Northern Spain: the Basque Country, Rioja, Asturias and Galicia

1. Day 1: Arrive in Bilbao

   Bilbao Airport to your hotel in Bilbao

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Welcome dinner
   • Stay in Bilbao
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Bilbao Airport (BIO), about 12 km north of the city, in time for the evening welcome: plan to land by about 4 pm (the latest arrival time is confirmed with your final itinerary). A driver meets you in arrivals and takes you to your central hotel. Bilbao grew rich on iron and shipbuilding along the Nervión estuary; since the Guggenheim opened in 1997 the old docks have become riverside walks, and the medieval Casco Viejo, the Seven Streets, still sits on the right bank below the hill of Begoña. If you land early, walk the river path or take a coffee under the arcades of Plaza Nueva. At about 6:30 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing on the days ahead: how long each drive is, what the northern weather does, and how meals work. Then we walk to a sit-down Basque dinner in the old town, with dietary needs taken from your booking.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Bilbao Airport (BIO)
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Welcome dinner in the old town

   Free time: Free until the evening briefing

2. Day 2: The Guggenheim and a pintxos evening

   Bilbao on foot: the Guggenheim, the Ría and the Casco Viejo

   • Breakfast and dinner
   • Stay in Bilbao
   Day 2 details

   We are at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao when it opens at 10 am, ahead of the day's tour groups, with a local guide for about ninety minutes. Frank Gehry's titanium-clad building is why most people come, so we start outside: Jeff Koons's Puppy, planted with flowers, at the front, and Louise Bourgeois's spider Maman on the river side. Inside, Richard Serra's The Matter of Time fills the largest gallery with steel walls you walk between; the other galleries hold changing exhibitions. From the museum we follow the Nervión past the white Zubizuri footbridge to the Mercado de la Ribera, a long market hall on the water, and into the Casco Viejo. Lunch and the afternoon are yours: stay longer in the museum, ride the Artxanda funicular for the view over the city, or rest at the hotel. In the evening your guide takes the group round the pintxos bars of Plaza Nueva and the old town, a few small plates and a drink at each, which makes a full dinner.

   Included

   • Guggenheim Museum Bilbao at opening with a local guide
   • Walk along the Ría to the Mercado de la Ribera and the Casco Viejo
   • Guided pintxos evening in the old town, with a drink at each bar

   Optional experiences

   • The Bizkaia Bridge top walkway in Portugalete

   Easier option: Take a taxi from the museum to the old town instead of the 2 km riverside walk.

   More active option: Ride the metro to Portugalete for the Bizkaia Bridge, the UNESCO-listed transporter bridge of 1893, and cross the river in its hanging gondola.

   Free time: Lunch and afternoon free

   Activity: About 5 km on foot, mostly level along the river.

   

3. Day 3: Getaria's txakoli, then San Sebastián

   Bilbao to Getaria, then along the coast to San Sebastián

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in San Sebastián
   Day 3 details

   After breakfast our driver loads the bags and we head about an hour east to Getaria, a fishing town on the Basque coast with a harbour, a Gothic church built over a sloping street, and the island headland locals call El Ratón, the mouse, for its shape. Getaria is the birthplace of Juan Sebastián Elcano, who brought Magellan's expedition home in 1522 as the first voyage around the world, and the slopes behind the town are planted with vines for txakoli, the young, lightly sparkling white wine of this coast. We visit a txakoli winery above the sea for a tasting, then sit down to lunch in the old town, where whole fish are grilled over charcoal on the street outside. A short drive along the coast brings us to San Sebastián (Donostia) by mid-afternoon, for two nights. Check in, then walk the promenade around La Concha bay as the light goes down. The evening is free, with your guide's list of pintxos bars in the Parte Vieja.

   Included

   • Getaria harbour and old town with your guide
   • Txakoli winery visit and tasting
   • Sit-down lunch of grilled fish in Getaria
   • Evening walk along La Concha bay

   Free time: Evening free in San Sebastián

   Activity: Getaria's lanes are short but steep down to the harbour.

4. Day 4: San Sebastián: the market, the old town and Monte Igueldo

   San Sebastián on foot and by funicular

   • Breakfast
   • Stay in San Sebastián
   Day 4 details

   The morning starts at the La Bretxa market, where fishmongers and cheese sellers supply the bars of the old town, then a local guide walks us through the Parte Vieja: the Baroque basilica of Santa María, the Plaza de la Constitución with its numbered balconies, once seats for the bullfights held in the square, and the narrow streets between the bay and the Urumea river. Mid-morning we ride the Monte Igueldo funicular, running since 1912, to the hilltop at the west end of the bay for the classic view over La Concha, Santa Clara island and the city. From there the day is yours. Swim or walk on La Concha or on Zurriola, the surfers' beach; visit the San Telmo Museum of Basque society in a former convent; or climb Monte Urgull to the castle above the harbour. Lunch and dinner are your choice, and your guide can book a table for anyone who wants a long sit-down lunch rather than pintxos.

