a real old-fashioned French bistro look, but at the same time it feels very up to date and modern. Although initial impressions make you think the food will be very high class, it’s actually best regarded for humble jamón, chorizo and tortilla. It also has a long wine list (and an attached wine shop).
Bar Martinez (
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Calle 31 de Agosto 13; pintxos from €2.50; h9.30am-11pm Tue-Sun, Fri & Sat open late) This small bar, with dusty bottles of wine stacked up, has won awards for its morros de bacalao (delicate slices of cod balanced atop a piece of bread) and is one of the more character-laden places to dip into some pintxos.
Bar Diz ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Calle Zabaleta 17; pintxos from €2.50) In beach-blessed Gros, tiny Bar Diz has massively good pintxos (and the breakfast isn't bad either), and other foreign tourists are rare, so it's a totally local affair. If you're hungry opt for a ración (plate).
4Sleeping
Accommodation standards in San Sebastián are generally good, but prices are high and availability in high season is very tight. In fact, with the city’s increasing popularity, many of the better places are booked up for July and August months in advance. If you do turn up without a booking, head to the tourist office, which keeps a list of available rooms.
Pensión RégilPENSION
(
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; %943 42 71 43; www.pensionregil.com; Calle de Easo 9; s/d €53/59; W)
The furnishings might be cheap and the decor a bit pink and floral for our liking, but just look at that price! You really won't get a much better deal in San Sebasián in high season. Add in that all rooms have private bathrooms, it's very close to Playa de la Concha and the young owner, Inaki, is a bit of a charmer and you can't go wrong.
Urban HouseHOSTEL
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; %943 42 81 54; www.enjoyeu.com; Plaza de Gipuzkoa 2; dm €25-26, r from €56; W)
This busy party house, where summer fun rules supreme, is one of the longest running hostels in town. It’s close to all the action and the young, very Anglophone staff (so Anglophone that some don’t speak any Spanish) will ensure you have a good time.
They also organise a variety of city tours and surf lessons. The hostel manages the bookings for several cheap and basic places elsewhere in the old town – so if the main building is full, the staff can always find you a bed elsewhere.
oPensión AidaBOUTIQUE HOTEL
(
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; %943 32 78 00; www.pensionesconencanto.com; Calle de Iztueta 9; s €62, d €84-90, studios €132-152; aiW)
The owners of this excellent pensión read the rule book on what makes a good hotel and have complied exactly. The rooms are bright and bold, full of exposed stone and everything smells fresh and clean. The communal area, stuffed with soft sofas and mountains of information, is a big plus.
If you’ve been on a shopping spree and need more space then take one of its handful of very slick studios (which come with kitchenettes). For our money, we’d say this one is very hard to beat.
Pensión Amaiur BOUTIQUE HOTEL
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; %943 42 96 54; www.pensionamaiur.com; Calle de 31 de Agosto 44; s €45, d €90-100; iW)
The young and friendly owners of this top-notch guesthouse, which has a prime old-town location, have really created something different here. The look of the place is 'old-granny cottage' with bright floral wallpapers and bathrooms tiled in Andalucian blue and white.
The best rooms are those that overlook the main street, where you can sit on a little balcony and be completely enveloped in blushing red flowers. Some rooms share bathrooms. Staff speak English.
Pensión EdortaBOUTIQUE HOTEL
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; %943 42 37 73; www.pensionedorta.com; Calle del Puerto 15; r €90-100, r without bathroom €65-70; W)
A fine pensión with rooms that are all tarted up in brash modern colours, but with a salute to the past in the stone walls and ceilings. It’s very well cared for and well situated.
Cheaper rooms share bathrooms.
Pensión AltairPENSIóN
(
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; %943 29 31 33; www.pension-altair.com; Calle Padre Larroca 3; s/d €62/88; aiW)
This pensión is in a beautifully restored town house, with unusual church-worthy arched windows and modern, minimalist rooms that are a world away from the fusty decor of the old-town pensiones. Interior rooms lack the grandiose windows but are much larger.
Reception is closed between 1.30pm and 5pm.
Pensión KursaalBOUTIQUE HOTEL
(
MAP
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; %943 29 26 66; www.pensionesconencanto.com; Calle de Peña y Goñi 2; d €85-91; aiW)
With a rattling 1930s-style lift and massive, wall-sized photos this excellent place, full of light and colour, is a real mix of the old and the new. The majestic rooms have a suitably refined edge, all of which help it feel more like a proper hotel than a pensión. It’s virtually on Playa de Gros.
Pensión AldamarHOTEL
(
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; %943 43 01 43; www.pensionaldamar.com; Calle de Aldamar 2; s €105, d from € €120-130; aW)
This smart pensión is run on lines more akin to a hotel and offers superb white, modern rooms with stone walls, some of which have little balconies from which to watch the theatre of street life below. It’s a big step up in quality from many of the other old-town pensiones.
Hostal AlemanaBOUTIQUE HOTEL
(
MAP
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; %943 46 25 44; www.hostalalemana.com; Calle de San Martín 53; s/d from €66/77; pW)
With a great location just a sandy footstep from the beach, this smart hotel has opted for the white, minimalist look, countered with stylish black-and-white photos, all of which works very well and makes the rooms light and airy.
Pensión UraldePENSIóN
(
MAP
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; %943 42 25 81; www.ur-alde.com; Calle del Puerto 17; s/d €115/120; aW)
This excellent new pensión offers bright colours and quality rooms: all of which differ, but all are fairly in-your-face flamboyant. Try the tartan-coloured Scottish one or the twee, lavender-flavoured Provence one.
Pensión Artea NarricaPENSIóN
(
MAP
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; %943 45 51 00; www.pensionartea.com; Calle Narrika 3; s €52-65, d €75; aW)
Recently renovated, this place doesn't look like much from the outside, but actually offers some of the nicer, and better value, beds in the old town. Rooms have something of a farmhouse look with exposed wooden roof beams and stone walls, but the furnishings are very much city slicker.
Hotel Gran Bahia BernardoHOTEL
(
MAP
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; %943 29 80 49; www.hotelgranbahiabernardo.com; Calle Trueba 1; r €137; W)
This smart, modern hotel in the Gros neighbourhood is dominated by a giant black-and-white picture of a storm-lashed San Sebastián. The rooms themselves are far less storm wracked, although they are rather small.
Breakfast is an outrageous €1. Yes, €1.
Hotel Maria CristinaHISTORIC HOTEL
(
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; %943 43 76 00; www.starwoodhotels.com; Paseo de la República Argentina 4; d from €335, ste from €620; paiW)
In case you’re wondering what sort of hotels Lonely Planet authors normally stay in, the absolutely impeccable Maria Cristina, with its huge and luxurious rooms, is not one of them. However, don’t be downhearted, because instead of hanging out with us you’ll get to mix with royalty and Hollywood stars, who feel right at home in this palace-like hotel, which dominates the centre of the city. Yes, we know, you're still disappointed.
Hotel de Londres e InglaterraHISTORIC HOTEL
(
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; %943 44 07 70; www.hlondres.com; Calle de Zubieta 2; s/d from €214/219; paW)
Queen Isabel II set the tone for this hotel well over a century ago, and things have stayed pretty regal ever since. It oozes class and some rooms have stunning views over Playa de la Concha.
5Eating
With 16 Michelin stars (including three restaurants with the coveted three stars) and a population of 183,000, San Sebastián stands atop a pedestal as one of the culinary capitals of the planet. As if that alone weren’t enough, the city is overflowing with bars – almost all of which have bar tops weighed down under a mountain of pintxos that almost every Spaniard will (sometimes grudgingly) tell you are the best in country. These statistics alone make San Sebastián’s CV look pretty impressive. But it’s not just us who thinks this: a raft of the world’s best chefs, including such luminaries as Catalan super-chef Ferran Adriá, have said that San Sebastián is quite possibly the best place on the entire planet to eat.
Restaurante AlbertoSEAFOOD
(
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; %943 42 88 84; Calle de 31 de Agosto 19; mains €12-15, menus €15; hnoon-4pm and 7pm-midnight Thu-Tue)
A charming old seafood restaurant with a fishmonger-style window display of the day’s catch. It’s small and friendly and the pocket-sized dining room feels like it was once someone’s living room. The food is earthy (well, OK, salty) and good, and the service swift.
Ramuntxo BerriBASQUE
(
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; Calle Peña y Goñi 10; mains €10-14, menú del día €12; h9am-4.30pm & 7pm-midnight Mon-Sat, 9am-5pm Sun)
Anyone else smell a bargain? The well prepared and presented dishes served here, which are largely traditional Basque, would cost double the price if this restaurant were located in the old town, and it's so popular with locals at lunch time you might have to queue for a table.
It also has a good array of pintxos, of which you shouldn't miss the foie con manzana (liver with apple).
Holly BurgerBURGERS
(
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; Calle de la Pescadería 6; burgers €5-7.50; h1-4pm & 7.30-11.30pm; c)
Homemade gourmet burgers with names like Heaven Can Wait (frankly, if you eat too many burgers, it probably won't) and Passion Red. There's also a good strong helping of veggie burgers and even gluten-free ones.
oLa FábricaMODERN BASQUE
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; %943 980 581; Calle del Puerto 17; mains €15-20, menus from €24; h1-3.30pm & 8.30-11pm Mon-Sat, 1-3.30pm Sun)
The red-brick interior walls and white tablecloths lend an air of class to a restaurant whose modern takes on Basque classics have been making waves with San Sebastián locals over the last couple of years. At just €24, the multidish tasting menu is about the best value deal in the city.
Advance reservations are almost essential.
Bodegón AlejandroSEAFOOD
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GOOGLE MAP
; %943 42 71 58; Calle de Fermín Calbetón 4; menú del día from €16, mains €15-18; h1-3.30pm Tue & Sun, 1-3.30pm & 8.30-10.30pm Wed-Sat)
This highly regarded restaurant, which has a pleasant, casual style, has a menu from which you can select such succulent treats as tripe with veal cheeks, baby tomatoes stuffed with squid or just plain-old baked lobster. Oh, what choices!
KaskazuriSEAFOOD
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %943 42 08 94; Paseo de Salamanca 14; menus from €18; h1-3.30pm & 8.30-11pm)
Upmarket Basque seafood is all the rage in this flash restaurant, which is built on a raised platform allowing views of the former home of your dinner. It cooks up a storm with the €18 menú del día.
Restaurante MariñelaSEAFOOD
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %943 42 73 83; Paseo del Muelle; mains €10-18; h1-4pm & 9pm-midnight Tue-Sat, 1-4pm Sun)
You pay for the fabulous harbourfront setting, but the location guarantees that the fish is so fresh it may well flop back off your plate and swim away. There are several similar neighbouring places.
Restaurante Ni NeuCONTEMPORARY BASQUE
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %943 00 31 62; www.restaurantenineu.com; Avenida de Zurriola 1; menus €18-38; h10am-8.30pm Sun & Tue-Wed, 10am-11.30pm Thu-Sat)
The light, fluffy and utterly modern dishes of the Restaurante Ni Neu will leave you hoping never to eat boring old-fashioned meat and two veg again! Throw in a spectacular setting, inside the Kursaal Centre, with a view straight over Playa de Gros and bargain-priced meals, and you get a place that’s hard to beat.
Restaurante KokotxaMODERN SPANISH
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %943 42 19 04; www.restaurantekokotxa.com; Calle del Campanario 11; mains €18-20, menus from €30; h1.30-3.30pm & 8.45-11pm Wed-Sat)
This Michelin-star restaurant is hidden away down an overlooked alley in the old town, but the food rewards those who search. Although not the cheapest menu offering, most people opt for the menú de mercado (€55) and enjoy the flavours of the traders from the busy city market. Hours vary; check website.
THREE SHINING STARS
The Basque Country seems to be engaged in an eternal battle with Catalonia for the title of the best foodie region in Spain and, just like in Catalonia, the Basque Country is home to an impressive number of restaurants that have been awarded a coveted three Michelin stars, as well as many more with one or two stars. All the three-star places are in and around San Sebastián. Reservations, well in advance, are obligatory at all three restaurants.
Arzak (%943 27 84 65; www.arzak.info; Avenida Alcalde Jose Elosegui 273; meals €189; hclosed Sun-Mon, and Nov & late Jun) Acclaimed chef Juan Mari Arzak takes some beating when it comes to nueva cocina vasca (Basque nouvelle cuisine) and his restaurant is, not surprisingly, considered one of the best places to eat in Spain. Arzak is now assisted by his daughter Elena, and they never cease to innovate. The restaurant is about 1.5km east of San Sebastián.
Martín Berasategui Restaurant (%943 36 64 71; www.martinberasategui.com; Calle Loidi 4, Lasarte-Oria; tasting menu €195; hclosed Sun dinner, Mon-Tue & Dec–mid-Jan) This superlative restaurant, about 9km southwest of San Sebastián, is considered by foodies to be one of the best restaurants in the world. The chef, Martín Berasategui, doesn’t approach cooking in the same way as the rest of us. He approaches it as a science, and the results are tastes you never knew existed.
Akelaŕe (%943 31 12 09; www.akelarre.net; Paseo Padre Orcolaga 56; tasting menu €170; hclosed Sun & Mon yr-round, & Tue from Jan-Jun) This is where chef Pedro Subijana creates cuisine that is a feast for all five senses (and possibly a few senses we haven’t yet named!). As with most of the region's top nueva cocina vasca restaurants, the emphasis here is on using fresh, local produce and turning it into something totally unexpected. It’s in the suburb of Igeldo just west of the city.
6Drinking & Entertainment
It would be hard to imagine a town with more bars than San Sebastián. Most of the city’s bars mutate through the day from calm morning-coffee hangouts to pintxo-laden delights, before finally finishing up as noisy bars full of writhing, sweaty bodies. Nights in San Sebastián start late and go on until well into the wee hours.
