Thanks for all of the great advice from all the other threads!

My wife and I wanted to rent a car in Bilbao and drive to Barcelona, definitely stopping in Haro and Laguardia to see the Rioja area. Any advice on places to stay/see between there and Barcelona in Aragon or Western Catalonia (we want to break up the 5 hour drive)...

Thanks!

You're smart in wanting to break up the drive from Bilbao to Barcelona via Haro since you'd be hard pressed to make it in 5 hours. You can be in Haro in about 2 hours from Bilbao, depending upon the traffic and the route you select. I suggest taking the A68/E80 south to Vitoria/Gasteiz, the capital of the Basque country. From there you follow the A2124 south to Biastari and Laguardia, crossing the Cantabria Mountains for a more interesting and picturesque drive. Haro is okay for a quick visit, but you'll want to have lunch at Marixa in Laguardia and spend some time visiting the city. The restaurant is well noted for it's traditional local Basque cuisine (the Rioja Alava) and offers a great view of the Rioja while you enjoy a leisurely lunch.

From there you can head NE to Pamplona/Irunea on the N111, picking up N240 toward Jaca, then south on the N330 to Huesca, picking up the N240 once again and heading to Lleida. From there you follow the A2/E90 to Barcelona.

You might want to consider staying at the Parador de SOS del Rey Católico, east of Pamplona, just off of the N240. It?s well worth a stop for the night. When you wake up in the morning, you?ll find the drive into Barcelona to be a bit more relaxing.