   Included

   • La Bretxa market
   • Parte Vieja walk with a local guide: Santa María basilica and the Plaza de la Constitución
   • Monte Igueldo funicular and viewpoint

   Optional experiences

   • San Telmo Museum

   Easier option: Stay on the level promenade around La Concha after the funicular, with a café stop at the Miramar Palace gardens.

   More active option: Walk the coastal path over Monte Ulía from the fishing port of Pasaia back to the city, about 8 km, after a short bus ride out.

   Free time: Afternoon and evening free

   Activity: About 4 km on foot in the morning.

   

5. Day 5: Into the Rioja: Laguardia and a Haro bodega

   San Sebastián via Vitoria-Gasteiz to Laguardia, then Haro

   • Drive about 2.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Haro
   Day 5 details

   We leave San Sebastián at about 9 am and drive south through the green hills of Gipuzkoa and past Vitoria-Gasteiz, then over the Sierra de Cantabria, where the view opens onto the Ebro valley and its vineyards. It is about two hours to Laguardia, a walled hilltop town in Rioja Alavesa, the Basque part of the Rioja wine region. The old town sits over cellars dug beneath its houses; we walk its gates and lanes with our guide and see the Gothic portico of Santa María de los Reyes, which still keeps its painted colours, on a guided entry. Lunch is a sit-down meal in Laguardia, with a glass of the local red. It is then about half an hour to Haro, the wine town on the Ebro, for one night. In the Barrio de la Estación, a cluster of bodegas founded in the late 19th century beside the railway, we tour a winery's cellars and taste its wines with the bodega's guide. The evening is free; the bars around Haro's old town serve pintxos and Rioja by the glass.

   Included

   • Laguardia walled town with your guide
   • Guided entry to the portico of Santa María de los Reyes
   • Sit-down lunch in Laguardia
   • Bodega cellar tour and tasting in Haro's Barrio de la Estación

   Easier option: Sit out the walk round Laguardia's walls at a café in the Plaza Mayor, and join the group for lunch and the bodega tasting.

   More active option: In Haro, walk down to the Barrio de la Estación and back from the old town, about 3 km, instead of riding.

   Free time: Evening free in Haro

   Activity: Bodega cellars are cool all year; bring a layer.

   

6. Day 6: Burgos Cathedral and over the mountains to Oviedo

   Haro to Burgos, then via León to Oviedo

   • Drive about 4 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Oviedo
   Day 6 details

   This is the longest driving day, about four hours in all, because the road from the Rioja to Asturias has to cross the Cantabrian Mountains; we break it with most of the day in Burgos. We leave Haro at about 8:45 am and reach Burgos, an hour away on the Camino de Santiago, as the cathedral opens. Begun in 1221 and listed by UNESCO in 1984, it rewards two hours with a local guide: the open-work spires, the star vault over the crossing, the Golden Staircase, and the tomb of El Cid and his wife Jimena under the crossing floor. Lunch is a sit-down Castilian meal in the old town, perhaps morcilla de Burgos and roast lamb. Early in the afternoon we drive about three hours north-west, past León and over the mountains on the motorway, with a coffee stop on the way, and reach Oviedo, the capital of Asturias, at about 6 pm for two nights. A short walk takes us to Calle Gascona, the street of cider houses, where waiters pour cider from above their heads. Dinner is free.

   Included

   • Burgos Cathedral with a local guide
   • Sit-down lunch in Burgos
   • Evening walk to Calle Gascona in Oviedo

   Free time: Evening free in Oviedo

   Activity: About four hours of driving, split into one hour in the morning and about three hours after lunch, with a stop.

   

7. Day 7: Picos de Europa: Covadonga, the lakes and a cider house

   Oviedo to Covadonga and the lakes of Enol and Ercina, then Cangas de Onís and back

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Oviedo
   Day 7 details

   A day in the mountains, with lunch at a cider house. We drive about an hour and a quarter east to Covadonga, in the Picos de Europa National Park, where tradition places the battle of 722 that began the Christian kingdom of Asturias. The Holy Cave, a chapel set into the cliff above a waterfall, holds the tomb attributed to King Pelayo, and a pink stone basilica stands on the rise opposite. From there a narrow road climbs about 12 km to the lakes of Enol and Ercina at around 1,100 m, among limestone peaks and summer pastures. We go up early, before the crowds, and walk the easy loop between the two lakes, about 5 km with gentle climbs. In the busiest periods the road is closed to private vehicles and we ride the park's shuttle bus from Cangas de Onís instead. Lunch is at a sidrería in or near Cangas de Onís, by the high medieval bridge over the Sella: fabada, cheeses from the Picos and cider poured at the table. We are back in Oviedo by late afternoon, with the evening free.

   Included

   • Covadonga: the Holy Cave and the basilica
   • The lakes of Enol and Ercina, with a guided walk between them
   • Cider-house lunch near Cangas de Onís
   • The medieval bridge at Cangas de Onís

   Easier option: Stay at the Ercina viewpoint and the visitor centre by the lakes instead of the 5 km loop.

   Free time: Evening free in Oviedo

   Activity: Mountain weather changes fast at the lakes; bring a waterproof and a warm layer even in summer.