Museo del WhiskyBAR
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Alameda Boulevard 5; h3.30pm-3.30am)
Appropriately named, this Irish/Scottish-style bar is full of bottles of Scotland’s finest (3000 bottles to be exact) as well as a museum's worth of whisky-related knick-knacks – old bottles, tacky mugs and glasses and a nice, dusty, museum-like atmosphere.
Dioni’sGAY
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Calle Ijentea 2; h3pm-2.30am Mon-Thu & Sun, 3pm-3.30am Fri & Sat)
More a spot for a black coffee in the early hours, this relaxed and very gay-friendly place has an 80s cocktail-bar ambience and is the perfect spot in which to watch the Eurovision Song Contest.
Bar OndarraBAR
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Avenida de Zurriola 16)
Head over to Gros for this terrific bar, which is just across the road from the beach. There’s a great chilled-out mixed crowd, and in the rockin’ downstairs bar, every kind of sound gets aired.
Be BopBAR, CLUB
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Paseo de Salamanca 3; h8pm-3am)
This long-standing bar has recently reinvented itself and is now a snazzy jazz bar with occasional live performances. It attracts a slightly older crowd than some of the old-town bars and on weekends it jams till dawn.
Altxerri Jazz BarLIVE MUSIC
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; www.altxerri.com; Blvd Reina Regente 2; h4pm-3am)
This jazz and blues temple has regular live gigs by local and international stars. Jamming sessions take over on nights with no gig, and there’s an in-house art gallery.
Etxe KalteJAZZ
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Calle Mari Igentea; hnoon-4pm & 6pm-4am Tue, 6pm-4am Wed-Sat, 6pm-midnight Sun)
A very-late-night haunt near the harbour, which moves to dance music and grooves to jazz.
7Shopping
The Parte Vieja is awash with small independent boutiques, while the Centro Romantíca has all your brand-name and chain-store favourites.
ElkarBOOKS
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Calle de Fermín Calbetón 30; h10am-2pm & 4.30-8pm )
For a huge range of travel books and guides (including lots of Lonely Planet guides), maps and hiking books in English, Spanish and French, try this specialist travel bookshop. Almost opposite it is a bigger mainstream branch ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Calle de Fermin Calbeton 21) dealing in Spanish- and Basque-language books.
KukuxumusuCLOTHING
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Nagusía Kalea 15; h10.30am-2.15pm & 4.30-8.15pm Mon-Tue, 10.30am-8.30pm Wed-Sat, 11am-3pm & 4-8pm Sun)
The funkiest and best-known Basque clothing label has a whole wardrobe of original T-shirts and other clothing awaiting you here.
8Information
Oficina de TurismoTOURIST INFORMATION
(
GOOGLE MAP
; %943 48 11 66; www.sansebastianturismo.com; Alameda del Boulevard 8; h9am-8pm Mon-Sat, 10am-7pm Sun)
This friendly office offers comprehensive information on the city and the Basque Country in general.
ZarranetINTERNET
(
GOOGLE MAP
; Calle de San Lorenzo 6; per hr €2; h10.30am-10pm Mon-Sat, 4-10pm Sun)
One of a handful of places that offer internet access.
8Getting There & Away
Air
The city’s airport (%902 404704; www.aena.es) is 22km out of town, near Hondarribia. There are regular flights to Madrid and Barcelona and occasional charters to other major European cities. Biarritz, just over the border in France, is served by Ryanair and EasyJet, among various other budget airlines, and is generally much cheaper to fly into.
Bus
The main bus station is a 20-minute walk south of the Parte Vieja, between Plaza de Pío XII and the river. Local buses 28 and 26 connect the bus station with Alameda del Boulevard (€1.40, 10 minutes). Construction of a new bus station is currently in progress on Paseo de Francia, next to the Renfe train station. It's possible it might open during the lifetime of this book.
There are daily bus services to the following:
Train
The main Renfe train station ( GOOGLE MAP ; Paseo de Francia) is just across Río Urumea, on a line linking Paris to Madrid. There are several services daily to Madrid (from €47, five hours) and two to Barcelona (from €64, six hours).
For France you must first go to the Spanish/French border town of Irún (or sometimes trains go as far as Hendaye; Renfe from €2.65, 25 minutes), which is also served by Eusko Tren/Ferrocarril Vasco (www.euskotren.es), and change there. Trains depart every half-hour from Amara train station, about 1km south of the city centre, and also stop in Pasajes (€1.50, 12 minutes) and Irún/Hendaye (ET/FV €1.70, 25 minutes). Another ET/FV railway line heads west to Bilbao via Zarautz, Zumaia and Durango, but it’s painfully slow, so the bus is a much better plan.
MOVING ON?
For tips, recommendations and reviews, head to shop.lonelyplanet.com to purchase a downloadable PDF of The French Basque Country chapter from Lonely Planet's France guide.
8Getting Around
Buses to Hondarribia (€2.30, 45 minutes) and the airport (€2.30, 45 minutes) depart from Plaza de Gupúzkoa.
East of San Sebastián
Pasajes
Pop 15,885
Pasajes (Basque: Pasaia), where Río Oiartzun meets the Atlantic, is the largest port in the province of Guipúzcoa. The main street and the area immediately around the central square are lined with pretty houses and colourful balconies, and are well worth a half-day’s exploration. Highlights are the great seafood restaurants and the spectacular entrance to the port, through a keyhole-like split in the cliff face – even more impressive when a huge container ship passes through it.
Nowadays Pasajes is virtually a suburb of San Sebastián and there are numerous buses plying the route between them. For a much more enjoyable way of getting there, though, you can walk over the cliffs from San Sebastián. The walk takes about 2½ to three hours and passes through patches of forest and past the occasional idyllic beach and strange rock formations covered in seabirds and then descends to Pasajes, which you reach by taking the small ferry boat across the inlet. From Pasajes you could, the following day, continue over the giant whaleback mountain of Jaizkibel (547m), which though not technically very high has views to make you feel you've just conquered a Himalayan peak! This walk takes a full day and is fairly hard going. The tourist office in San Sebastián can supply route details.
Hondarribia
Pop 16,518
Lethargic Hondarribia (Castilian: Fuenterrabía), staring across the estuary to France, has a heavy Gallic fragrance, a charming casco antiguo (old city) and, in contrast to the quiet old city, a buzzing beach scene.
You enter the casco through an archway at the top of Calle San Compostela to reach the pretty Plaza de Gipuzkoa. Head straight on to Calle San Nicolás and go left to reach the bigger Plaza de Armas and the Gothic Iglesia de Santa María de la Asunción.
For La Marina, head the other way from the archway. This is Hondarribia’s most picturesque quarter. Its main street, Calle San Pedro, is flanked by typical fishermen’s houses, with facades painted bright green or blue and wooden balconies gaily decorated with flower boxes.
The beach is about 1km from the town, and though not exactly attractive, it's lined by bars and restaurants and offers about the calmest waters in the entire region. It's popular with locals, but foreigners rarely come here.
Buses run frequently to nearby Irún and on to San Sebastián; catch them from Sabin Arana.
4Sleeping & Eating
There are some good places to stay in Hondarribia. The main old-city plaza is home to a number of very good pintxo bars and restaurants.
Hotel San NikolásHOTEL
(%943 64 42 78; www.hotelsannikolas.es; Plaza de Armas 6; s €69, d €98-117; W)
Inside a cute, wobbly, pink-and-blue old building on the main plaza, this place – which has small, modern rooms painted in arresting colours – is an enjoyable spot to stay for a night or two.
Parador de HondarribiaHISTORIC HOTEL
(%943 64 55 00; www.parador.es; Plaza de Armas 14; s/d €198/216; paiW)
It's not every day that the opportunity to sleep in a thousand-year-old fortress guarding the boundaries of Spain arises, so don your suit of armour or princess's ballgown and step into the fantasy that is this sumptuous offering from the Parador chain.
South of San Sebastián
The hills rising to the south between San Sebastián and Bilbao offer a number of appealing towns. There are plenty of nekazal turismoas (casas rurales; family homes in rural areas with rooms to rent).
Santuario de Loyola
Just outside Azpeitia (12km south of the A8 motorway along the GI631) lies the portentous Santuario de Loyola (www.santuariodeloyola.org; house adult/child €3/free; hreception centre 8am-2pm & 3.30-7.30pm), dedicated to St Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuit order. From the outside the dark, sooty basilica, laden with grey marble and plenty of carved ornamentation, is monstrous rather than attractive. Inside, however, is much brighter, and smaller, than you’d expect. The house, where the saint was born in 1490, is preserved in one of the two wings of the sanctuary and there’s a small museum. The stated opening hours are for the reception centre/ticket office. Individual buildings within the complex have different hours.
Oñati
Pop 10,800
With a flurry of magnificent architecture and a number of interesting sites scattered through the surrounding green hills, the small, and resolutely Basque, town of Oñati is a great place to get to know the rural Basque heartland.
There are daily buses to/from San Sebastián, Vitoria and Bilbao.
1Sights
Universidad de Sancti SpiritusHISTORIC BUILDING
Oñati’s number-one attraction is the Renaissance treasure of the Universidad de Sancti Spiritus. Built in the 16th century, it was the first university in the Basque Country and, until its closure in 1902, alumni here were schooled in philosophy, law and medicine.
Today it’s been taken over as local council offices, but you can still enter the Mudéjar courtyard (h9am-2.30pm Mon & Wed, 9am-1pm & 3-4.30pm Tue & Thu, 9am-2pm Fri) and admire its plateresque facade. The tourist office can organise guided tours (from €10) with 24 hours’ notice. Although it’s something of a hassle organising this in advance, it’s well worth doing as you get a much more in-depth look at the building (as well as other sites throughout the town).
Iglesia de San MiguelCHURCH
This late-Gothic confection has a cloister built over the river. The church faces onto the main square, Foruen Enparantza, dominated by the eye-catching baroque ayuntamiento (town hall).
Bidaurreta MonasteryMONASTERY
(Kalea Lazarraga)
Founded in 1510, this monastery contains a beautiful baroque altarpiece. It's at the opposite end of town to the tourist office and Iglesia de San Miguel.
4Sleeping
Oñati doesn’t get a lot of tourists staying overnight, a fact that is reflected by the relative dearth of hotels. However, all is not lost because the countryside around town is awash in casas rurales – ask at the tourist office for a list.
Ongí HotelaHOTEL
(%943 71 82 85; www.hotelongi.com; Calle Zaharra 19; incl breakfast s €32-42, d €44-56; aW)
A central place above a bar with sparkling-clean, though utterly unremarkable, rooms with small beds.
Information
Tourist OfficeTOURIST INFORMATION
(%943 78 34 53; Calle San Juan 14; h10am-2pm & 3.30-7.30pm Mon-Fri, 10am-2pm & 4-6.30pm Sat, 10am-2pm Sun)
The tourist office is just opposite the Universidad de Sancti Spiritus.
Santuario de Arantzazu & Arrikrutz Caves
About 10km south of Oñati is the love-it-or-loathe-it pilgrimage site of Santuario de Arantzazu (www.arantzazukosantutegia.org), a fabulous conflation of piety and avant-garde art. The sanctuary was built in the 1950s on the site where, in 1468, a shepherd found a statue of the Virgin under a hawthorn bush – on which the sanctuary’s design is supposed to be based. The overwhelming impression of the building is of spiky towers and hollow halls guarded by 14 strange-looking, chiselled apostles and, in the crypt, a devil-red Christ – all of which caused a bit of a headache for the Vatican.
The road up and the setting are worth the trip in themselves, and the whole area lends itself to excellent walking – the Oñati tourist office has information on routes.
There’s a cavern system a couple of kilometres back down the road towards Oñati. The Arrikrutz caves (adult/child €9/6; h10am-2pm & 3-7pm Tue-Sun Jun-Sep, shorter hr Oct-May) have numerous slow-growing stalagmites and stalactites.
Vitoria
Pop 235,600 / Elev 512m
Vitoria (Basque: Gasteiz) has a habit of falling off the radar, yet it’s actually the capital of not just the southern Basque province of Álava (Basque: Araba) but also the entire Basque Country. Maybe it was given this honour precisely because it is so forgotten, but if that’s the case, prepare for a surprise. With an art gallery whose contents frequently surpass those of the more famous Bilbao galleries, a delightful old quarter, dozens of great pintxo bars and restaurants, a large student contingent and a friendly local population, you have the makings of a perfect city!
Vitoria
1Sights
4Sleeping
5Eating
History
Vitoria’s name may well derive from the Basque word beturia, meaning height, a reference to the hill on which the old town stands. It was so named by the Visigoths. Sancho VI of Navarra settled things by founding a ‘New Vitoria’ in the 12th century. Thereafter, Vitoria bounced to and fro between the Castilian and Navarran crowns. The economic advances of the late 19th century triggered Vitoria’s expansion, which carried over into the 20th century. The city’s historic and well-preserved nature made it a good choice for capital of the Basque autonomous government in 1981. The University of the Basque Country also has its base here.
1Sights
At the base of Vitoria’s medieval Casco Viejo is the delightful Plaza de la Virgen Blanca. It’s lorded over by the 14th-century Iglesia de San Miguel ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Plaza de la Virgen Blanca), whose statue of the Virgen Blanca, the city’s patron saint, lends its name to the plaza below.
The 14th-century Iglesia de San Pedro ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Calle Herrería) is the city’s oldest church and has a fabulous Gothic frontispiece on its eastern facade.
oArtiumGALLERY
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; www.artium.org; Calle de Francia 24; adult/child €6/free, free Mon, by donation Wed; h11am-2pm & 5-8pm Tue-Fri, 11am-9pm Sat & Sun, closed Sep)
Unlike some famous Basque art galleries, Vitoria’s palace of modern art, the Artium, doesn’t need to dress to impress. It knows it’s what’s on the inside that really counts. It is daring, eccentric and challenging in a way other museums could never get away with.
