Hi everyone!
We just came back from a lovely, 2-week trip to the Basque Country and the province of La Rioja in Spain. When I started researching the trip, I realized that there isn't as much anecdotal info on the web about these areas as there is about other areas of Spain (and Europe, for that matter). But it's an area that brings lots of pleasure and is definitely worthwhile seeing.
Our itinerary was:
1 night in Bilbao
6 nights in San Sebastian-Donostia
5 nights in Samaniego
1 final night in Bilbao
We stayed in the very reasonably-priced Hotel Silken Indautxu Hotel in Bilbao, rented a lovely apartment in San Sebastian through Friendly Rentals, and stayed in a very nice B&B, La Molinera Etxea, in the town of Samaniego, in the heart of the Rioja Alavesa.
This area of Spain has a lot of appeal - great coastline, beaches, terrific cities and towns (Bilbao, San Sebastian, Vitoria- Gasteiz), great museums (we really loved the Guggenheim in Bilbao; an unexpected pleasure was found at the Vivanco Wine Museum in Briones! It's reputedly the largest wine museum in the world, but better than that, the exhibits are terrific - I'd encourage people to go!) and absolutely gorgeous scenery throughout (if you like Tuscany, you'll love La Rioja).
Oh, and then there's the food and wine. San Sebastian is well known for its Michelin starred restaurants as well as for it's pintxos (tapas) bars, particularly in the old part of the town. And the wine scene in La Rioja is fantastic - not only are there hundreds of wineries, but a number of them have been designed by star architects like Frank Gehry and Salvador Calatrava. So visiting a winery can be exciting not only for the palate, but for the appreciation of modern architecture. Truly, seeing these wineries and taking the tours offered were a highlight of our trip.
We enjoyed much more than only through food and wine and scenery, though. There are quite a number of monasteries in the Rioja worth visiting. We enjoyed the monasteries of Yuso and Suso, as well as the Cistercian monastery at Canas. Also, just walking through the towns of La Bastida, San Vincente de la Sonsierra, Briones, Haro, Logrono, and best of all, Laguardia, was terrific.
We used the Cadogan guide some, but I really have to recommend Maribel's Guides for this area. Maribel's suggestions are terrific and she goes into quite a bit of very helpful detail. Thanks, Maribel!
If anyone is thinking about El Pais Vasco and La Rioja for a holiday, I'd encourage you to go. Cheers,
David
We just came back from a lovely, 2-week trip to the Basque Country and the province of La Rioja in Spain. When I started researching the trip, I realized that there isn't as much anecdotal info on the web about these areas as there is about other areas of Spain (and Europe, for that matter). But it's an area that brings lots of pleasure and is definitely worthwhile seeing.
Our itinerary was:
1 night in Bilbao
6 nights in San Sebastian-Donostia
5 nights in Samaniego
1 final night in Bilbao
We stayed in the very reasonably-priced Hotel Silken Indautxu Hotel in Bilbao, rented a lovely apartment in San Sebastian through Friendly Rentals, and stayed in a very nice B&B, La Molinera Etxea, in the town of Samaniego, in the heart of the Rioja Alavesa.
This area of Spain has a lot of appeal - great coastline, beaches, terrific cities and towns (Bilbao, San Sebastian, Vitoria- Gasteiz), great museums (we really loved the Guggenheim in Bilbao; an unexpected pleasure was found at the Vivanco Wine Museum in Briones! It's reputedly the largest wine museum in the world, but better than that, the exhibits are terrific - I'd encourage people to go!) and absolutely gorgeous scenery throughout (if you like Tuscany, you'll love La Rioja).
Oh, and then there's the food and wine. San Sebastian is well known for its Michelin starred restaurants as well as for it's pintxos (tapas) bars, particularly in the old part of the town. And the wine scene in La Rioja is fantastic - not only are there hundreds of wineries, but a number of them have been designed by star architects like Frank Gehry and Salvador Calatrava. So visiting a winery can be exciting not only for the palate, but for the appreciation of modern architecture. Truly, seeing these wineries and taking the tours offered were a highlight of our trip.
We enjoyed much more than only through food and wine and scenery, though. There are quite a number of monasteries in the Rioja worth visiting. We enjoyed the monasteries of Yuso and Suso, as well as the Cistercian monastery at Canas. Also, just walking through the towns of La Bastida, San Vincente de la Sonsierra, Briones, Haro, Logrono, and best of all, Laguardia, was terrific.
We used the Cadogan guide some, but I really have to recommend Maribel's Guides for this area. Maribel's suggestions are terrific and she goes into quite a bit of very helpful detail. Thanks, Maribel!
If anyone is thinking about El Pais Vasco and La Rioja for a holiday, I'd encourage you to go. Cheers,
David