Spain lovers – best way to combine Madrid and Basque areas over 10 days?
 

We are excited to have just booked very inexpensive tickets nonstop Phila to Madrid for mid February. We are interested in art, architecture, walking tours, history, light hiking, people watching, café sitting, casual local bars/restaurants. We have been to Seville, Barcelona and along the Mediterranean coast. We know little about Madrid and parts north – our guide books were just ordered and arrive this week.

Current thinking is as follows. We are open to any and all ideas, recommendations and alternate suggestions:

Arrive Friday early morning in Madrid, stay 3 nights in hotel or apartment centrally located

Monday – fly to Bilbao for 4 nights. Prefer apartment with washer. Day trip to San Sebastian and another to Rioja wine region.

Friday – fly back to Madrid for 3 nights. Consider staying in a different neighborhood than the first weekend. Day trip on Saturday to Toledo.

We considered flying to Bilbao immediately upon arrival in Madrid, but don’t want to risk a problem given that the connecting flight will be on a different ticket.

I appreciate all of your ideas!
*

I haven't been to San Sebastian or Bilbao so can't help you there. But I will suggest staying overnight for 1 or 2 nights in Toledo. Toledo is completely overrun with daytripping tourists during the day time. It is so much nicer at night when the daytrippers leave and the city is illuminated. Because you currently have 6 nights in Madrid, you can easily spare a night or two for Toledo.

Or you could visit Granada instead for a night or two to see the Alhambra, if it's not too late to get tickets.

Thanks, KarenWoo. I like the idea of Toledo overnight; just checked and we can fly there nonstop from Bilbao instead of back to Madrid. And then just the bus/train to Madrid after.

I'd avoid the internal flights in Spain. Spain has excellent trains and direct trains between Madrid and Bilbao or San Sebastian take about 5 hours. Crossing the snowcapped mountains of Spain on the ground will be a much more memorable experience than taking another flight, not to mention it helps to reduce your carbon footprint. Taking a Transatlantic roundtrip flight is bad enough, but you don't have any altarnative for that. At least avoid the flights where you can and discover that the journey can be a part of your holiday.

https://www.seat61.com/Spain-trains.htm

You may stop for a night or at least a half day in Burgos(right on the train line between Madrid and the Basque Country) and enjoy its relatively undervisited historic old town and the amazing gothic cathedral enlisted by UNESCO as a World Heritage site.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burgos_Cathedral

February is a great time to be in the Basque Country, this is the season to indulge in the cider. An experience not to be missed. It may be a bit messy for the untrained, but it's tons of fun.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagardotegi

Oh, and please make sure to learn the correct way to eat pintxos:

https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...ng-it-1657199/

Last, but not least my addmittedly subjective opinion(I don't want to convince you, but it is something to think about):

Don't waste your time on the Guggenheim in Bilbao. The "building" is an eyesore and the "museum" is full of junk. There's plenty of real art to enjoy in Madrid(Prado, etc). The unique transporter bridge of Portugalate(a suburb of Bilbao) is a much more interesting site, it's alsoe a World Heritage BTW.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vizcaya_Bridge

I think this is a great idea! And the train ride from Toledo to Madrid is only 30 minutes. Very easy.

Toledo doesn't have an airport. The nearest airport is Madrid.

Ha! Just re-checked my flight search and the flight "to Toledo" is indeed to Madrid. Thanks for all your suggestions, BDKR!

Then you can take the train from Madrid to Toledo, stay 1 or 2 nights, and then train back to Madrid, and finish up your visit there before you fly home. It's very easy to do.

Both areas are wonderful! I think your challenge will be figuring out your priorities so you can fit both locations into such limited time. For perspective:

• I wanted 4 full days for Madrid itself.
• I'm very glad I had 2 nights in Toledo and would easily have enjoyed a 3rd.
• I wanted 4 full days for Bilbao + San Sebastian / Donostia; trying to see both cities AND fit in a bunch of day trips sounds ambitious to me.

Note that Toledo is just over an hour from Madrid's airport, so it's doable upon arrival or the night before a flight.

As a Bilbao local, it sounds fine to me. I can´t agree on not visiting the Guggenheim museum, it has a magnificent view from the other side of the river and many people miss it, it´s something really outstanding. And the art inside depends on what they are showing (they change the exhibits at least three times a year), but the permanent collection on the ground floor is a real must. Two days for Bilbao and surroundings, a day trip to SS and a day trip to Rioja is a good plan.

Take into account that most likely February will be a cold month (30s to 40s, but you never know, weather is really unpredictable up here) and you may also expect some rain, this has very little in common with the Mediterranean area. All apartments in Spain will have a washer, no problem on that side, we don´t put them in basements as a common utility.