The large subterranean galleries are filled with engrossing works by Basque, Spanish and international artists, displaying some fairly intense modernist work. Over the years we've seen exhibitions featuring 'art' that many would describe as borderline pornography, children's drawings depicting suicide and even a grainy, and very bloody, video of a woman having her hymen sewn back up to make her a ‘virgin’ again. Yes, this is art designed to shock. Guided tours, in Spanish, run several times a day. After digesting the art, it’s worth digesting some food at the much-praised Cube Café ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; menú del día €15), inside the museum.
oCatedral de Santa MaríaCATHEDRAL
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %945 25 51 35; www.catedralvitoria.com; tours adult/student/child €8.50/5.50/1; htours at 10.30am, 1pm, 4.15pm, 5.30pm, 6pm & 6.45pm Apr-Aug, shorter hr Sep-Mar)
At the summit of the old town and dominating its skyline is the medieval Catedral de Santa María. For a number of years the cathedral has been undergoing a lengthy restoration project. There are excellent guided tours that give an insight into the excitement of restoration and give you a taste not just of the past and future of the cathedral but of the city as a whole.
Technically you must book a tour in advance either by telephone or via the website, but out of season it’s often possible to just turn up and join the next tour.
Museo de Bellas ArtesGALLERY
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Paseo de Fray Francisco de Vitoria; adult/student/child €3/1/free; h10am-2pm & 4-6.30pm Tue-Fri, 10am-2pm & 5-8pm Sat, 11am-2pm Sun & holidays)
Housed in an astoundingly ornate building, the absorbing Museo de Bellas Artes has Basque paintings and sculpture from the 18th and 19th centuries. The works of local son Fernando de Amaríca are given good space and reflect an engaging romanticism that manages to mix drama with great warmth of colour and composition.
Catedral de María InmaculadaCATHEDRAL
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Cadena y Eleta)
Vitoria’s cathedral might look old, but in fact it only dates from the early 1970s. There are some impressive, fairly adventurous stained-glass windows and a neck-stretchingly high nave. More interesting, though, is the attached Museo Diocesano de Arte Sacro (adult/student/child €3/1/free; h11am-2pm & 4-6.30pm Tue-Fri, 11am-2pm Sat & Sun), which contains some early Christian stone carvings and Basque crosses, detailed paintings of biblical scenes and a glittering ensemble of crucifixes and ceremonial crosses – all of which come from the Basque Country.
Museo de ArmeríaMUSEUM
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Paseo de Fray Francisco de Vitoria; adult/student/child €3/1/free; h10am-2pm & 4-6.30pm Tue-Fri, 10am-2pm Sat & Sun)
Any damsels in distress reading this ought to head to this museum where your knight in shining armour awaits. This collection of armour through the ages is surprisingly absorbing and begs the question of how on earth gallant men wearing all this lot even managed to move let alone rescue damsels from the clutches of fire-breathing dragons.
Museo de Ciencias NaturalesMUSEUM
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Calle de las Siervas de Jesús 24; adult/student/child €3/1/free; h10am-2pm & 4-6.30pm Tue-Fri, 10am-2pm Sat & Sun)
Inside this natural-history museum is a dazzling collection of minerals. You can also marvel at a mantis caught in amber, learn about the local wildlife and stare slack-jawed at a dinosaur jaw.
BibatMUSEUM
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Calle de la Cuchillería/Aiztogile Kalea 54; adult/student/child €3/1/free; h10am-2pm & 4-6.30pm Tue-Fri, 10am-2pm Sat, 11am-2pm Sun)
The Museo de Arqueología and the Museo Fournier de Naipes (Museum;
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %945 18 19 20; Calle de la Cuchillería 54) are combined into one museum known as Bibat. The Museo de Arqueología has giant TV screens that bring the dim and distant past to life. The eccentric Museo Fournier de Naipes has an impressive collection of historic presses and playing cards, including some of the oldest European decks.
zFestivals & Events
Azkena Rock FestivalMUSIC
(www.azkenarockfestival.com; h3rd week of Jun)
In 2014 headliners included the Black Crowes and Smashing Pumpkins.
Jazz FestivalMUSIC
(www.jazzvitoria.com; hmid-Jul)
This festival attracts numerous big national and international acts.
Fiestas de la Virgen BlancaCITY FESTIVAL
(h4-9 Aug)
The calm sophistication of Vitoria takes a back seat during the boisterous Fiestas de la Virgen Blanca. Fireworks, bullfights, concerts and street dancing are preceded by the symbolic descent of Celedón, a Basque effigy that flies down on strings from the Iglesia de San Miguel into the plaza below.
4Sleeping
Albergue de la CatedralHOSTEL
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %945 27 59 55; www.alberguecatedral.com; Calle de la Cuchillería 87; under 25yr dm €16-18, d €36, over 25yr dm €18-20, d €40; iW)
This hip new hostel is virtually built into the walls of the cathedral. The shiny white rooms are given added character thanks to the exposed, bendy wooden roof beams. Dorms have anywhere from two to eight beds. It's all very well-run and offers plenty of budget-travel-related services.
Hotel DatoHOTEL
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %945 14 72 30; www.hoteldato.com; Calle de Eduardo Dato 28; s €40, d €58-65; W)
It’s hard to know if the extravagant art-deco style, full of semi-naked nymphs, Roman pots and frilly fittings is kitsch or classy (though we’d probably have to go with the first one). Either way, it works well and the whole ensemble produces an exceptionally good value and memorable hotel.
Hotel Dato's annexe is the Hotel Dato 28 ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ) on a parallel street.
Abba Jazz HotelHOTEL
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %945 10 13 46; www.abbahotels.com; Calle de la Florida 7; s/d from €55/60; W)
This confident little hotel has small, searing-white rooms adorned with black-and-white pictures of piano keys, trumpets and other suitably jazzy instruments. Room size varies hugely, so ask to see a few before committing. There's an underground car park nearby.
oLa Casa de los ArquillosB&B
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %945 15 12 59; www.lacasadelosarquillos.com; Paseo Los Arquillos 1; s/d incl breakfast €66/79; W)
Housed inside a beautiful old building in a prime location above the main square, the eight immaculate rooms here take their young and funky inspiration from the artwork in the Artium. Every room is individually decorated in a highly original style – one has tape measures above the bed and another has a doll sprouting limbs from its head!
A hearty breakfast is thrown in. The reception is supposedly open from 8am to 9pm, but our experience has always been different; therefore it’s best to call in advance and let them know what time you’re arriving.
5Eating
Internationally Vitoria might not have the same culinary cachet as San Sebastián, but among in-the-know Spaniards this is a city with serious culinary pedigree. How serious? Well, in 2014 it was awarded the title of Capital Nacional de la Gastronomia (National Gastronomic Capital) on account of its stellar array of pintxo bars and highly creative chefs. What makes Vitoria even more enticing as a foodie destination is that, unlike San Sebastián, where the price of pintxos is starting to get a bit silly, eating out here is very affordable – even more so on Thursday evenings when many bars offer a pintxo and drink for €1 to €2.
Querida María RestauranteMODERN BASQUE
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Plaza de Santa María; mains €12-15, menus €19; h1-4pm & 8-11.30pm Tue-Sat, 1-4pm Sun)
Facing the cathedral in the prettiest part of the old town, this is an informal and stylish poppy-red restaurant. For the price, the food is magnificent. The menu focuses on classic Basque dishes, but most have been given a light touch of the unexpected.
When it comes to dessert, if the waitress tells you the apple tart is good, listen to her – she knows what she’s talking about!
Restaurante XixiluBASQUE
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %945 23 00 68; Plaza de América 2; mains €11-15; h1.30-4pm & 9pm-midnight)
Very much a neighbourhood haunt, this traditional-looking restaurant serves high-quality Basque dishes from behind a busy bar that serves equally good pintxos. It's on a pedestrianised square with a children's playground, which makes it a hit with families.
ArkupeBASQUE
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %945 23 00 80; Calle Mateo Benigno de Moraza 13; menus €40-47, mains €15-21; h1.30-3.30pm & 8.30-11pm)
For divine and very creative Basque cooking, check out this place. The rough wood exterior belies a formal and slightly chic atmosphere that’s given a playful edge by the butterflies and flowers on the menu cards. There’s an extensive wine list, with all the offerings racked up against the back wall. Reserve in advance.
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
VITORIA'S BEST PINTXO BARS
Vitoria has some superb pintxo bars so we asked local journalist, writer and tourism expert Itziar Herrán to give us the low-down on her favourite bars.
ToloñoPINTXOS
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Calle de San Francisco 3; pintxos from €2; h9am-midnight Sun-Thu, 10.30am-4am Fri & Sat)
This bar has won awards for its very creative pintxos. Mushrooms are the house specials. It's a large bar, so there's normally somewhere to sit down.
Bar la MalqueridaPINTXOS
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; www.lamalquerida.com.es; Calle de la Correría 10; pintxos from €2; h10am-10.30pm Mon-Thu 10am-midnight Fri & Sat)
This is a fantastic pintxo bar hidden away under the shadows of the church spires. The atmosphere is always good and the food even better.
Asador SagartokiPINTXOS
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Calle del Prado 18; pintxos from €2; h10am-midnight)
A marvellous pintxo bar and sidrería (cider house) that has one of the most creative menus around and an atmosphere to go with it. The house specials, which have won awards, are the tortilla and the fried-egg pintxos.
And when it comes to the cider, sit back and marvel as the bar staff, arms flailing like birds' wings, orchestrate jets of cider from the big barrels to the glasses in their outstretched hands.
UsokariPINTXOS
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Calle de Eduardo Dato 25; pintxos from €2; h7am-midnight Sun-Thu, 8am-1am Fri & Sat)
The range of pintxos, at this discreet and modern bar in the new town is quite small (and it tends to run out quite early on), but the owners know all about the expression 'quality not quantity'. An equally impressive wine selection accompanies the nibbles.
Bar El Tabanco PINTXOS
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; www.eltabanco.es; Calle de la Correría 46; pintxos from €2; h7pm-midnight Thu-Fri, 12.30-3.30pm & 7pm-midnight Sat & Sun)
Taking its cue, in terms of both decoration and food, from the steamy southern region of Andalucía, this is another ever busy, ever reliable pintxo bar.
IzartzaPINTXOS
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %945 23 55 33; Plaza de España 5; pintxos from €2; hnoon-4pm & 7-11pm Mon-Thu, to 11.30pm Sat & Sun)
One of the more sophisticated pintxo bars in town. It boasts food and wine to match its upmarket reputation.
8Information
Tourist OfficeTOURIST INFORMATION
(
GOOGLE MAP
; %945 16 15 98; www.vitoria-gasteiz.org/turismo; Plaza de España 1; h10am-8pm Jul-Sep, shorter hr Oct-Jun)
In the central square of the old town. It can organise guided tours of the city, including fascinating tours taking in the city's numerous giant wall murals and tours out to the extensive green spaces and birdwatching sites that fringe the city.
8Getting There & Away
There are car parks by the train station, by the Artium and just east of the cathedral.
Vitoria’s bus station ( GOOGLE MAP ; Calle de los Herrán) has regular services to the following:
Trains go to the following:
Navarra
Several Spains intersect in Navarra (Basque: Nafarroa). The soft greens and bracing climate of the Navarran Pyrenees lie like a cool compress across the sun-struck brow of the south, which is all stark plains, cereal crops and vineyards, sliced by high sierras with cockscombs of raw limestone. Navarra is also pilgrim territory: for centuries the faithful have used the pass at Roncesvalles to cross from France on their way to Santiago de Compostela.
Navarra was historically the heartland of the Basques, but dynastic struggles and trimming due to reactionary politics, including Francoism, has left it as a semi-autonomous province, with the north being Basque by nature while the south leans towards Castilian Spain. The centre hangs somewhere in between and Navarra seems intrinsically uncommitted to the vision of a Basque future.
The Navarran capital, Pamplona, tends to grab the headlines with its world-famous running of the bulls, but the region’s real charm is in its spectacularly diverse landscapes and its peppering of small towns and villages that seem to melt into the landscape.
Pamplona
Pop 195,800 / Elev 456m
Senses are heightened in Pamplona (Basque: Iruña), capital of the fiercely independent Kingdom of Navarra, alert constantly to the fearful sound of thundering bulls clattering like tanks down cobbled streets and causing mayhem and bloodshed along the way. Of course, visit outside the eight days in July when the legendary festival of Sanfermines takes over the minds and souls of a million people and the closest you’ll come to a bloodthirsty bull is in a photograph. For those who do dare venture here outside fiesta time, despite the overriding feeling that you’re the only one who missed the party, you will find Pamplona a fascinating place. And for those of you who come during fiesta week? Welcome to one of the biggest and most famous festivals in the world – if you hadn’t drunk so much, it would have been a week you would remember forever!
Pamplona
1Sights
4Sleeping
5Eating
History
The Romans called the city Pompaelo, after its founder Pompey the Great. They were succeeded by the Visigoths and then, briefly, by the Muslims. Navarra has been a melting pot of dynastic, political and cultural aspirations and tensions ever since Charlemagne rampaged across the Pyrenees from France in 778. The city achieved great things under Sancho III in the 11th century and its position on the Camino de Santiago ensured its prosperity. Twentieth-century affluence saw an expansion of the city.
THE RUNNING OF THE BULLS
Liberated, obsessive or plain mad is how you might describe aficionados (and there are many) who regularly take part in Pamplona’s Sanfermines (Fiesta de San Fermín), a nonstop cacophony of music, dance, fireworks and processions – and the small matter of running alongside a handful of agitated, horn-tossing toros (bulls) – that takes place from 6 to 14 July each year.
