We'll have 16 days in Spain in December/January. Right now nothing is planned besides we fly in to Barcelona and we fly out of either Madrid of Bilbao. The only must do is Barcelona and San Sebastian. Any northern Spain recs?
We love the Galicia region of Spain, but not sure if that is too far West for you. Santiago de Compostela is beautiful. We love staying in paradores in Spain and the one there is fabulous.
We love the Galicia region of Spain, but not sure if that is too far West for you. Santiago de Compostela is beautiful. We love staying in paradores in Spain and the one there is fabulous.
Thanks we were actually thinking Galicia but didn't know where to start. I have heard of the paradores from a friend as well. I'll check it out.
If you go, however, I would fly to Santiago from Barcelona. Vueling probably has cheap flights. It is a complete PITA to make your way across Northern Spain by train. Everything basically goes through Madrid, like the spokes of a wheel. Once you're in Galicia, you can get around by bus or rent a car.
I just spent 2 weeks in Northern Spain this summer. We flew into Barcelona, drove through northern Spain and ended in Santiago de Compostela. We then flew from Santiago to Madrid to the US. Definitely do San Sabastian and Bilboa. You won't be disappointed. We also stopped and spent time in Pamplona, Logrono, Vitoria, Santander, Oviedo, A Coruna, and Aviles. Plus a few other tiny towns that escape my memory right now. Some of the tiny towns we stopped in were the coolest, because of the history. We came across a medevial festival in one of the little medevial towns, it was such a cool thing to wander around and see.
I absolutely loved Barcelona! Definitely check out Sagrada Familia there. Santander had really pretty coastline. If you get a chance, check out Picos de Europa! Absolutely gorgeous mountains, though not sure what the weather will be like there in the winter. We were going to do the gondola ride to the top, but it was too long of a wait. I was so bummed we didn't get to do it.
I'm actually working on blogging about our trip, but I've only made it through our first few days. No where near being done as I have so many pictures from 2 weeks there.
Post by rupertpenny on Sept 17, 2015 7:24:15 GMT -5
I was in Girona for a conference last year and it's a nice town with a good old quarter. Not a must do in my opinion unless you can get reservations to El Celler de Can Roca. I didn't go to the actual restaurant, but they catered a dinner for our conference and it was great.
I went to a great cava/tapas place in Barcelona, pretty close to the beach, but I'll have to dig to find the name.
I live in Bilbao. What type of holiday are you looking for - museums, wineries, mountains, city? I agree with the others, Galicia is very nice but it's quite far and the weather for that time of year isn't ideal. The weather in N Spain can be quite iffy at that time of year. Asturias isn't as far as Galicia and is absolutely beautiful! The Peaks of Europe are incredible and Potes is a picturesque village and not far from Fuente De, which has beautiful views of the Peaks. San Vicente de la Barquera is a beautiful coastal village on the border of Asturias and Cantabria. San Sebastian and Barcelona are must sees. If you like art, I would also recommend the Dali museum in Figueras.
I've spent a lot of time in northern Spain on various trips for research and leisure. You've gotten some good recommendations in this thread, but I would add Guernica. It's an easy day trip from Bilbao by train (or car) and there are a number of sites of historic interest. The museum of peace in particular is provocative, and you can see the oak tree which is a symbol of the spiritual heart of basque country.