Elena

My husband and I are planning a trip to Spain in late June, flying into Madrid. We will spend a few days there and then go to the nothern coast - Bilbao and San Sebastian. Any suggestions as far as whether to drive from Madrid to Bilbao or take a train or fly? We have 10 days. Thanks!

Sue

Hi, I have the same question?? If we don't rent a car are we going to miss a lot of wonderful small towns?? Thanks.

tommy

I did the same in 2001 by car, and was glad I did. The drive from Madrid to Bilbao can be scenic, especially over the mountains just outside of Madrid. We left Madrid early in the morning, and had time to stop in Burgos for a few hours for lunch and some brief sightseeing, and still arrive in Bilbao before dark. Driving in Bilbao at rush hour was a bit harrowing, but we managed quite well. Our hotel in Bilbao provided parking, gratefully. The highways from Madrid to Bilbao were well maintained and I had no problems driving it.

cova

Hi Elena,<BR>Tommy had a good idea. The drive up takes around 4, 5 hours on the motorway, but you could take detours into some brilliant places.<BR>Right now I´m on a bit of a hurry, so please do yourself a favour and search for Maribel. She always has great ideas (and maybe this mention will get her to recommend something. Maybe a visit to some of the new bodegas in La Rioja? I saw yesterday on TV the opening of one of them, and I forgot the name completely. It´s not the Gehry one, for sure)<BR>Good luck, Cova

Maribel

Hi Elena, Sue and cova (and Tommy too):<BR><BR>We've done Madrid-Bilbao both ways, by car and by air (but don't take the train). This year we'll fly on low cost Spanair only (a bit over an hr.) because we're pressed for time, but we really enjoy this drive and have spent up to 4-5 days on the road to from Madrid to the Basque coast.<BR><BR>When we drive, as Tommy did, we always go via Burgos, but we also add a side trip to the Rioja wine area (E 5 to E80 to E804), making lots of touring detours along the way, <BR>1) first to the picture perfect Renaissance village of Pedraza de la Sierra in the Segovia province, which is a true gem -a 25 km detour west off the E5 before Aranda de Duero, <BR>2) then another detour, 25 km east off the E5, to the pretty, perfectly preserved, very Castilian town of Covarrubias, with its atmospheric Plaza Mayor and surrounding half timbered noble houses, <BR>3) and while in the area, to the Benedictine Monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos with its gorgeous cloisters, made famous a while back by the monks' Gregorian Chant CD. 4) Also, if you're hikers, there's a nice 20 min. hike to take 3 km southwest of Santo Domingo de Silos, at the Garganta de la Yecla gorge. <BR>We spend our first night in Burgos to visit the magnificent Gothic cathedral, the Monastery of Las Huelgas and the Miraflores Carthusiasn Monastery outside of town and to soak up the atmosphere in the evening at the numerous great tapas bars of the city, like Casa Ojeda and the Vinoteca El Lagar. <BR>

Maribel

Elena,<BR>About the Rioja:<BR>Then we always spend a couple of nights in the heart of the Rioja Alavesa wine country, in the Basque province of Alava (for my money, where the very best red Riojas are produced) in the lovely, fortified, completely walled town of Laguardia, called Biasterri in the Basque language. It's located on the A 124 between Haro and Logrono. It's a delight, consisting of 3-4 long, narrow streets, where every house within the medieval walls has an enormous two story subterranean wine cellar with wine vats as big as small swimming pools, and there's a walkway around the village from which you have lovely views of the vineyards below. There are several atmospheric hotels here that you'd enjoy: the Miguel de Migueloa on the Calle Mayor within the walls, the Antigua Bodega de Don Cose Palacios, outside of town at the Palacios winery, and my personal favorite, the exquisite 7 room Castillo de Collado. Ask for the turret room called "Amor y Locura", very romantic-and dine on hearty, rustic Riojan fare right down the street at the owner's famous main restaurant the Marixa. There are several wineries to tour in the town of Laguardia, including the newest creation of superstar architect Santiago Calatrava from Valencia (Architect Frank Gehry is working on the new tasting pavillon for the Marques de Riscal bodega in Elciego and the other wunderkind architect Rafael Moneo is designing one for the Bodegas Chivite in Navarra). Calatrava has designed the new ultramodern Bodegas Ysios in Laguardia, and it must have just opened to the public. It was recently mentioned in an article about Rioja wines in the Feb. issue of Gourmet. This must be the bodega opening that Cova mentions. If you like wine tasting, don't miss it! But note of caution: Don't stay in Laguardia from June 24-29 during the feast days of San Juan, San Pedro-San Pablo, unless you have a very high tolerance for noise and all night revelry. They celebrate twice daily a "mini" running of the bulls, a la Pamplona, and the town is packed to the rafters.<BR>From Laguaria we take the longer, leisurely and more scenic "off the beaten track" route up to Bilbao up the A2124 (you absolutely need the Michelin #442 map of Northern Spain to do this) past the panoramic Balcony of the Rioja (photo ops) to Vitoria, the Alava capital, then on up the E80 to Bilbao. <BR>If you have the time, definitely drive, if you enjoy country touring, Medieval and Renaissance towns, Romanesque and Gothic architecture, great roast lamb and fine red wines.<BR><BR>Hope this helps you decide. <BR>If you need suggestions about touring on the Basque coast, just email me, and I'll send you some ideas, and cova can fill you in with plenty of great insider info right here.<BR>Maribel

cova

Thanks, Maribel. That´s the one I saw the other day. I wasn´t listening to the name, but it looked so "Calatrava". He´s interesting, but all his bridges, airports and train stations look the same to me. <BR>A couple of links :<BR>http://www.calatrava.com/1/PB/75.html<BR>http://www.byb.es/ysios/ysios.htm<BR><BR>And if Elena wants to stop between La Rioja and Bilbao, Atrium, the new modern art museum in Vitoria is also worth a stop (as it is the city).<BR><BR>http://www.byb.es/ysios/ysios.htm

Maribel

Hi Elena,<BR>Kaixo cova,<BR>We've also enjoyed spending a night in Vitoria too. We stayed at the NH Canciller Ayala, facing the park and gazebo (Parque de la Florida)-good wkd. rates. Vitoria has lots of little parks and green space and usually makes the top of the annual El Pais survey of Spain's most liveable cities.<BR><BR>Cova, thanks for the tip about the new Atrium museum-I hadn't heard or read anthing about it. <BR><BR>Elena, here's a link for Vitoria and all of Alava (page in English):<BR>www.alavaturismo.com

cova

Elena and Maribel, I was wrong with the name. Atrium is a well-known restaurant in C&aacute;ceres (I must have been hungry when I wrote the name), and the name of the museum is Artium. I haven´t found a web page for it, but it will get probably a mention in the Alava tourism page.