The bullrun is said to have originally developed way back in the 14th century as a way of herding bulls into market, with the seller running alongside the bulls to speed up their movement into the marketplace. In later times the same technique was used to transport bulls from the corrals to the bullring, and essentially that is still the case today. El encierro, the running of the bulls from their corrals to the bullring for the afternoon bullfight, takes place in Pamplona every morning during Sanfermines. Six bulls are let loose from the Coralillos de Santo Domingo to charge across the square of the same name. They continue up the street, veering onto Calle de los Mercaderes from Plaza Consistorial, then sweep right onto Calle de la Estafeta for the final charge to the ring. Devotees, known as mozos (the brave or foolish, depending on your point of view), race madly with the bulls, aiming to keep close – but not too close. The total course is some 825m long and lasts little more than three minutes.
Participants enter the course before 7.30am from Plaza de Santo Domingo. At 8am two rockets are fired: the first announces that the bulls have been released from the corrals; the second lets participants know they’re all out and running. The first danger point is where Calle de los Mercaderes leads into Calle de la Estafeta. Here many of the bulls skid into the barriers because of their headlong speed on the turn. They can become isolated from the herd and are then always dangerous. A very treacherous stretch comes towards the end, where Calle de la Estafeta slopes down into the final turn to Plaza de Toros. A third rocket goes off when all the bulls have made it to the ring and a final one when they have been rounded up in the stalls.
Those who prefer to be spectators rather than action men (and we use the word 'men' on purpose here as, technically, women are forbidden from running, although an increasing number are doing it anyway) bag their spot along the route early. A space doesn't mean an uninterrupted view because a second ‘security’ fence stands between the spectators and runners, blocking much of the view (only police, medical staff and other authorised people can enter the space between the two fences). Some people rent a space on one of the house balconies overlooking the course. Others watch the runners and bulls race out of the entrance tunnel and into the bullring by buying a ticket for a seat in the ring. Whatever the vantage point, it’s all over in a few blurred seconds.
Each evening a traditional bullfight is held. Sanfermines winds up at midnight on 14 July with a candlelit procession, known as the Pobre de Mí (Poor Me), which starts from Plaza Consistorial.
Concern has grown about the high numbers of people taking part in recent encierros. Since records began in 1924, 16 people have died during Pamplona’s bullrun. Many of those who run are full of bravado (and/or drink) and have little idea of what they’re doing. The 2004 fiesta was considered to be one of the most dangerous in recent years, with dozens of injuries, but no deaths. For the 2005 fiesta, the authorities used a special antislip paint on the streets to cut down on bull skid, but there seemed to be just as many falls and there were several injuries, including four gorings. The 2008 event was also quite an eventful one, with 45 serious injuries (four of them due to gorings), and in 2009 a man was gored to death after a bull became separated from the rest of the herd. The 2013 run will be remembered for the serious pile up of runners in the tunnel leading into the ring which left dozens injured. For dedicated encierro news, check out www.sanfermin.com.
Animal rights groups oppose bullrunning as a cruel tradition.
1Sights
oCatedralCATHEDRAL
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; www.catedraldepamplona.com; Calle Dormitalería; guided tour per adult/child €5/free; h10.30am-7pm Tue-Sat & 10.30am-2pm Sun)
Pamplona’s main cathedral stands on a rise just inside the city ramparts amid a dark thicket of narrow streets. The cathedral is a late-medieval Gothic gem spoiled only by its rather dull neoclassical facade, an 18th-century appendage. The vast interior reveals some fine artefacts, including a silver-plated Virgin and the splendid 15th-century tomb of Carlos III of Navarra and his wife Doña Leonor. The real joy is the Gothic cloister, where there is marvellous delicacy in the stonework.
The cathedral tour (which can be conducted in English or French with advance notice) is fascinating. You're taken into the cathedral itself and, if you're on a morning tour, up the bell tower to see (and possibly hear) the second-largest church bell in Spain. You also visit the cloisters and a small museum, which displays religious treasures, the remaining walls of a Roman-era house recently discovered under the cathedral during restoration work, and the tiny skeleton of a seven-month-old baby found inside the house. The museum then turns decidedly pop-art with dramatic lighting, theatre drapes and a room full of virgins! The cathedral itself is open daily for free access outside the stated hours, but you can’t access the cloisters or museum.
oMuseo de NavarraMUSEUM
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; www.cfnavarra.es/cultura/museo; Calle Cuesta de Santo Domingo 47; adult/student/child €2/1/free, free Sat afternoon & Sun; h9.30am-2pm & 5-7pm Tue-Sat, 11am-2pm Sun)
Housed in a former medieval hospital, this superb museum has an eclectic collection of archaeological finds (including a number of fantastic Roman mosaics unearthed mainly in southern Navarra), as well as a selection of art, including Goya’s Marqués de San Adrián. Labelling is in Spanish only, but foreign translation leaflets are available.
Ciudadela & ParksFORTRESS, PARK
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Avenida del Ejército)
The walls and bulwarks of the grand fortified citadel, the star-shaped Ciudadela, lurk amid the verdant grass and trees in what is now a charming park, the portal to three more parks that unfold to the north and lend the city a beautiful green escape.
Museo OteizaMUSEUM
(
GOOGLE MAP
; www.museooteiza.org; Calle de la Cuesta 7, Alzuza; adult/student/child €4/2/free, free Fri; h11am-7pm Tue-Sat, to 3pm Sun Jul & Aug, 10am-3pm Tue-Fri, 11am-7pm Sat, 11am-3pm Sun Sep-Jun)
Around 9km northeast of Pamplona in the town of Alzuza, this impressive museum contains almost 3000 pieces by the renowned Navarran sculptor Jorge Oteiza. As well as his workshop, this beautifully designed gallery incorporates the artist’s former home in a lovely rural setting.
Three buses a day run to Alzuza from Pamplona’s bus station. If you’re driving, Alzuza is signposted north off the NA150, just east of Huarte.
4Sleeping
During Sanfermines, hotels raise their rates mercilessly – all quadruple their normal rack rates and many increase them fivefold – and it can be near impossible to get a room without reserving between six months and a year in advance. The tourist office maintains a list of private houses with rooms to rent during this period, and touts hang around the bus and train stations offering rooms. With numerous ‘San Fermín’ buses arriving from all nearby Spanish and French cities, it’s actually not a bad idea to stay in a different town altogether and catch a ride on the party buses. Ask local tourist offices for details of departure times and costs.
At any other time of year, Pamplona is packed with good-value accommodation and it’s rarely worth booking ahead.
Hostal ArriazuHOTEL
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %948 21 02 02; www.hostalarriazu.com; Calle Comedias 14; s/d €50/55; W)
Falling somewhere between a budget pensión and a midrange hotel, there is superb value to be found in this former theatre. The rooms are pleasingly old-fashioned and smell of wood polish, and the bathrooms are as good as you’ll find. It has a nice plant-packed glassed-in courtyard and a communal lounge area.
Hostel HemingwayHOSTEL
(
GOOGLE MAP
; %948 98 38 84; www.hostelhemingway.com; Calle Amaya 26; dm €17-20, s/d from €35/42; iW)
Bright, funky colours predominate at this well-run hostel a few minutes’ walk from the old town. The dorms have four to six beds and share three bathrooms. It has a TV lounge and a kitchen for guest use. We don’t have to tell you what a party it would be staying here during Sanfermines.
It’s just off Avenida de Carlos III.
Hostal BearanPENSIóN
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %948 22 34 28; www.hostalbearan.es; Calle de San Nicolás 25; s/d €45/50; W)
There’s real value to be found here, particularly if you bag one of the larger rooms, which are spacious enough for management to have squeezed a sofa in. Sofa or not, make sure you ask for a room away from the noisy street.
Hotel Puerta del CaminoBOUTIQUE HOTEL
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %948 22 66 88; www.hotelpuertadelcamino.com; Calle Dos de Mayo 4; s/d from €72/85; paW)
A very stylish hotel inside a converted convent (clearly the nuns appreciated the finer things in life!) beside the northern gates to the old city. The rooms are filled with unexpected touches such as bulbous lamps and huge leather bedheads. Some rooms have views across the intricate city walls and beyond to the soaring Pyrenees.
Hotel Castillo de JavierBOUTIQUE HOTEL
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %948 20 30 40; www.hotelcastillodejavier.com; Calle de San Nicolás 50; s from €45, d €63-69; aW)
On a street of cheap digs, this slick hotel shows a touch of class. The reception area is modern through and through, and the rooms, though small, represent very good value. Ask to see a few first as some are much more spacious than others.
oPalacio GuendulainHISTORIC HOTEL
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %948 22 55 22; www.palacioguendulain.com; Calle Zapatería 53; s/d incl breakfast from €132/143; paW)
To call this stunning hotel, inside the converted former home of the viceroy of New Granada, sumptuous is an understatement. On arrival, you’re greeted by a museum-piece 17th-century carriage and a collection of classic cars being guarded by the viceroy’s private chapel. The rooms contain Princess and the Pea–soft beds, enormous showers and regal armchairs.
5Eating
oBar-Restaurante GauchoPINTXOS
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Travesía Espóz y Mina 7; pintxos €2-3; h7am-3pm & 6.30-11pm)
This bustling bar serves multi-award-winning pintxos that, despite some serious competition, many a local will tell you are the finest in the city – and we tend to agree with them! Try the ones made of sea urchins or the crispy spinach and prawn caramel ones.
BaserriBASQUE
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %948 22 20 21; Calle de San Nicolás 32; menú del día €14; h9.30am-midnight Mon-Thu, 9.30am-1.30am Fri, 11am-4am Sat, 11.30am-midnight Sun)
This place has won so many awards for its pintxos that we could fill this entire book listing them. In fact, it’s staggering to know that so many food awards actually exist! You can taste a selection of pintxos by opting for the €24 tasting menu.
Cafe Con SalSPANISH
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %948 22 79 27; Cuesta de Labrit 29; menú del día €13; hnoon-midnight Mon-Sat)
Opposite the bullring, this claret-red local haunt has one of the best-value lunch menus in town, and unlike many other restaurants, there's a long list of choices for each course, almost all of which are tasty and creative.
Casa OtañoBASQUE
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %948 22 50 95; Calle de San Nicolás 5; menú del día €18, mains €15-18; h1-4pm & 9-11pm Mon-Sat)
A little pricier than many on this street but worth the extra. Its formal atmosphere is eased by the dazzling array of pink and red flowers spilling off the balcony. Great dishes range from the locally caught trout to heavenly duck.
Restaurante EuropaBASQUE, SPANISH
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %948 22 18 00; Hotel Europa, Calle de Espóz y Mina 11; menus €47-62, mains €22-28; h1-3.30pm & 9-11pm Mon-Sat)
There's fine formal dining to be had in this white-tablecloth establishment (which is part of the rather dull Hotel Europa). Meals consist of very traditional Navarran and Basque dishes and the walls are lined with photos of the good, great or just plain glam of Spanish celebrity life who have eaten here.
DON'T MISS
CAFé IRUñA
Opened on the eve of Sanfermines in 1888, Café Iruña (
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; www.cafeiruna.com; Plaza del Castillo 44; h8am-midnight Mon-Thu, 9am-midnight Fri-Sun) has a dominant position, a powerful sense of history and a frilly belle-époque decor – all of which make it the most famous and popular watering hole in the city. It's a place nobody should miss. As well as caffeine and alcohol, it has a good range of pintxos and light meals.
8Information
Tourist OfficeTOURIST INFORMATION
(
GOOGLE MAP
; %848 42 04 20; www.turismo.navarra.es; Avenida da Roncesvalles 4; hMon-Fri 9am-7pm, Sat 10am-2pm & 4-7pm, Sun 10am-2pm)
This extremely well-organised office, just opposite the statue of the bulls in the new town, has plenty of information about the city and Navarra. There are a couple of summer-only tourist info booths scattered throughout the city.
8Getting There & Away
Air
Pamplona’s airport (%902 40 47 04), about 7km south of the city, has regular flights to Madrid, Barcelona and one or two other Spanish cities. Bus 16 (
GOOGLE MAP
; €1.35) travels between the city (from the bus station and Calle de las Navas de Tolosa) and the suburb of Noáia, from where it’s about a 200m walk to the airport. A taxi costs about €15.
Bus
From the main bus station (
GOOGLE MAP
; %902 02 36 51; www.estaciondeautobusesdepamplona.com; Ave de Yanguas y Miranda 2), buses leave for most towns throughout Navarra, although service is restricted on Sunday.
Regular bus services travel to the following places:
Regional destinations include the following:
Train
Pamplona’s train station is linked to the city centre by bus 9 (
GOOGLE MAP
) from Paseo de Sarasate every 15 minutes. Tickets are also sold at the Renfe agency (
GOOGLE MAP
; Calle de Estella 8; h9am-1.30pm & 4.30-7.30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1pm Sat).
Note that it's much quicker to take the bus to San Sebastián. Trains run to/from the following:
North of Pamplona
Sierra de Aralar
One of Navarra’s many natural parks, the scenic Sierra de Aralar offers pleasant walking. There’s not much to Lekunberri, the area’s main town, except a gaggle of solid Basque farmhouses in the old quarter and an ever-growing estate of soulless modern housing beyond. The tourist office (%948 50 72 04; www.viaverdeplazaola.org; Calle de Plazaola 21, Lekunberri) here is very helpful and can advise on the numerous fantastic walks the area offers.
Most buses between Pamplona and San Sebastián stop in Lekunberri, but you’ll need your own vehicle to explore the sierra.
1Sights
Santuario de San Miguel de AralarCHURCH
For most people, the main reason for visiting Lekunberri is to travel the bendy back road NA1510, which leads southwest through a tasty tapestry of mixed deciduous and evergreen forests to culminate (after 21km) at the austere and very bleak 9th-century Santuario de San Miguel de Aralar, which lies in the shadow of Monte Altxueta (1343m).
Despite its attractive naves and 800-year-old altarpiece, it isn’t the sort of place you’d want to visit on a moonless night. There are some spectacular views down onto the plains to the south. Opening hours can be very erratic.
