Basque Country Here We Come - Ideas?

[Penn251]

We had been thinking about a trip to Scandanavia in September - but, we have now abruptly switched gears and are heading to Basque Country. Southern Europe always tugs at our heartstrings. The basics of our trip are booked and now we are fine-tuning. We will fly into Madrid and spend a couple of days (we have been to Madrid a few times before). We will spend 5 nights in Bilbao and 7 nights in Bayonne, with a few odd days enroute to Billbao and on the way back to Madrid. We fly home from Madrid. We will of course see the Guggenheim in Bilbao and we have already planned a couple of days hiking in the Pyrenees. We will have a car, so getting out of the cities for day trips should be easy when public transportation is not efficient.

Any advice on must-sees, hidden gems or just plain fun things will be appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

I will post this in both the Spain and France forums.

 

[Cameron]

I went to Basque Country in France and Spain with @Parigi and hopefully, she'll read your post and respond. She can explain it better than I! We stayed in San Sebastián and visited Bilbao. We then stayed in France, just at the edge of Sare.

 

[phirhon]

We visited this area in 2016, and we also stayed at Sare. There are several Plus Beaux villages in the area, and we enjoyed the trip up La Rhune at Sare. I posted a trip report of our trip. Sare was the third stop, so scroll through to the Basque section.

Country Roads in Autumn. Ten weeks in country France.

We had another great trip to France in 2016. This is what we did, region by region. As introduction, we are an early 60’s Australian couple and this was our sixth trip to France. Our journey began when we were picked up at our front door at 6-15 am by the shuttle service for the 2.5 hour trip...

www.sloweurope.com

Bon voyage.

 

[Parigi]

Sare, mentioned above, on the edge of the French border, is a marvelous village, where we return regularly, in fact going back this September.
It is a very good base from which you can easily visit several listed Plus Beaux Villages on the French side, and some jewels of villages in the Navarra region on the Spanish side.

Actually try to think of the French Basque and Spanish Basque as one geographical unit. A border is an abstract thing. When we stay in Sare, our nearest supermarket is in Spain, in Urdax, and not in France.

Bilbao is a beautiful city, but I always prefer to stay in San Sebastian, because my husband and I are food-obsessed, and San Sebastian is not only a beautiful city but you can't throw a brick without hitting a great pinxos bar. At night we like to go for a pinxos crawl in the old town and walk home, and not worry about driving after all the cava we down. .
Don't miss the beautiful secret port of San Sebastian, Pasaia. Have some freshest fisy fry by the dock where you take the mini-ferry going back & forth from bank to bank
And from San Sebastian, Bilbao is an easy day trip. You can even take a bus or train and not worry about driving.

These days I make the French village of Sare a base for the Basque region, not dividing French and Spanish region.
Sare is on the French side but it's so close to Spain that from our rental house one can walk to Spain, lol.

From Sare, you can easily reach
- Ciboure, St Jean de Luz and Bayonne nearby,
- San Sebastian in 45 min,
- Bilbao, about 90 minutes.
- many beautiful Spanish villages within an hour (Zugarramurdi in about 15minutes, plus other villages like Urdax, Saint Etienne de Baïgorry, and on the Spanish side Olite, Elizondo, Maya, Puente la Reina, Viana. And the breathtaking drive in the Aldudes valley. Step for fresh trout in the tiny village of Banca and you'll feel like Hemingway. I knnow the Alpes very well butfind this part of the Pyrenees much more beautiful (and with better food).

I therefore would actually make Sare the single base from which to visit all the areas I mentioned above, because, besides the relatively close distance among all those places, I hate unpacking-repacking.

You will have a fabulous time.

 

[Parigi]

Our favorite pinxos bars in Sebastian's parte Vieja:
La Cuchara de San Telmo (very crowded, overwhelming, and worth it)
Borda Berri
Ganbara (In a pre-covid visit, after we ordered, gorgeous and friendly Anthony Bourdain walked in and stood next to me at the bar, no kidding).

Near Sare
- Olhabidea. Very sophisticated gastronomic dishes, in a beautiful setting. If you have a crazy French aunt who has gobs of taste, this place would be decorated by her. Must book.
- the very secret Urtxola. We chanced upon it when we were trying to go to a nearby village and took the wrong turn. Very inexpensive and good country dishes.
- Erreguina, in the middle of the beautiful Aldudes valley, serving great trout. Must book. And if you want the insane baby trout called "truitelle", say so when you are booking, and they will get fresh truitelle from the village pond for you in the morning before your meal.
More later.

 

[chachalaca]

What she said.
Parigi never disappoints! Sare is beautiful, bucolic and just the perfect place to breathe. The pace is slow, the people kind and the food amazing. Keep your swim suit in your backpack because you'll wish you had it in San Sebastián as well as St. Jean de Luz if the weather's warm.

If you're in St. Jean de Luz for lunch try Petit Grill Basque, 4 Rue Saint-Jacques, 64500 Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France. Definitely book ahead.