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El Pais Vasco y la Rioja!

David

10+ Posts
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
 
Thanks, David. That's an area we've had under consideration for a while. How was the location of your apartment in San Sebastian? I assume you rented a car for the Rioja? Also, how was the weather when you were there?
 
Hi Amy!

Good question. The apartment we rented in San Sebastian was on San Martzial Kalea, in the middle of a district that is 1/2 residential, 1/2 shopping - Zara across the street, Nespresso downstairs. The reviews I had read of the apartment said that it was quiet. When we arrived, it was quite busy and noisy in the street and I was a bit skeptical. But they were right - the neighborhood totally quieted down at night. If you want to check it out, the apartment is called the (don't laugh) "Zen Apartment" and it's listed on the Friendly Rentals site. (Name is coincidental - we rented it not because of the name....) Great location - 7 minutes walk to the old town, 4 minute walk to the beach, large grocery store a block and 1/2 away. The Casco Viejo is great, but I wouldn't want to stay there necessarily - really lively/busy. This location was far enough away, but still very close to lots of things.

Yup, we rented a car for La Rioja. You kind of need to. The two areas have pretty different weather patterns, even though it's just about an hour from Bilbao to Rioja. The coastal areas have lots of precipitation throughout the year. July and Aug are the driest months, but it still was cool and drizzly for 3 days of our stay there. The other days were beautiful and le tout San Sebastian was at the beach - BIG beach place. Rioja was hot and dry - like inland valleys in California. No rain, bright, vivid blue skies, and hot.

If you have any more questions, don't hesitate. We kept thinking that Rioja was as beautiful as Tuscany. Cheers,

David
 

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