4Sleeping & Eating
Hotel Ayestarán IIHISTORIC HOTEL
(%948 50 41 27; www.hotelayestaran.com; Calle de Aralar 27, Lekunberri; d €93; pWs)
Sleep with the memory of Hemingway at this beautiful hotel where the writer stayed en route to the Pamplona party. A signed photograph of him standing outside the hotel hangs on the wall. The attached restaurant is equally superb (menú del día €15).
East of Pamplona
Javier
Pop 80 / Elev 448m
Tiny Javier (Xavier), 11km northeast of Sangüesa, is a quiet rural village set in gentle green countryside. It’s utterly dominated by a childhood-fantasy castle that is so perfectly preserved you half expect the drawbridge to come crashing down and a knight in armour to gallop out on a white steed. As well as being an inspiration for fairy-tale dreams, this is also the birthplace of the patron saint of Navarra, San Francisco Xavier, who was born in the village in 1506. Xavier spent much of his life travelling, preaching, teaching and healing in Asia. Today his body lies in a miraculous state of preservation in a cathedral in Goa, India. The Castillo de Javier (admission €2.75; h10am-1.30pm & 3.30-6.30pm) houses a small museum dedicated to the life of the saint.
If you want to stay, the red-brick, ivy-clad Hotel Xabier (%948 88 40 06; www.hotelxabier.com; s/d incl breakfast €50/55; pW) has small rooms, from which you can peer out of your window on a moonlit night and look for ghosts flitting around the castle keep.
Monasterio de Leyre
Totally swamped with visitors on public holidays, the Monasterio de Leyre (www.monasteriodeleyre.com; adult/child €2.75/0.80; h10am-7.30pm Jun-Sep, shorter hr Oct-May) is in an attractive setting in the shadow of the Sierra de Leyre, about 4km from Yesa on the N240. The early Romanesque crypt has a three-nave structure with a low roof and the 12th-century main portal of the church is a fine example of Romanesque artistry.
Look down from the monastery, towards the main road, and you won’t fail to notice the Embalse de Yesa, an enormous expanse of water that is perfect for swimming.
The Pyrenees
Awash in greens and often concealed in mists, the rolling hills, ribboned cliffs, clammy forests and snow-plastered mountains that make up the Navarran Pyrenees are a playground for outdoor enthusiasts and pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago. Despite being firmly Basque in history, culture and outlook, there is something of a different feeling to the tiny towns and villages that hug these slopes. Perhaps it’s their proximity to France, but in general they seem somehow more prim and proper than many of the lowland towns. This only adds to the charm of exploring what are, without doubt, some of the most delightful and least exploited mountains in western Europe.
Valle del Baztán
This is rural Basque Country at its most typical, a landscape of splotchy reds and greens. Minor roads take you in and out of charming little villages, such as Arraioz, known for the fortified Casa Jaureguizar; and Ziga, with its 16th-century church.
Just beyond Irurita on the N121B is the valley’s biggest town, Elizondo, given a distinctly urban air by its tall half-timbered buildings. It’s a good base for exploring the area. There’s accommodation at the Antxitónea Hostal (%948 58 18 07; www.antxitonea.com; Calle Braulío Iríarte 16; s/d from €62/74; W), which has plain rooms with flower-coated balconies. The attached restaurant is worth frequenting.
Beyond Elizondo, the NA2600 road meanders dreamily amid picturesque farms, villages and hills before climbing sharply to the French border pass of Puerto de Izpegui, where the world becomes a spectacular collision of crags, peaks and valleys. At the pass, you can stop for a short, sharp hike up to the top of Mt Izpegui. You’ll find a good number of casas rurales throughout the area.
The N121B continues northwards to the Puerto de Otxondo and the border crossing into France at Dantxarinea. Just before the border, a minor road veers west to the almost overly pretty village of Zugarramurdi, home to the decidedly less pretty Cuevas de Las Brujas (www.turismozugarramurdi.com; adult/child €4/2; h11am-8pm). These caves were once, according to the Inquisition, the scene of evil debauchery. Having established this, the perverse masters of the Inquisition promptly tortured and burned scores of alleged witches. Playing on the flying-broomstick theme is the Museo de las Brujas (www.turismozugarramurdi.com; adult/child €4.50/2; h11am-6.30pm Wed-Fri, 11am-7pm Sat & Sun), a fascinating dip into the mysterious cauldron of witchcraft in the Pyrenees.
Zugarramurdi has plenty of casas rurales.
To France via Roncesvalles
As you bear northeast out of Pamplona on the N135 and ascend into the Pyrenees, the yellows, browns and olive greens of lower Navarra begin to give way to more-luxuriant vegetation before the mountains thunder up to great Pyrenean heights. It would be fair to say that this route, which follows the Camino de Santiago, is more culturally attractive than physically attractive in comparison to some mountain areas.
THE CAMINO IN NAVARRA & LA RIOJA
At the gates of Spain, Navarra is the first Spanish leg of the journey to Santiago de Compostela for walkers on the Camino Francés route. The opening section, which crosses over the Pyrenees, is also one of the most spectacular parts of the entire Camino.
RONCESVALLES TO PAMPLONA
From the Puerto de Ibañeta, the Camino dramatically enters Spain and drops down to Roncesvalles. Dominated by its great, imposing abbey, Roncesvalles admirably sets the tone for this extraordinary route. Inside the heavily restored 13th-century Gothic church, you’ll find the first statue of Santiago dressed as a pilgrim (with scallop shells and staff).
Pamplona became an official stop along the Camino in the 11th century, cementing its prosperity. Just inside the cathedral’s bland neoclassical facade are the pure, soaring lines of the 14th-century Gothic interior.
PAMPLONA TO LOGROñO & BEYOND
Heading west out of Pamplona via Zariquiegui and the Sierra del Perdón, pilgrims reach Puente la Reina, where the Camino Aragonés, coming from the east, joins up with the Camino Francés.
Estella, the next stop, contains exceptional monumental Romanesque architecture: the outstanding portal of the Iglesia de San Miguel; the cloister of the Iglesia de San Pedro de la Rúa; and the Palacio de los Reyes de Navarra.
Outside Estella, evergreen oaks and vineyards fill undulating landscapes until a long, barren stretch leads through the sleepy towns of Los Arcos, Sansol and Torres del Río. In hillside Torres you’ll find another remarkably intact eight-sided Romanesque chapel, the Iglesia del Santo Sepulcro.
The great Río Ebro marks the entrance to Logroño and explains its wealth and size. The dour Gothic Iglesia de Santiago houses a large Renaissance altarpiece depicting unusual scenes from the saint’s life, including run-ins with the wicked necromancer Hermogenes.
Nájera literally grew out of the town’s red cliff wall when King Ramiro discovered a miraculous statue of the Virgin in one of the cliff’s caves in the 11th century.
Santo Domingo de la Calzada is one of the road’s most captivating places. It is named for its energetic 11th-century founder, Santo Domingo, who cleared forests, built roadways, a bridge, a pilgrim’s hospice and a church, and performed many wondrous miracles depicted masterfully in Hispano-Flemish paintings in the cathedral.
Burguete
The main road runs tightly between neat, whitewashed houses with bare cornerstones at Burguete (Basque: Auritz), lending a more sober French air to things. Despite lacking the history, it actually makes a better night’s halt than nearby Roncesvalles.
4Sleeping & Eating
There are a sprinkling of casas rurales in the surrounding area.
Hotel LoizuHOTEL
(%948 76 00 08; www.hotelloizu.com; Calle de San Nicolás 13; s/d €63/85; hApr-Dec; pW)
This is a pleasant country hotel whose upper rooms have attractive beams and exposed stone walls. Downstairs is an excellent restaurant.
Roncesvalles
History hangs heavily in the air of Roncesvalles (Basque: Orreaga). Legend has it that it was here that the armies of Charlemagne were defeated and Roland, commander of Charlemagne’s rearguard, was killed by Basque tribes in 778. This is an event celebrated in the epic 11th-century poem Chanson de Roland (Song of Roland) and is still talked about by today’s Basques. In addition to violence and bloodshed, though, Roncesvalles has long been a key point on the road to Santiago de Compostela, and today Camino pilgrims continue to give thanks at the famous monastery for a successful crossing of the Pyrenees, one of the hardest parts of the Camino de Santiago.
The main event here is the monastery complex (www.roncesvalles.es; adult/child €4.30/2.50; h10am-2pm & 3.30-7pm Apr-Oct, shorter hr Nov-Mar), which contains a number of different buildings of interest. The 13th-century Gothic Real Colegiata de Santa María (admission free; h9am-8.30pm), houses a much-revered, silver-covered statue of the Virgin beneath a modernist-looking canopy worthy of Frank Gehry. Also of interest is the cloister, which contains the tomb of King Sancho VII (El Fuerte) of Navarra, the apparently 2.25m-tall victor in the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, fought against the Muslims in 1212. Nearby is the 12th-century Capilla de Sancti Spiritus.
4Sleeping & Eating
If you just can’t walk another step, you’ll find a couple of places to stay.
Hostal Casa SabinaHOTEL
(%948 76 00 12; www.casasabina.es; Roncesvalles; s/tw €41/51; W)
At this small place the rooms have twin beds only – possibly to stop any hanky-panky so close to a monastery? The downstairs bar and restaurant get more lively than the bedrooms.
Casa de BeneficiadosHOTEL
(%948 76 01 05; www.casadebeneficiados.com; Roncesvalles; apt €80; hmid-Mar–Dec; W)
In a former life this was an 18th-century monks' residence. Today it's re-born as a far less pious hotel, which is comfortable and utterly modern.
The Roads to Ochagavía
Happy wanderers on wheels can drift around a network of quiet country roads, with pretty villages along the way, in the area east of the main Roncesvalles road. A couple of kilometres south of Burguete, the NA140 branches off east to Garralda. Push on to Arive, a charming hamlet, from where you could continue east to the Valle del Salazar, or go south along Río Irati past the fine Romanesque church near Nagore. Another option is to take a loop northeast through the beautiful Bosque de Irati (car parking €5) forest, with its thousands of beech trees that turn the slopes a flaming orange every autumn and invite exploration on foot (from the parking area several well-marked trails lead off for anything from 2km to 8.2km return). Eventually this route will link you up with the Valle del Salazar at Ochagavía. If you stick to the NA140 between Arive and Ochagavía, Abaurregaina and Jaurrieta are particularly picturesque. Most villages along the route have casas rurales.
Ochagavía
This charming Pyrenean town lying astride narrow Río Zatoya sets itself quite apart from the villages further south. Grey stone, slate and cobblestones dominate the old centre, which straddles a bubbling stream crossed by a pleasant medieval bridge. The town’s sober dignity is reinforced by the looming presence of the Iglesia de San Juan Evangelista.
To reach France, take the NA140 northeast from Ochagavía into the Sierra de Abodi and cross at the Puerto de Larrau (1585m), a majestically bleak pass.
4Sleeping & Eating
This is a popular base for walkers and even skiers, so there are plenty of casas rurales and a campsite in the area. The Hostal Auñamendi (%948 89 01 89; www.hostalauniamendi.com; Calle Urrutià 23; W), the only official hotel in town, was closed for major renovations at the time of research.
Casa SarioHOTEL
(%948 89 01 87; www.casasario.com; Calle Llana 11, Jaurrieta; s €40-45, d €58-63; W)
This sweet little rural hotel, in the heart of the nearby village of Jaurrieta, has simple wood-floored rooms and a busy bar-restaurant downstairs (menús from €16).
Valle del Roncal
Navarra’s most spectacular mountain area is around Roncal and this easternmost valley is an alternative route for leaving or entering the Navarran Pyrenees. For details of casas rurales in the valley, visit Roncal-Salazar (www.roncal-salazar.com).
Burgui
The gateway to this part of the Pyrenees is Burgui – an enchanting huddle of stone houses built beside a clear, gushing stream (the Río Esca) bursting with frogs and fish and crossed via a humpbacked Roman bridge. Hostal El Almadiero (%948 47 70 86; www.almadiero.com; Plaza Mayor; s/d €76/90; W), in the heart of the village, has bright and colourful rooms with 19th-century bathrooms (though with mod cons like hot water and flushing toilets!).
Roncal
The largest centre along this road, though still firmly a village, Roncal is a place of cobblestone alleyways that twist and turn between dark stone houses and meander down to a river full of trout. Roncal is renowned for its Queso de Roncal, a sheep’s-milk cheese that’s sold in the village.
Isaba
Lording it over the other villages in the valley, lofty Isaba, lying above the confluence of Ríos Belagua and Uztárroz, is another popular base for walkers and skiers. Heading north out of town towards the French border the scenery becomes ever more spectacular. The road starts off confined between mountain peaks before suddenly opening out into high Alpine pastures with a backdrop of the most majestic mountains in the western Pyrenees. Approaching the French border the road corkscrews up and up to the pass of Roncalia where you'll find a small ski resort. Beyond is France and another, larger ski resort, Pierre St Martin. There are signed walking trails on both sides of the border.
The tourist office (%948 89 32 51; www.vallederoncal.es; h10am-2pm & 4-8pm Mon-Sat, 10am-2pm Sun) is up near the church, but it was closed for renovations at the time of research.
4Sleeping & Eating
There are plenty of sleeping places, but many are block-booked during the skiing season.
Hostal LolaHOTEL
(%948 89 30 12; www.hostal-lola.com; Barrio de Mendigatxa 17; d €62; W)
This family-run place hidden down a narrow side alley offers probably the best value for money and has rooms loaded with desks, sofas and big beds. There's a nice flower-hemmed terrace and a decent restaurant. The only drawback is that the partition walls are so thin you can pretty much hear everything your neighbours are up to!
Hotel EzkaurreHOTEL
(%948 89 33 03; www.hotelezkaurre.es; Calle Garagardoia 14; d €60; W)
A delightful rainbow-tinged small hotel at the northern edge of the village. While the rooms are quite sober, the common areas are decorated in a style that is half hippy India and half old French village house. Quite the contrast!
