Planning Your Time

Planning Your Time

A road trip through the entire region including Santander, Basque Country, Navarra, and La Rioja would require at least a week but a glimpse, however brief, of Santillana del Mar's Renaissance architecture, Bilbao and its Guggenheim, San Sebastián and La Concha Beach, the Baztán Valley, Pamplona, Laguardia, and La Rioja's wine capital at Haro are the top must-see elements in a classic whirlwind tour.

If you doubled the time and spent two days in each of these destinations, the next tier of unmissable spots might include the Altamira Caves, Sardinero Beach at Santander, Mundaka and the Vizcayan Coast west of Bilbao, Guetaria, Pasajes de San Juan, and Hondarribia in and around San Sebastián, and Logroño in La Rioja.

Even better, if you found a few weeks to wander in a relaxed fashion, you could make it up as you go along, counting on off-season space available in most hotels and paradores,while crisscrossing the France-Spain border. The Cantabrian highlands in the Picos de Europa and La Rioja's Sierra de la Demanda both harbor some of the finest landscapes in Spain (not to mention culinary pilgrimages to Echaurren in Ezcaray or Venta de Goyo in Viniegra de Abajo), while the fishing villages and beaches between Santander and the French border have charming ports and inlets.