" And the art inside depends on what they are showing (they change the exhibits at least three times a year), but the permanent collection on the ground floor is a real must."

Are they finally showing some real art(like you can see in the Prado) instead of the so called "modern art"?

As you can see here, https://www.guggenheim-bilbao.eus/en/exhibitions, there´s currently beautiful paintings ("real art") on the third floor, I was visiting last week and really worth it. And I recall several wonderful exhibitions of, again, "real art" in the past few years (a great one of the Tannhauser Gallery in Berlin, magnificent paintings), by painters of all periods. Also, in 2018, 4 of the 10 most visited (paid) art exhibitions in the world belonged to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao (that, I must remind, belongs to the Basques, as it was paid by us).

I believe it´s a unique piece of architecture, best seen from the other side of the river, but once inside, it´s a real must, even if just for the building. You may not know that the area where the Guggenheim sits now was, in the 19 and 20th centuries, a highly industrialized area, full of heavy industries and shipyards (the pictures showing the change are amazing). I´ve been lucky to see the transformation of the city (my parents still live opposite the museum, when they bought the apartment there (moving from the old quarter) it was a very cheap industrial area, but very close too to the University of Deusto, that belongs to the Jesuits -what they call "Loyola" universities in the US and other countries, Loyola is a town south of San Sebastian).

Definitely will be visiting the Guggenheim, where I hope to see some real and some absolutely unreal art :)

Ditto to Mikelg's take on the Guggenheim. And we really enjoy the somewhat unsung Museo de Bellas Artes (soon to be expanded with a design by Norman Foster), with a solid collection of Spanish Baroque. And until February 23, there will be a special exhibit there of Joaquín Sorolla, Spain's most prominent post-Impressionist.
https://www.museobilbao.com/in/expos...mpressions-279

Agree! I can't even imagine the cityscape of Bilbao without the Guggenheim in it! I didnt enjoy that much the art in it at the time I visited, but enjoyed visiting the Museum itself.

I also love visiting the Mercado de la Ribera, dont miss it!

I can understand that one's appreciation for the exhibits on display at the Guggenheim might vary from exhibit to exhibit, but I will certainly say that I'm glad I visited, and I'm definitely among those who thought the building itself stunning, from both outside and inside. WELL worth the visit. Too, the museum of fine arts in Bilbao is seriously underrated IMO. Not to mention its excellent museum of Basque culture....

<<
Not to mention its excellent museum of Basque culture....>>

Oh, now I am so stoked for our next venture into Basque Spain next spring. I am such a sucker for this part of the world and this culture (so much so that I am trying to learn the language, which is frankly a b8itch, and why am I even trying?). I also really like cooking Basque cuisine - OMG they make delicious things. I'm pretty blown away by their complicated history.

It's only a few hours from where I live, but it's another world. Reading The Basque History of the World changed my life.

We spent 2 nights in Bilbao in the rain, but I still wish we had spent more time there. Like many I think the bldg for the Gugenheim is not to be missed. We did not enjoy the particular exhibit there, but it was still worth a lokk inside. The Museo de Bellas Artes is also a very worthwhile museum. I would stay 2 nights in Blibao and 2 nights in San Sebastian. You cant get enough of their delicious food in a day trip. Plus i think it worthwile to visit for 2 nights. I also think Toledo is a nice overnight, but you are short on time for such a desintation rich area. Have a great trip!

Thanks for all the input so far. I am now thinking that we'll go (train or plane) from Madrid to San Sebastian for 2 nights (Mon-Tues), then move on to Bilbao for 2 nights (Wed-Thurs), then return to Madrid for F-S-S nights. Trying to remember the last time I stayed only 2 night somewhere, but I think this is my best option for this trip.

Question about San Sebastian though -- is the potential bleary February weather going to seem even more bleary there because it is inherently more resort-y than Bilbao??

I am getting impatient waiting for my travel guide books to arrive...

Those questions about weather are always a bit tricky to answer, because weather here is quite unpredictable. We´ve had the rainiest November since record have been kept (1947), that means 4 days without rain in Bilbao and 3 without rain in San Sebastian. SS is rainier than Bilbao and a bit colder, and February may be in the 40s, snow is also a (bleak) possibility. But this year (2019) we´ve had a sunny February, almost rain free, and temperatures in the 50s and 60s, with many sunny days. And freezing Decembers but wonderful Christmas on the 70s and sunny...the truth is that, while it´s true that this is Green Spain, you never know about the weather!! (sorry for being so imprecise...)

I would not consider SS as a resort town, it´s very far from it...it´s a working city with 180,000 inhabitants, lucky to live in a beautiful spot of the world. A city that happens to have three beaches, not a beach resort in any way. Worth the visit and the stay, that´s quite true.

Thanks for elaborating, Mike -- that helps cement the decision to split up my 4 nights.