South of Pamplona
Take the A15 south of Pamplona and you only have to drive for 15 minutes before you enter an entirely new world. Within the space of just a few kilometres, the deep greens that you will have grown to love in the Basque regions and northern Navarra vanish and are replaced with a lighter and more Mediterranean ochre. As the sunlight becomes more dazzling (and more commonly seen!), the shark’s-teeth hills of the north flatten into tranquil lowland plains, while the wet forests become scorched vineyards and olive groves, and even the people change – they’re more gregarious and, as the graffiti suggests, sometimes fiercely anti-Basque. For the traveller it feels as though you are finally arriving in the Spain of the clichés.
Olite
Pop 3440 / Elev 365m
The turrets and spires of Olite are filled with stories of kings and queens, brave knights and beautiful princesses – it's as if it has burst off the pages of a fairytale. Though it might seem a little hard to believe today, this insignificant, honey-coloured village was once the home of the royal families of Navarra, and the walled old quarter is crowded with their memories.
Founded by the Romans (parts of the town wall date back to Roman times), Olite first attracted the attention of royalty in 1276. However, it didn’t really take off until it caught the fancy of King Carlos III (Carlos the Noble) in the 15th century, when he embarked on a series of daring building projects.
1Sights
Palacio RealCASTLE
(Castillo de Olite; www.guiartenavarra.com; adult/child €3.50/2; h10am-8pm Jul-Aug, 10am-7pm Mon-Fri, 10am-8pm Sat & Sun May-Jun & Sep, shorter hr Oct-Apr)
It’s Carlos III that we must thank for the exceptional Palacio Real, which towers over the village. Back in Carlos’ day, the inhabitants of the castle included not just princes and jesters but also lions, giraffes and other exotic pets, as well as Babylon-inspired hanging gardens. Today, though the princes and lions are sadly missing, some of the hanging gardens remain.
Integrated into the castle is the Iglesia de Santa María la Real, which has a superbly detailed Gothic portal. There are guided tours of both buildings; check with the ticket office for times. Otherwise an audio guide to the castle is €1.
Museo de la Viña y el Vino de NavarraMUSEUM
(www.guiartenavarra.com; Plaza de los Teobaldos 10; adult/child €3.50/2; h10am-2pm & 4-7pm Mon-Sat, 10am-2pm Sun Mar-Oct, shorter hr Nov-Feb)
Don’t miss this museum, which is a fascinating journey through wine and wine culture. Everything is well labelled and laid out and some fascinating facts are revealed. For instance, did you know that Noah (the one of the Ark fame) was apparently the first human ever to get drunk? It's in the same building as the tourist office.
Galerías SubterráneasMUSEUM
(Plaza Carlos III; adult/child €1.50/1; h11am-1pm Tue-Fri, 11am-2pm & 5-7pm Sat, Sun & public holidays)
These underground galleries, whose origin and use remain something of a mystery, contain a small museum explaining the town’s medieval life (in Spanish). These basically illustrate that if you had blue blood or were rich then life was one jolly round of wine, food and things that your mother wouldn’t approve of, and if you weren’t, well, life sucked.
WORTH A TRIP
LAGUNA DE PITILLAS
The lakes and marshes that make up the Laguna de Pitillas are one of the top birding sites in Navarra – a region already renowned for its variety of feathered friends. Now a protected Ramsar wetland site of international importance, the Laguna de Pitillas provides a home for around 160 permanent and migratory species, including marsh harriers, great bitterns and even ospreys. To get there, take the N121 south of Olite and then turn off down the NA5330.
4Sleeping & Eating
oPrincipe de VianaHISTORIC HOTEL
(%948 74 00 00; www.parador.es; Plaza de los Teobaldos 2; r from €120; ai)
Situated in a wing of the castle (though the cheaper rooms are in a newer extension), this offering from the Parador chain is in a sumptuous, atmospheric class of its own. Though there might be good rooms available elsewhere in town for considerably fewer euros, they don’t come with a castle attached.
Hotel Merindad de OliteHISTORIC HOTEL
(%948 74 07 35; www.merindaddeolitehoteles.com; Rúa de la Judería 11; s €58-68, d €68-78; aW)
Built almost into the old town walls, this charming place has small but comfortable rooms and masses of medieval style. Get in fast because it fills quickly.
Hotel el JuglarBOUTIQUE HOTEL
(%948 74 18 55; www.merindaddeolitehoteles.com; Rúa Romana 39; s €90-100, d €105-115; paWs)
A few minutes’ walk into the new suburbs. The handful of rooms here are all slightly different from one another – some have big round whirlpool baths, some old-fashioned stone baths, and others elaborate walk-in showers. All have four-poster beds and lots of fancy decorations, and there’s a pool to cool off in on a hot summer day.
Hostal Rural Villa ViejaBOUTIQUE HOTEL
(%948 74 17 00; www.hostalvillavieja.com; Calle Villaveija 11; s €50, d €60-80; W)
Doing away with all the twee old-world decoration that is so common elsewhere in Olite, the slick rooms in this hotel stick firmly with the 21st century thanks to the ample use of bright colours and pop art.
8Information
Olite has a friendly and helpful tourist office (%948 74 17 03; Plaza de los Teobaldos 10; h10am-2pm & 4-7pm Mon-Sat, 10am-2pm Sun), in the same building as the wine museum.
8Getting There & Away
Up to 16 buses a day run between Olite and Pamplona (€3.51, 45 minutes).
Ujué
Balancing atop a hill criss-crossed with terraced fields, the tiny village of Ujué, some 18km east of Olite and overlooking the plains of southern Navarra, is a perfect example of a fortified medieval village. Today the almost immaculately preserved village is sleepy and pretty, with steep, narrow streets tumbling down the hillside, but what gives it something special is the hybrid Iglesia de Santa María, a fortified church of mixed Romanesque-Gothic style. The church contains a rare statue of the Black Virgin, which is said to have been discovered by a shepherd who was led to the statue by a dove. In addition to the Virgin, the church also contains the heart of Carlos II.
The village plays host to a fascinating romería (pilgrimage) on the first Sunday after St Mark’s Day (25 April), when hundreds of people walk through the night from Tudela to celebrate Mass in the village church.
Unfortunately, there is no formal accommodation in the village, but it makes a great lunch stop. Mesón las Migas (%948 73 90 44; Calle Jesús Echauri; mains €12-18, menú del día €26; hclosed Mon-Thu Sep–mid-Jul), which serves traditional south Navarran food, is the best place to eat delights such as hunks of meat cooked over an open wood fire, but the house special is migas de pastor (fried breadcrumbs with herbs and chorizo).
Monasterio de la Oliva
The 11th-century Monasterio de la Oliva (%948 72 50 06; guided tours €2; h9am-12.30pm & 3.30-6.15pm Mon-Sat, 9-11.45am & 4-6.15pm Sun), 2km from Carcastillo, which is southeast of Olite, was founded by Cistercian monks and is still functioning as a community. Its austere church gives onto a peaceful Gothic cloister. The monks are dressed in exotic white-hooded robes.
Parque Natural de las Bárdenas Reales
In a region largely dominated by wet mountain slopes, the last thing you’d expect to find is a sunburnt desert, but in the Parque Natural de las Bárdenas Reales a desert is exactly what you’ll find. Established as a natural park in 1999 and as a UN Biosphere Reserve in 2000, the Bárdenas Reales is a desiccated landscape of blank tabletop hills, open gravel plains and snakelike gorges covering over 410 sq km of southeastern Navarra. As well as spectacular scenery, the park plays host to numerous birds and animals, including the great bustard, golden eagles, Egyptian and griffon vultures, numerous reptiles, mountain cats and wild boar. This may look like an almost pristine wilderness, but it is, in fact, totally artificial. Where now there is desert there was once forest, but humans, being quite dumb, chopped it all down, let their livestock eat all the lower growth and suddenly found themselves living in a desert. There are a couple of dirt motor tracks and numerous hiking and cycling trails, all of which are only vaguely signposted. There's a park information office (%948 83 03 08; www.bardenasreales.es; Km 6 military zone rd; h8am-1hr before sunset) on the main route into the park from Arguedas, which can supply information on driving, cycling and walking routes. Otherwise, the tourist office in Olite has plenty of information.
4Sleeping
Hotel Aires de BárdenasBOUTIQUE HOTEL
(%948 11 66 66; www.airedebardenas.com; Ctra de Ejea, Km 1.5, Tudela; d €165-225; paWs)
A shipping crate is hardly the most promising of beginnings for a luxury boutique hotel, but here humble crates have been turned into something special. Each one has had its front cut out to give huge vistas over an expanse of semi-desert, and each is filled with the kind of luxurious fittings that make for a top hotel.
The in-house restaurant (mains €14 to €20) is of the same quality as the rooms, the service is superb and there's a pool. However, some rooms don't have views (it's worth paying extra for one that does), and despite the undoubted quality, we do feel it's a bit overpriced. It's situated several kilometres east of Tudela, just off the NA125.
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
REMINDERS OF ROME
The Roman influence in southern Navarra (and neighbouring La Rioja) was strong. There are several key sites that can give an insight into those distant days, and visiting them provides an excuse to explore lightly touristed countryside. Also, don't forget to check out the Roman mosaics in the Museo de Navarra in Pamplona.
CIUDAD ROMANA DE ANDELOS
The Roman town of Andelos (%948 74 12 73; www.guiartenavarra.com; Mendigorría; adult/child €2/1; h10am-2pm & 3-7pm Fri & Sat, 10am-2pm Sun) is very battered, but its remote and peaceful setting gives it a special romance. The town, which reached its peak between the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, is divided into three: the main town, a water reservoir about 300m away from the town, and the tumbledown walls of a dam about 3km from the main site.
In spring and autumn it's a lovely 7km round-trip walk to the dam walls along dusty lanes – take water and a picnic. There's also a small museum with some of the finds from the site just by the entrance. Andelos is close to the village of Mendigorría, which is a short way south of Puente la Reina.
Hours vary. Check the website.
VILLA ROMANA DE LAS MUSAS
The good people of Navarra have appreciated the gift of grapes for a very long time, and this magnificent Roman-era nobleman's villa (Villa Romana de Arellano; %948 74 12 73; www.guiartenavarra.com; Arellano; adult/child €2/1), which dates from between the 1st and 5th centuries, was used to produce wine. Various huge clay wine storage vessels are on display, and there are some impressive mosaics (some are reproductions).
The site is 6km south of Arellano village and sits in the heart of what is still wine-producing country. At the time of research the villa was closed for restoration work.
West of Pamplona
Puente la Reina
Pop 2670 / Elev 421m
The chief calling card of Puente la Reina (Basque: Gares), 22km southwest of Pamplona on the A12, is the spectacular six-arched medieval bridge that dominates the western end of town, but Puente la Reina rewards on many other levels. A key stop on the Camino de Santiago, the town's pretty streets throng with the ghosts of a multitude of pilgrims. Their first stop here was at the late-Romanesque Iglesia del Crucifijo, erected by the Knights Templars and still containing one of the finest Gothic crucifixes in existence. And just a short way out of town is one of the prettiest chapels along the whole Camino. Throw into this mix some fine places to stay and, in the nearby countryside, a ruined Roman city and the result is a fine place to be based for a day or so.
1Sights
Santa María de EunateCHURCH
(h10am-2pm & 4-7.30pm Tue-Sun)
F
Surrounded by cornfields and brushed by wild flowers, the near perfect octaganal Romanesque chapel of Santa María de Eunate is one of the most picturesque chapels along the whole Camino. Dating from around the 12th century its origins – and the reason why it's located in the middle of nowhere – are something of a mystery.
The chapel is 2km southeast of Muruzábal, which is itself 5km northeast of Puente la Reina.
4Sleeping
Hotel Rural El CercoBOUTIQUE HOTEL
(%948 34 12 69; www.elcerco.es; Calle Don Rodrigo Ximénez de Rada 36; s €50, d €75-83; W)
Of several quality places to stay this one, at the eastern end of the old quarter, has to be our favourite. The owners have taken an old building, stripped it back and turned it into a stylish small boutique hotel with exposed stone walls, wooden roof beams and lime-green walk-in showers.
Estella
Pop 14,250 / Elev 483m
Estella (Basque: Lizarra) was known as ‘La Bella’ in medieval times because of the splendour of its monuments and buildings, and though the old dear has lost some of its beauty to modern suburbs, it’s not without charms. During the 11th century, Estella became a main reception point for the growing flood of pilgrims along the Camino de Santiago. Today most visitors are continuing that same plodding tradition.
1Sights
Iglesia de San Pedro de la RúaCHURCH
This 12th-century church is the most important monument in Estella. Its cloisters are a fine example of Romanesque sculptural work.
Iglesia de San MiguelCHURCH
Across the river and overlooking the town is the Iglesia de San Miguel, with a fine Romanesque north door.
zFestivals & Events
FeriaFAIR
(hJul)
From the last Friday in July, Estella hosts a week-long feria with its own encierro (running of the bulls).
4Sleeping
Chapitel HospederíaHOTEL
(%948 55 10 90; www.hospederiachapitel.com; Calle Chapitel 1; s/d from €70/90; pW)
The town's flashiest rooms are to be found in the Chapitel Hospedería. Although the rooms themselves here are the last word in comfort (in a sterile business kind of way), the bathrooms seem to be an afterthought.
Hotel TximistaDESIGN HOTEL
(%948 55 58 70; www.sanvirilahoteles.com/tximista; Calle Zaldu 15; s/d €80/90; paW)
This striking modern hotel, built into and out of an old watermill, mixes rusty old industrial cogs and wheels from the mill with poppy-red artwork. Rooms are comfortable, although some suffer from road noise, and there's a nice garden overlooking the gurgling river.
