ashwinb

I was wondering if North Spain(madrid and up,segovia, avila,salamanca, loarre, zaragoza, Picos de Europa, Galicia etc) in august is a good idea? Are there places really crowded in august(say comparable to rome,istanbul or maybe a little less than that)?
And is the landscape "green" in august, or has most of it dried up?

Robert2533

Zaragoza will be fairly warm in August, but the rest will be fine, and not overcrowded.

kimhe

Will be very green when you come closer to the coast, Picos, Galicia etc. http://www.spain.info/en/que-quieres...ana_Verde.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/ar...vered-gem.html

traveller1959

Madrid and surroundings can be very hot in August, but Cantabria will be pleasant. The Northern Coast is breathtakingly scenic, Santander, Bilbao and Donostia (San Sebastian) are beautiful cities, there are many picturesque villages in the area (e.g. Santillana del Mar), there are stunning mountains (Picos de Europa) and there are several caves (including Altamira).

sandralist

No doubt there will be jam ups right at the most desirable beaches and knots of tourists around the guidebook-listed sights but if you have a car you can hang around the places where there is more elbow room but still a lot of beauty, atmosphere and great food and wine. The trade off of the nice weather, especially at night, would be worth the small price in crowds in a few places. As for encountering hot weather in some places, join the Spaniards in taking a mid-afternoon retreat from the sun but fully enjoying the towns in the evening. Sunset is quite late in that part of the world.

annhig

ashwind - we did a similar trip in July about 30 years ago and I don't remember its being unbearably hot indeed there was fog in the Picos and torrential rain in San Sebastian and Salamanca.

I don't remember huge crowds except in some very popular places on the coast like Santillana del Mar but I suspect that numbers have grown in the intervening years. Burgos, Leon [for the night we spent at the wonderful Parador] and Salamanca stick in my mind as highlights, as well as the extraordinary museum of polychromatic sculpture at Valladolid which IMO is a must see that doesn't get mentioned very much.

latedaytraveler

Hi ASHWINB,

Another lovely city in the area is OVIEDO, the capital of ASTURIAS. It has a beautiful cathedral and a charming public square - Plaza do la Escandalera. If I recall, the cider in that locale was pretty good too.

Enjoy...

danon

Yes, Madrid is really hot in August .
The north is popular because it is not hot like the rest of Spain, it is beautiful
SS, Santander, Bilbao..go for it.

chapla

Be careful of August! It leads to a mass exit to the coast for many Spanish. Most businesses close for at least 2 weeks in August and in many cases the whole month - as are all schools and universities.
As mentioned, Madrid is hot as are the towns you mentioned!

nytraveler

In August I would do ONLY the Atlantic coast. IMHO the rest of Spain - esp Madrid which can be hellish (we were there end April and it was 99 and humid) - is just too hot - at least for my comfort.

ashwinb

Thanks a lot everyone!! Picos Europa would be the focus,I'm not too much into beaches or cities..but any pointers on really great coastlines(wild and wind swept,like Ireland as described in guide books) would be great.

ashwinb

And does Santiago Compostela get a lot of tourists?

ribeirasacra

SdC is not near the Picos. Yes it has a lot of visitors. Perhaps the most in Galicia. When there are cruise ships in Vigo and/or A Courña it gets very busy.

sandralist

When I toured parts of northern Spain in early September I avoided Santiago de Compostela out of fear of hordes. That is just about peak season for all the "pilgrims" (many of which I saw walking around the other places I did visit, recognizable for the scallops pinned to their hats). Personally, I would not consider it too much driving to combine parts of Galicia and the Picos in the same trip, depending on how much time I had. For beautiful coastline I would go to the Basque country however.

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/20...al-spain-beach

http://www.traveller.com.au/peaks-with-few-people-27smb

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/20...22/spain.green

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/20...ain-food-drink

Egbert

There is no place I'd rather be in August than the North coast of Spain. (although Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket would be fine too)Of course I love beach towns and beautiful, cool clean water and world class seafood. San Sebastian is a must.

traveller1959

The Cantabrian coastline is incredibly scenic. Expect a mix of dramatic cliffs and sandy coves. And, yes, the Atlantic coast of Cantabria IS wild and windswept but warmer and nicer than in Ireland. In August, it will be nice and warm, but not hot. It will not be sunny all the time, there might be clouds, even some rain. But that creates special perspectives..

And there are many unspoiled villages in the hinterland and an incredible density of Michelin-starred restaurants with astonishing reasonable prices.

I must tell you a story:

We had originally planned to spend a couple of days in Santander but decided to stay in a kind of beach hotel in Somo, a neighbouring seaside town east of Santander, connected by a ferry which would cross the bay.

In Somo, there is a restaurant called "El Galeon" which is in fact the eatery of a fisherman who offers the catch of the day for dinner. We sat down at a table in the restaurant which is quite elegant and studied the menu which offered all kinds of fish and seafood. When the waiter came we ordered spider crab, a local specialty, prepared in three different ways and when we were going to order the main course, the waiter interrupted us and said "we have turbot for you".

Well, I consider turbot the best fish of all and was quite satisfied with his suggestion. After we had consumed our spider crab (simply fantastic) our party of five was served a huge turbot, seared oa la plancha and nicely cut into five slices. It was gorgeous. And when the check came it was, as always in Spain, ridiculous albeit we had consumed a good quantity of wine.

When we came the next time (this time with a party of six), the same thing happened, except that the waiter had selected a giant gilthead for us, also fresh from the sea and and excellently seared a la plancha.

Both times, we had dining experiences which you never forget in your life.

Okay, I will add a dining experience in a Michelin-starred restaurant. It was Cenador de Amos, within a stately manor house in the countryside, a 15-minute drive southeast of Santander. Of course, we ordered the tasting menu which was a multi-course affair with spectacularly creative dishes at a quarter of the price that you would pay for a similar menu in Paris or New York City.

To accompany the entree, we had ordered the Valbuena of Vega Sicilia. Vega Sicilia is undisputedly the best winery of Spain and Valbuena is the "second wine" which is made from the younger grapewines. We paid €85 for a bottle of this fantastic wine - exactly the same price as in the duty free store at Bilbao Airport!

I tell you both anectdotes because Cantabria is such a gem and unspoilt by mass tourism. It is a wealthy region (maybe you have heard of the Banco de Santander which is a quite successful business) and has all the infrastructure you need but there is nothing tacky and you will get high level of quality at surprisingly reasonably prices. Take your chance and leave the beaten path!

iris1745

ashwinb; Consider, we started last year the third week of August in Toledo and then spent another 17 days heading north to the coast and the last night in Madrid.
We never encountered elbow to elbow crowds anywhere we went. There was just people.
We are the tourists.
Decide and enjoy yourself.

ashwinb

Thanks again everyone, for the detailed replies!!
And where do I find these cliffs, any particular places that you can recommend?

traveller1959

>>>And where do I find these cliffs<<<

Along the coast, east and west of Santander. Maybe Liencres makes a good start:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com.es..._liencres.html

Just click on the photos to get an impression.

kimhe

Regarding cliffs and coast up North, you have of course the beautiful Basque coast: http://tourism.euskadi.net/basque-coast/
http://www.euskoguide.com/places-bas...-gaztelugatxe/

The Fishing village Getaria, just west of San Sebastian, is a true gem. Fabulous food. http://www.euskoguide.com/places-bas...taria-tourism/
Had the meal of my life here in one of the restaurants down in the small harbour. Something like this: http://www.thepauperedchef.com/2007/...-in-getar.html