   

8. Day 8: Santa María del Naranco, Luarca and on to Santiago

   Oviedo to Monte Naranco, then west along the coast to Luarca and Santiago de Compostela

   • Drive about 4 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Santiago de Compostela
   Day 8 details

   This is one of the two long driving days, about four hours in all, because Galicia lies well west along the coast; Santa María del Naranco in the morning and a long lunch in Luarca break it into two drives. We start on Monte Naranco, just above Oviedo, with the first visit of the morning to Santa María del Naranco and San Miguel de Lillo, built in the 840s for King Ramiro I of Asturias and listed by UNESCO among the monuments of the Asturian kingdom. Santa María began as a royal hall, with a vaulted upper room and an open loggia at each end; from its terrace you look over the city to the mountains. Then we drive about an hour and a quarter west to Luarca, a white fishing town wrapped around a river mouth and harbour, for a sit-down seafood lunch. The afternoon drive is about two and three-quarter hours, across the Eo river into Galicia and through farmland and eucalyptus to Santiago de Compostela, which we reach at about 6:30 pm for two nights. Your guide walks you to the Praza do Obradoiro, in front of the cathedral, and the evening is free.

   Included

   • Santa María del Naranco and San Miguel de Lillo with a local guide
   • Seafood lunch at the harbour in Luarca
   • Evening walk to the Praza do Obradoiro

   Easier option: Stay on the terrace of Santa María del Naranco rather than walking the short lane up to San Miguel de Lillo, and wait out the Luarca harbour walk at a café.

   More active option: After lunch in Luarca, walk up to the headland above the harbour, with its chapel, lighthouse and seaside cemetery, about 20 minutes each way.

   Free time: Evening free in Santiago

   Activity: About 4 hours of driving: about 1 hour 15 to Luarca after the morning visit, then about 2 hours 45 to Santiago after lunch, with a coffee stop.

9. Day 9: Costa da Morte: Muxía and Cape Fisterra

   Santiago de Compostela to Muxía and Fisterra, then back via Ponte Maceira

   • Drive about 3.5 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Santiago de Compostela
   Day 9 details

   A day on the Costa da Morte, the Coast of Death, the rocky Atlantic shore west of Santiago named for its shipwrecks. We drive about an hour and a quarter through Galician farmland to Muxía, where the sanctuary of the Virxe da Barca stands on bare granite at the edge of the sea and the waves break on the stones beside it; pilgrims who carry on past Santiago end their walk here or at Fisterra. Then it is about forty minutes south to Cape Fisterra, once taken for the end of the known world, where the lighthouse stands above the cliffs and the last Camino waymark reads 0,000 km. Lunch is seafood at the harbour in Fisterra town, perhaps octopus, scallops and a glass of Albariño. On the drive back we stop at Ponte Maceira, a medieval bridge and mill hamlet on the river Tambre. We are back in Santiago by about 6 pm, with time to change before the farewell dinner together in the old town.

   Included

   • Muxía and the sanctuary of the Virxe da Barca
   • Cape Fisterra and its lighthouse
   • Seafood lunch in Fisterra
   • Ponte Maceira
   • Farewell dinner in Santiago

   Easier option: Stay at the lighthouse terrace at Fisterra rather than walking down the rocks to the cape.

   More active option: Climb the track up Monte Facho above the Fisterra lighthouse for the view along the coast, about 45 minutes up.

   Activity: The rocks at Muxía and Fisterra are slippery when wet; keep back from the waves.

   

10. Day 10: Santiago Cathedral and home

    Santiago Cathedral and the Mercado de Abastos, then Santiago Airport

    • Drive about 30 min
    • Breakfast
    Day 10 details

    The last morning belongs to Santiago. We are at the cathedral early with a local guide for the Pórtico da Gloria, the carved Romanesque entrance completed by Master Mateo in 1188 and restored in 2018, on a timed entry kept to small groups; then the nave, the silver high altar with its statue of St James, and the crypt with the apostle's tomb. The botafumeiro, the giant censer, swings at some Masses but not every day, so we tell you the schedule if one falls during your stay. From the cathedral we walk to the Mercado de Abastos, where you can buy shellfish at a stall and have it cooked at one of the bars beside the market. Your guide brings the group back to the hotel by about 1 pm, and a driver takes you to Santiago de Compostela Airport (SCQ), about 12 km north-east of the city. Book a flight leaving after about 3 pm, or ask us about the train to Madrid or a later night in Santiago.

    Included

    • Santiago Cathedral with a local guide, including the Pórtico da Gloria on a timed entry
    • The Mercado de Abastos
    • Drop-off at Santiago de Compostela Airport (SCQ)

    Optional experiences

    • Santiago Cathedral rooftop tour

    Activity: Book a flight leaving after about 3 pm to see the cathedral and the market.

    

Wildlife and weather: The Atlantic north is mild: summer days are usually in the low to mid 20s °C, with rain or sea mist possible in any month. August brings the biggest crowds and highest prices in San Sebastián and at the Covadonga lakes; May, June, September and October are quieter, and the grape harvest in the Rioja falls in late September and October.

• Bilbao2 nights
• San Sebastián2 nights
• Haro1 night
• Oviedo2 nights
• Santiago de Compostela2 nights