5Eating
Astarriaga AsadorSPANISH
(Plaza de Los Fueros 12; mains €10-15; h10am-1.30pm & 8pm-midnight Mon-Sat, 10am-1.30pm Sun)
On the main square, Astarriaga Asador is a very popular restaurant with Galicia-bound pilgrims on account of its energy-enhancing steak selections – some are almost the size of a cow.
8Getting There & Away
About 10 buses leave from the bus station (Plaza Coronación) for Pamplona (€4.19, one hour) Monday to Friday, and six on Saturday and Sunday.
Around Estella
The countryside around Estella is littered with monasteries. One of the best is the Monasterio de Irache (h10am-1.15pm & 4-7pm Wed-Sun, closed 1-17 Jan), 3km southwest of Estella, near Ayegui. This ancient Benedictine monastery has a lovely 16th-century plateresque cloister and its Puerta Especiosa is decorated with delicate sculptures. Those unimpressed by beauty dedicated to God may find the Fuente de Vino (Spring of Wine) enough to make you a believer. It's behind the Bodega de Irache (www.irache.com; Monasterio de Irache; h10am-2pm & 4-7pm Sat), a well-known local wine producer (which is just in front of the church), and yes, it really is a spring of wine, and yes, you really can drink some for free – though only if you're a pilgrim walking to Santiago.
About 10km north of Estella, near Abárzuza, is the Monasterio de Iranzu (www.monasterio-iranzu.com; admission €2.50; h10am-2pm & 4-8pm). Originally founded way back in the 11th century, but recently restored, this sand-coloured monastery with beautiful cloisters is so calm and tranquil that it could inspire religious meditation in Lucifer himself.
La Rioja
Get out the copas (glasses) for La Rioja and some of the best red wines produced in the country. Wine goes well with the region’s ochre earth and vast blue skies, which seem far more Mediterranean than the Basque greens further north. In fact, it’s hard not to feel as if you’re in a different country altogether. The bulk of the vineyards line Río Ebro around the town of Haro, but some also extend into neighbouring Navarra and the Basque province of Álava. This diverse region offers more than just the pleasures of the grape, though, and a few days here can see you mixing it up in lively towns and quiet pilgrim churches, and even hunting for the remains of giant reptiles.
Logroño
Pop 153,000
Logroño doesn’t feel the need to be loud and brash. Instead it’s a stately town with a heart of tree-studded squares, narrow streets and hidden corners. There are few monuments here, but there is a monumentally good selection of pintxos bars. In fact, Logroño is quickly gaining a culinary reputation to rival anywhere in Spain. All up, this is the sort of place that you cannot help but feel contented in – and it’s not just the wine.
Logroño
1Top Sights
5Eating
1Sights
A stroll around the old town and down to the river is a pleasant diversion.
oMuseo de la RiojaMUSEUM
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Plaza San Agustin 23; h10am-2pm & 4-9pm Tue-Sat, 10am-2pm Sun)F
After being closed for renovations for many years, this superb museum is now back in business and, in both Spanish and English, takes you on a wild romp through Riojan history and culture – from the days when our ancestors killed dinner with arrows to recreations of the kitchens your Spanish granny likes to pretend she grew up using.
Catedral de Santa María de la RedondaCATHEDRAL
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Calle de Portales; h8am-1pm & 6-8.45pm Mon-Sat, 9am-2pm & 6.30-8.45pm Sun)
The Catedral de Santa María de la Redonda started life as a Gothic church before maturing into a full-blown cathedral in the 16th century.
Iglesia de San BartoloméCHURCH
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Calle de Rodríguez Paterna)
The impressive main entrance to this 13th-century church has a splendid portico of deeply receding borders and an expressive collection of statuary.
MAKE YOUR OWN WINE
Based in the small village of Fuenmayor (10 minutes west of Logroño), Rioja Trek (%941 58 73 54; www.riojatrek.com) offers three-hour wine ‘experiences’ where you visit a vineyard and bodega and participate in the process of actually making wine yourself (and keeping the bottle afterwards). The same people also run well-priced wine-tasting courses, family-friendly wine-related activities and, as the name would suggest, guided hikes along some of La Rioja’s fabulous mountain trails.
zFestivals & Events
ActualCULTURAL
(h1st week Jan)
A program of cultural, musical and artistic events.
Feast of San BernabéFEAST DAY
(h11 Jun)
The Feast of San Bernabé commemorates the French siege of Logroño in 1521.
Fiesta de San MateoLOCAL FIESTA
(hSep)
Logroño’s week-long Fiesta de San Mateo starts on the Saturday before 21 September and doubles as a harvest festival, during which all of La Rioja comes to town to watch the grape-crushing ceremonies in the Espolón and to drink ample quantities of wine.
4Sleeping
Logroño isn't overflowing with hotels, but the ones it has are generally very good value.
Hostal La NumantinaPENSIóN
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %941 25 14 11; www.hostalnumantina.com; Calle de Sagasta 4; s/d from €36/59; W)
This professional operation caters perfectly to the budget traveller’s needs. The rooms are comfortable and homely, and some have crazy patterned wardrobes and large baths. The best aspects, though, are the communal TV room and the ample tourist info.
Hotel Marqués de VallejoDESIGN HOTEL
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %941 24 83 33; www.hotelmarquesdevallejo.com; Calle del Marqués de Vallejo 8; s/d from €50/75; paW)
From the driftwood art to cow skins, beach pebbles and photographic flashlights it's clear that a lot of thought and effort has gone into the design of this stylish, modern and very well-priced hotel.
oHotel Calle MayorBOUTIQUE HOTEL
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %941 23 23 68; www.hotelcallemayor.com; Calle Marqués de San Nicolás 71; r incl breakfast €120-160; paW)
This delicious new hotel is the place to stay in Logroño. Its clean, simple lines and huge rooms with cheeky touches like modern lamps atop ancient columns are bathed in light and simply ooze class. The staff are highly efficient.
5Eating
Make no mistake about it: Logroño is a foodie's delight. There are a number of very good restaurants and then there are the pintxos – few cities have such a dense concentration of excellent pintxo bars. Most of the action takes place on Calle Laurel and Calle de San Juan. Pintxos cost around €2 to €4, and most of the pintxo bars are open from about 8pm through to midnight, except on Mondays.
TorrecillaPINTXOS
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Calle Laurel 15; pintxos from €2)
OK, we're going to stick our necks out here and say that this place serves the best pintxos in town. Go for the pyramid of jamón or the mini-burgers (which come with mini bottles of ketchup!). In fact, what the heck, go for anything. It's all good!
Bar SorianoPINTXOS
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Travesía de Laurel 2; pintxos from €2)
The smell of frying food will suck you into this bar, which has been serving up the same delicious mushroom tapa, topped with a shrimp, for more than 30 years.
La Taberna de BacoPINTXOS
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Calle de San Agustín 10; pintxos from €2)
This place has a cracking list of around 40 different pintxos, including bombitas (potatoes stuffed with mushrooms) and a delightful mess of toast with pâté, apple, goat cheese and caramel.
La FontanaPINTXOS
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Calle Laurel 16; pintxos from €2)
Another stellar pintxo bar with a welcoming atmosphere. This one's speciality is sepia fontana. And when you order this what emerges from the kitchen? A pile of egg, mushroom, aubergine and foie gras. The octopus isn’t bad either.
Bar VinissimoPINTXOS
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Calle de San Juan 23; pintxos from €2; hclosed all Wed & Thu lunch)
The speciality of this cramped little locals' bar is foie fresco a la plancha (fresh liver cooked on the plancha). It also has a very good wine selection.
La Taberna del LaurelPINTXOS
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Calle Laurel 7)
The speciality at La Taberna del Laurel is patatas bravas (potatoes in a spicy tomato sauce). They’re not just good, they’re damn near divine.
Bar A Tu GustoPINTXOS
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Calle de San Juan 21; pintxos from €2; hclosed Wed)
Serves delicious seafood pintxos in an Andalucian-flavoured bar and has an impressive wine list. The special is the crepe de ajoarriero con gulas (cod and elver crêpe).
Marinée RestauranteSEAFOOD
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %941 24 39 10; Plaza de Mercardo 2-3; mains €15-20; h1.45-3.45pm Tue & Wed, 1.45-3.45pm & 9-11.30pm Thu-Sun)
It's the seafood that really garners all the attention at this resturant on the main square, and that's no surprise: the prawns, cod, seabass and shellfish are all perfectly executed. But don't limit yourself to the fruits of the sea: the landlubber dishes are decent too.
The €22 lunch menu is the deal of the day.
oLa Cocina de RamonSPANISH
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %941 28 98 08; www.lacocinaderamon.es; Calle de Portales 30; menus €28-37; h1-4pm & 8-11pm Tue-Sat, 1-4pm Sun)
It looks unassuming from the outside, but Ramon's mixture of high-quality, largely locally grown market-fresh produce and tried-and-tested family recipes gives this place a lot of fans. But it's not just the food that makes it so popular: the service is outstanding, and Ramon likes to come and explain the dishes to each and every guest.
7Shopping
Félix Barbero Botas RiojaWINE
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; http://botasrioja.artesaniadelarioja.org; Calle de Sagasta 8; h10am-2pm & 4-8pm Mon-Sat)
Maintaining a dying craft, Félix Barbero handmakes the classic Spanish animal skin wine carriers in which farmers carried their daily rations of wine while working in the fields. Expect to pay from €20.
Vinos El PesoWINE
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Calle del Peso 1; h9am-9pm Mon-Fri, 9am-4pm Sat, 9am-2pm Sun)
There are countless wine outlets in town, but this one is excellent.
8Information
Tourist Office of La RiojaTOURIST INFORMATION
(
GOOGLE MAP
; %941 29 12 60; www.lariojaturismo.com; Calle de Portales 50; h9am-2pm & 5-8pm Mon-Fri, 10am-2pm & 5-8pm Sat, 10am-2pm & 5-7pm Sun Jul-Sep, shorter hr Oct-Jun)
This office can provide lots of information on both the city and La Rioja in general.
8Getting There & Away
If you arrive at the train or bus station (
GOOGLE MAP
; %941 23 59 83; Avenida de España 1), first head up Avenida de España and then Calle del General Vara de Rey until you reach the Espolón, a large, park-like square lavished with plane trees (and with an underground car park). The Casco Viejo starts just to the north.
Buses bounce off to the following:
By train, Logroño is regularly connected to the following:
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
HUNTING FOR DINOSAURS
For those with their own transport, heading south of Logroño towards Soria via Arnedo and Arnedillo leads through some stunning semi-desert countryside riven by red-tinged gorges. Today eagles and vultures are commonly seen prowling the skies. But if you had been travelling around these parts some 120 million years ago, it wouldn't have been prowling vultures you'd need to keep an eye out for but prowling tyrannosauruses. Perhaps a little disappointingly, the dinosaurs are long gone. But if you know where to look, you can still find clues to their passing.
A short way south of Arnedillo is the small and pretty hill village of Enciso, which is the centre of Jurassic activity in these parts. The El Barranco Perdido (%941 39 60 80; www.barrancoperdido.com; over 12yr/4-12yr €24/18; h11am-8pm), is a dino theme park containing a museum with complete dinosaur skeletons, various climbing frames, zip-wire slides and an outdoor swimming-pool complex. The real highlight of a visit to Enciso though is the chance to see some real-life dinosaur footprints scattered across former mudflats (now rock slopes) in the surrounding countryside. The nearest prints can be found just a kilometre or so east of El Barranco Perdido and the village – look for the terrifying T-Rex and dippy diplodocus on the hillside and you're in the right place.
Further dinosaur footprints can be found throughout the region – get hold of a map indicating sites from any nearby tourist office.
Accommodation is rather limited around here, but in Enciso itself is the cheery Casa Rural La Tahona (%941 39 60 66; www.casatahona.es; d incl breakfast €45; s), which has large, bright rooms, some of which are family rooms. Rare for these parts, it's open year round (but call ahead in winter).
West of Logroño
San Millán de Cogolla
Pop 270 / Elev 733m
About 16km southwest of Nájera, in the hamlet of San Millán de Cogolla, are two remarkable monasteries, which between them helped give birth to the Castilian language. On account of their linguistic heritage and artistic beauty, they have been recognised by Unesco as World Heritage sites.
The Monasterio de Yuso (%941 37 30 49; www.monasteriodeyuso.org; adult/child €6/2; h10am-1.30pm & 4-6.30pm Tue-Sun), sometimes presumptuously called El Escorial de La Rioja, contains numerous treasures in its museum. You can only visit as part of a guided tour (in Spanish only; non-Spanish speakers will be given an information sheet in English and French). Tours last 50 minutes and run every half-hour or so. In August it’s also open on Mondays.
A short distance away is the Monasterio de Suso (%941 37 30 82; admission €3; h9.30am-1.30pm & 3.30-6.30pm Tue-Sun). Built above the caves where San Millán once lived, it was consecrated in the 10th century. It’s believed that in the 13th century a monk named Gonzalo de Berceo wrote the first Castilian words here. Again, it can only be visited on a guided tour. Tickets, which must be bought in advance and include a short bus ride up to the monastery, can be reserved by phone or can be picked up at the helpful tourist office at the Monasterio de Yuso.
Santo Domingo de la Calzada
Pop 6260 / Elev 630m
Santo Domingo is small-town Spain at its very best. A large number of the inhabitants continue to live in the partially walled old quarter, a labyrinth of medieval streets where the past is alive and the sense of community is strong. It’s the kind of place where you can be certain that the baker knows all his customers by name and that everyone will turn up for María’s christening. Santiago-bound pilgrims have long been a part of the fabric of this town, and that tradition continues to this day, with most visitors being foot-weary pilgrims. All this helps to make Santo Domingo one of the most enjoyable places in La Rioja.
1Sights
Catedral de Santo Domingo de la CalzadaCATHEDRAL
(www.catedralsantodomingo.es; Plaza del Santo 4; adult/student/child €4/3/free; h10am-8.30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-7.10pm Sat, 9am-12.20pm & 1.45-7.10pm Sun Apr-Oct, shorter hr Nov-Mar)
The morose, monumental cathedral and its attached museum glitter with the gold that attests to the great wealth the Camino has bestowed on otherwise backwater towns. An audio guide to the cathedral and its treasures is €1. Guided tours, including a nighttime tour, are also available.