I don't remember the specifics for these cities, but note that many places in Spain are closed all day on Monday and part of Sunday (not to mention their long midday hiatus), so if there are particular sites or museums you want to visit, make sure you check their opening hours before committing to a particular route.

For Monday-Tuesday in San Sebastán you won't deal with museum closures with the exception of the Museo de San Telmo on Monday, but Monday is a more limited day for dining than Tuesday-Sunday, but still there are plenty of places open.
The newly reopened, *wonderful outdoor (and indoor) sculpture museum, the Chillida Leku, is open on Mondays but closed on Tuesdays.
https://www.museochillidaleku.com/en/museo/visitanos/

For Bilbao on Wednesday-Thursday you'll be fine.

Ditto to Madrid on Friday/Saturday/Sunday (except for Sunday night dining, but still there are great places open in the Retiro district and elsewhere).
If you need specific dining recs, just ask, as we all have our favorites.

We finalized our plans with the help of all of your input -- thanks again, and here it is:

Madrid 3 nights (Catalonia las Cortes)
San Sebastian 3 nights (Airbnb: "Beautiful apartment in the heart of the city")
Bilbao 2 nights (7 Kale B&B)
Madrid 2 nights (Hotel Regina)

Our locations are fixed at this point, but all hotels reservations are refundable in case anyone has advice to the contrary about these choices. I am trying to determine if the construction in front of Hotel Regina is still ongoing; messaged the hotel many hours ago and waiting to hear back.

And Maribel, yes, I'd love dining recs from you and others!

Should be great!

Restaurants:
Bilbao: La Vina del Ensanche
San Sebastian / Donostia: Casa Urola and Restaurante La Muralla

Sounds great, GinnyJo.

My dining recs (moderately priced)--
Bilbao:
Ditto to La Viña del Ensanche (great Iberian ham)
Los Fueros (charming, Parisian looking bistro w/beautiful tiles, in the Casco Viejo for creative small plates fare)
Bascook (in an atmospheric former coal warehouse, great fusion cuisine & cool environment)
Los Globos for pintxos or small casseroles (cazuelas), next to La Viña del Ensanche on pedestrian Diputación in the Ensanche
Bar Gatz and Irrinzi near your 7 Kate accommodation in the Casco Viejo for innovative pintxos & Café Bilbao for classic ones on the Plaza Nueva in the Casco Viejo
Gure Toki on the Plaza Nueva (where we first met Fodorite mikelg--don't know how it's standing up these days)

San Sebastián:
Huge ditto to Casa Urola in the Old Quarter (the best of all)
La Muralla or sisters, La Fábrica and Urepel in the Old Quarter for good value
Antonio Bar (fantastic pintxos bar and 6-table hidden downstairs dining room downtown)
Casa 887 (new) in the Gros quarter
Narru (new location) with bar & restaurant in the Hotel Arbaso next to the Cathedral del Buen Pastor downtown
Jan Galerna in Gros (2 young, upcoming & award-winning chefs)

For a pintxos crawl...
La Cuchara de San Telmo, Ganbara, Tamboril, Borda Berri, La Cuchara de San Telmo, Bokado San Telmo in Old Quarter--they have kept up their high standards
Zazpi, Iturrioz, Narru's txoko downtown
Bar Bergara, Bodega Donostiarra and Hidalgo 56 in the Gros quarter

Madrid, within walking distance of your 1st hotel, Catalonia las Cortes in the Barrio de las Letras/Huertas area & moderately priced:
Vinoteca Moratín & Moratín 40 (same chef)
Triciclo & A Mano (same owners, members of the hugely popular Triciclo group--must reserve!)
Bodega de Mar (lovely seafood small plates)
La Malaje (sophisticated Andalusian fare)
Askuabarra (near Las Cortes, for great grilled beef from one of the country' best purveyors, Luismi)

Hope this helps!

Ditto to Maribel´s recommendations...and then there´s so many you will discover by yourself.

In Bilbao, bear in mind that 7 Kale B&B is in a pedestrian area, so if you´re driving or need a taxi, it´ll be complicated to get there. You´re going to love this trip!!

If you have just trolleys, it´s perfectly fine. This year they´ve installed cameras to avoid any entrance of cars in the pedestrian old quarter, but your taxi will leave you very close, no worries. Depending on the time of arrival, the taxi may enter the street (not legal, but kind of allowed). Great place to stay. Good restaurant area, and great pintxos at Santa María bar, one of my favorites.

I was going to suggest 3 nights in San Sebastian, perhaps the most beautiful city in Europe. All you need to do is print out Maribel and Mikelg's recommendations to have an incredible trip to the Basque country.

Beauty is apparently in the eye of the beholder. Pretty? In many ways, for sure! The most beautiful? Not in my book!