The cathedral’s most eccentric feature is the white rooster and hen that forage in a glass-fronted cage opposite the entrance to the crypt (look up!). Their presence celebrates a long-standing legend, the Miracle of the Rooster, which tells of a young man who was unfairly executed only to recover miraculously, while the broiled cock and hen on the plate of his judge suddenly leapt up and chickened off, fully fledged.
4Sleeping & Eating
There are some very good places to stay in Santo Domingo. For food, however, things aren't quite as exciting. There are a few lacklustre cafes and bars in the modern centre of town by the bus stop, and some posher, but not necessarily better, ones near the cathedral.
Hospedería Sta TeresitaHOTEL
(%941 34 07 00; www.cister-lacalzada.com; Calle Pinar 2; s/d €39/58; W)
If your idea of a religious-run hotel includes lumpy beds, 5am prayers and severe sisters, then forget it, because the Hospedería Sta Teresita is much more about elevators, swipe cards and comfortable rooms.
Hostal R PedroHOTEL
(%941 34 11 60; www.hostalpedroprimero.es; Calle San Roque 9; s/d €48/59; W)
This carefully renovated town house, which has terracotta-coloured rooms with wooden roof beams and entirely modern bathrooms, is a terrific deal.
Parador Santo DomingoHISTORIC HOTEL
(%941 34 03 00; www.parador.es; Plaza del Santo 3; r from €105; pWc)
The Parador Santo Domingo is the antithesis of the town’s general air of piety. Occupying a 12th-century former hospital, opposite the cathedral, this palatial hotel offers anything but a frugal medieval-like existence. The in-house restaurant is reliably good.
Parador Santo Domingo Bernado de FresnedaHOTEL
(%941 34 11 50; www.parador.es; Plaza de San Francisco 1; r from €90; pW)
Just on the edge of the old town is the Parador Santo Domingo Bernado de Fresneda, which occupies a former convent and pilgrim hostel, although quite honestly, with its divine beds and rooms that gush luxury, you probably wouldn't describe it as a 'hostel' any more.
8Getting There & Away
Buses run to Logroño (€3.05, one hour via Nájera, up to 13 daily on weekdays, fewer on weekends).
Wine Region
La Rioja wine rolls on and off the tongue with ease, by name as well as by taste. All wine fanciers know the famous wines of La Rioja, where the vine has been cultivated since Roman times. The region is classic vine country and vineyards cover the hinterland of Río Ebro. On the river’s north bank, the region is part of the Basque Country and is known as La Rioja Alavesa.
Haro
Pop 11,500 / Elev 426m
Despite its fame in the wine world, there’s not much of a heady bouquet to Haro, the capital of La Rioja’s wine-producing region. But the town has a cheerful pace and the compact old quarter, leading off Plaza de la Paz, has some intriguing alleyways with bars and wine shops aplenty.
There are plenty of wine bodegas in the vicinity of the town, some of which are open to visitors (almost always with advance reservation). The tourist office keeps a full list.
TTours
Bodegas MugaWINERY TOUR
(%941 30 60 60; www.bodegasmuga.com; Barrio de la Estación; winery tour €8)
Just after the railway bridge on the way out of town, this bodega is one of the most receptive to visitors and gives daily guided tours (except Sunday) and tastings in Spanish, and although technically you should book in advance in high season, you can often just turn up and tack onto the back of a tour.
For an English-language tour, it’s essential to book several days ahead.
zFestivals & Events
Batalla del VinoWINE FESTIVAL
(h29 Jun)
The otherwise mild-mannered citizens of Haro go temporarily berserk during the Batalla del Vino (Wine Battle), squirting and chucking wine all over each other in the name of San Juan, San Felices and San Pedro. Plenty of it goes down the right way, too.
4Sleeping & Eating
There are plenty of cafes and bars around Plaza de la Paz and the surrounding streets.
Los AgustinosHISTORIC HOTEL
(%941 31 13 08; www.aranzazu-hoteles.com; Calle San Augín 2; s/d from €72/87, restaurant menus from €39; paW)
History hangs in the air of this stately hotel. And, although the rooms are lovely, it’s the stunning covered courtyard of this former monastery that steals the show. The attached restaurant, with its fabulous setting, is highly recommended.
Hotel ArropeHOTEL
(%941 30 40 25; www.hotelarrope.com; Calle Vega 31; d from €76; aW)
This town-centre hotel has a young-and-cool attitude, which is quite unexpected in conservative Haro. Closer inspection reveals that the furnishings and fittings are quite plasticky. The attached bar-cafe is a very pleasant place for a drink and some tapas.
8Information
Tourist OfficeTOURIST INFORMATION
(%941 30 35 80; www.haroturismo.org; Plaza de florentino Rodríguez; h10am-2pm & 4-7pm Mon-Sat, 10am-2pm Sun mid-Jun–Sep, 10am-2pm Mon-Fri, 10am-2pm & 4-6pm Sat Oct–mid-Jun)
A couple of hundred metres along the road from Plaza de la Paz.
8Getting There & Away
Regular trains connect Haro with Logroño (from €5.95, 40 minutes). Buses additionally serve Logroño, Vitoria, Bilbao, Santo Domingo de la Calzada and Laguardia.
EXPERIENCE THE WEALTH OF THE GRAPE
The humble grape has created great wealth for some of the villages around La Rioja. Proof of this are some of the extravagant bodegas and hotels that have sprung up in recent years in what otherwise appear to be backwater farming communities. Visit the following to see what we mean.
When the owner of the Bodegas Marqués de Riscal, in the village of Elciego, decided he wanted to create something special, he didn’t hold back. The result is the spectacular Frank Gehry–designed Hotel Marqués de Riscal (%945 18 08 80; www.starwoodhotels.com/luxury; Calle Torrea 1; r from €304; paW). Costing around €85 million, the building is a flamboyant wave of multicoloured titanium sheets that stands in utter contrast to the village behind. The building is having a radical effect on the surrounding countryside and has led to more tourists, more jobs, more wine sales and more money appearing in the hands of locals.
Casual visitors are not, however, welcome at the hotel. If you want a closer look, you have three options. The easiest is to join one of the bodega’s wine tours (%945 18 08 88; www.marquesderiscal.com; tour €11) – there's at least one English language tour a day, but it’s best to book in advance. You won’t get inside the building, but you will get to see its exterior from some distance. A much closer look can be obtained by reserving a table at one of the two superb in-house restaurants: the Michelin-approved Restaurante Marqués de Riscal (%945 18 08 80; Hotel Marqués de Riscal, Calle Torrea 1; menu from €70) or the Bistró 1860 (%945 18 08 80; Hotel Marqués de Riscal, Calle Torrea 1; menu from €49). But for the most intimate look at the building, you’ll need to reserve a room for the night, but be prepared to part with some serious cash!
Just a couple of kilometres to the north of Laguardia is the Bodegas Ysios (www.ysios.com; Camino de la Hoya, Laguardia). Designed by Santiago Calatrava as a ‘temple dedicated to wine’, its wave-like roof made of aluminium and cedar wood matches the flow of the rocky mountains behind it. However, it looks its best at night when pools of light flow out of it. Daily tours (%902 239773; per person €12; hTours 11am, 1pm & 4pm Mon-Fri, 10am, 11am, 1pm & 4pm Sat, 11am & 1pm Sun) of the bodega are an excellent introduction to wine production. The 4pm tour on Saturdays is in English.
The Hotel Viura (%945 60 90 00; www.hotelviura.com; Calle Mayor; d from €125; paW), which at first glance appears to be dozens of multi-coloured boxes piled haphazardly atop one another, is an architecturally challenging building that is a shocking contrast to the honey-coloured village of Villabuena de Álava in which it sits.
There are several other, somewhat less confronting, wine cellars around Laguardia that can be visited, often with advance notice only – contact the tourist office in Laguardia for details. Bodegas Palacio (%945 60 01 51; www.bodegaspalacio.com; Carretera de Elciego; tour €5; hTours 11am & 1pm Mon, 4.30pm Tue-Fri, 11.30am & 1pm Sat, 1.30pm Sun, closed pm Jul & Aug) is only 1km from Laguardia on the Elciego road; reservations are not essential but are a good idea (especially out of season). The same bodega also runs excellent wine courses. The beginners’ wine-tasting course (€30) runs monthly throughout the year, except August and January. Advance reservations are essential. There’s also a hotel (%945 62 11 95; s €73-78, d €83-90; W) attached to the complex, but compared to options in Laguardia, it lacks character.
Also just outside Laguardia is the Centro Temático del Vino Villa Lucia (%945 60 00 32; www.villa-lucia.com; Carretera de Logroño; museum €11; h11am-6.30pm Tue-Fri, 10.15am-6.30pm Sat, 11am-12.30pm Sun), a wine museum and shop selling high-quality wine from a variety of small, local producers. Museum visits are by guided tour only and finish with a 4D film and wine tasting.
It’s worth noting that buried under the houses of Laguardia are numerous small wine bodegas, some of which are open to the public. Ask at the tourist office for details.
Briones
Pop 900 / Elev 501m
One man’s dream has put the small, obscenely quaint village of Briones firmly on the Spanish wine and tourism map. The sunset-gold village crawls gently up a hillside and offers commanding views over the surrounding vine-carpeted plains. It’s on these plains where you will find the fantastic Dinastía Vivanco (Museo de la Cultura del Vino; www.dinastiavivanco.com; adult/child €8/free; h10am-8pm Tue-Sat, 11am-6pm Sun Jul-Sep, shorter hr Oct-Jun). Over several floors and numerous rooms, you will learn all about the history and culture of wine and the various processes that go into its production. All of this is done through interesting displays brought to life with the latest in computer technology.
The treasures on display include Picasso-designed wine jugs; Roman and Byzantine mosaics; gold-draped, wine-inspired religious artefacts; and the world’s largest collection of corkscrews – and yes, they do have some in the shape of amusingly large penises. At the end of the tour, you can enjoy some wine tasting, and by booking in advance, you can join a tour of the winery (€6.50 or €12 including museum entry; in Spanish only).
4Sleeping & Eating
Los Calaos de BrionesHOTEL
(%941 32 21 31; www.loscalaosdebriones.com; Calle San Juan 13; r €58; W)
Currently the only place to rest wine-heavy heads is Los Calaos de Briones, which has delicious rooms with subtle colour schemes. Some have suitably romantic four-poster beds. The attached restaurant, in an old wine cellar, is stuffed with excellent locally inspired cuisine (mains €12 to €15).
Laguardia
Pop 1490 / Elev 557m
It’s easy to spin back the wheels of time in the medieval fortress town of Laguardia, or the ‘Guard of Navarra’ as it was once appropriately known, sitting proudly on its rocky hilltop. The walled old quarter, which makes up most of the town, is virtually traffic-free and is a sheer joy to wander around. As well as memories of long-lost yesterdays, the town further entices visitors with its wine-producing present.
1Sights
Maybe the most impressive feature of the town is the castle-like Puerta de San Juan, one of the most stunning city gates in Spain.
It is also possible to visit some of the many bodegas in the area (including some in the old town itself), as well as a wine museum.
Iglesia de Santa María de los ReyesCHURCH
(guided tours €2)
The impressive Iglesia de Santa María de los Reyes has a breathtaking late-14th-century Gothic doorway, thronged with beautiful sculptures of the disciples and other motifs. If the church doors are locked, pop down to the tourist office where you can get a key.
4Sleeping & Eating
Laguardia is an increasingly popular weekend-break destination with Spaniards and French visitors. In season it may be wise to book ahead.
Posada Mayor de MigueloaHISTORIC HOTEL
(%945 62 11 75; www.mayordemigueloa.com; Calle Mayor 20; d from €80; aW)
For the ultimate in gracious La Rioja living, this old mansion-hotel with its rickety rooms full of polished wood is irresistible. The in-house restaurant (meals from €20), which is open to non-guests, is recommended and offers original twists on local cuisine. Under the hotel is a small wine bodega (guided visits for non-guests €5).
Castillo el ColladoHISTORIC HOTEL
(%945 62 12 00; www.hotelcollado.com; Paseo el Collado 1; d €125-185; W)
Like a whimsical Disney dream castle this place, which from the outside is all sturdy turrets and pretty flower gardens, is a truly unique place to stay. The half-dozen rooms are all different but combine quirky style with luxury living. The open-to-all restaurant (tasting menus €49) is also excellent.
Hospedería de los ParajesHISTORIC HOTEL
(%945 62 11 30; www.hospederiadelosparajes.com; Calle Mayor 46-48; s/d from €121/132; aiW)
Extraordinarily plush rooms that combine a bit of today with a dollop of yesteryear. Rooms are stuffed with antiques, cow-skin rugs and ever-glaring statues. The beds are divinely comfortably, the showers have rustic stone floors and the service is top-notch.
oRestaurante AmelibiaSPANISH
(%945 62 12 07; Barbacana 14; menú del día €17; h1-3.30pm Sun-Mon & Wed-Thu, 1-3.30pm & 9-10.30pm Fri-Sat)
There are few things we like doing more in Laguardia than sitting back in this classy restaurant, staring out the windows at a view over the scorched plains and distant mountain ridges and dining on sublime traditional Spanish dishes – the meat dishes in particular are of exquisitely high quality.
8Information
Tourist OfficeTOURIST INFORMATION
(%945 60 08 45; www.laguardia-alava.com; Calle Mayor 52; h10am-2pm & 4-7pm Mon-Fri, 10am-2pm & 5-7pm Sat, 10.45am-2pm Sun)
Has a list of local bodegas that can be visited.
8Getting There & Away
Several slow daily buses connecting Vitoria and Logroño pass through Laguardia.