Barcelona Bilboa and San Sebastian in October?
Discussion
We are going to North East Spain in the 1st week of October for about 10 days, taking in Barcelona, Bilboa and San Sebastian, are there any must see places or experiences people can recommend? We like food and wine, so would like to visit some wineries/vineyards, exploring cities, but will likely also get to picos de europa for some hiking ( we will be hiring a car).
thanks in advance
Wibble
The America's cup should be being held in Barcelona in October while you are there - if you can pop by the harbour wall and try to have a peek at the boats going flat out. Those big foiling catamarans are amazing to see in person. Do have a wander by the turo de la rovira hill - it's a pretty neat vantage point to overlook the city.
Food wise, you could hardly have picked 3 better places. I really liked san sebastian overall but all 3 have plenty of good grub. Enjoy,
Food wise, you could hardly have picked 3 better places. I really liked san sebastian overall but all 3 have plenty of good grub. Enjoy,
HBelder said:
Haro is a short hop from the ferry ports.
All of the major Rioja wineries are there and the tours are good.
Certainly a place where drinking is celebrated!
+1All of the major Rioja wineries are there and the tours are good.
Certainly a place where drinking is celebrated!
Have stayed in Haro during the famous wine festival (in June) and the place was buzzing.
Remember this one street filled with wonderful tapas bar just off the square too.
Not far from Marque de Riscal which does a pretty good tour (I don't even drink wine), plus you get to walk around the fancy hotel if you are not staying there!
Mmm , food and wine ? San Sebastián ? you really can’t go wrong , make sure to check out the hot menus in the bars , usually a chalk board menu , fois tostados is a favourite of mine .
Logrono is also great but a little down the road , marques de moreitta vineyard , I’ve spelt it wrong before the corrector squad swoop in with a hard on , is worth staying for night and get a taxi ride there but book the food option as it’s great , we did 5 tasters and paired wines and it was a great afternoon out , and it’s not just a sip , I asked if it was ok to have another glass of one wine and the reply was “ drink it all if you wish “
Enjoy yourselves , you really can’t not from what you said .
Logrono is also great but a little down the road , marques de moreitta vineyard , I’ve spelt it wrong before the corrector squad swoop in with a hard on , is worth staying for night and get a taxi ride there but book the food option as it’s great , we did 5 tasters and paired wines and it was a great afternoon out , and it’s not just a sip , I asked if it was ok to have another glass of one wine and the reply was “ drink it all if you wish “
Enjoy yourselves , you really can’t not from what you said .
Barcelona - go to Bar Canete. If there's only 2 of you, then go for a seat at the counter. You might get away without booking, but probably not. Car parking in Barcelona is expensive, last time we were there it was €45 / day in the centre.
You definitely need to add Logrono to your list. The Aurea Palacio de Correos is perfectly located and is a lovely hotel, quite reasonably priced.
Santander is also worth a visit.
San Sebastian is fabulous. As has already been mentioned, order from the blackboards don't just go for the food you see on the counter. The best plan is just to wander around the old town, popping in to anywhere you like the look of. My 2 favourite bars are Atari and Bar Sport. The food in Borda Berri is pretty good too, but it's always rammed and the staff seem to be permanently miserable. On our last trip we went to Bodegon Alejandro, following recommendations on here. The food was very good, but on balance I prefer the Pintxos bars. There's also Bar Nestor, which has been on TV. You need to go along in the morning and put your name down for a slice of Tortilla, and then go back at lunchtime to eat it. Not forgetting La Vina for the cheesecake.
You definitely need to add Logrono to your list. The Aurea Palacio de Correos is perfectly located and is a lovely hotel, quite reasonably priced.
Santander is also worth a visit.
San Sebastian is fabulous. As has already been mentioned, order from the blackboards don't just go for the food you see on the counter. The best plan is just to wander around the old town, popping in to anywhere you like the look of. My 2 favourite bars are Atari and Bar Sport. The food in Borda Berri is pretty good too, but it's always rammed and the staff seem to be permanently miserable. On our last trip we went to Bodegon Alejandro, following recommendations on here. The food was very good, but on balance I prefer the Pintxos bars. There's also Bar Nestor, which has been on TV. You need to go along in the morning and put your name down for a slice of Tortilla, and then go back at lunchtime to eat it. Not forgetting La Vina for the cheesecake.
In Barcelona - Cerveseria Vaso de Oro is brilliant; a locals local. Ciudad Condal is also pretty good but be prepared to queue as it’s a bit of a tourist hot spot these days. Culture-wise; book tickets for Park Guell. Barcelona is a fantastic city which gets a bad press at times because (IMO) people hang around Las Ramblas which is one of the ver worst parts of the city (apart from the market - which you should visit).
San Sebastián - one of my favourite cities in the world and there have already been some good suggestions for food already. Whilst there, also visit Hondarribia.
Bilbao - again, visit the market and then head over to El Globo for pintxos. There are also lots of other excellent bars in that vicinity. Be prepared for zero English speakers though. I really must learn more Spanish.
Finally, I don’t mean to be a stick in the mud, but I’d do Barcelona at a separate time to the North West. Barcelona is worthy of a few days itself but there is so much to see/do in the Basque Country/ Rioja region and I’d split them into different trips. I’m itching to get back as there’s so much I haven’t seen or done.
I’m very jealous whatever you decide! Have a great time.
San Sebastián - one of my favourite cities in the world and there have already been some good suggestions for food already. Whilst there, also visit Hondarribia.
Bilbao - again, visit the market and then head over to El Globo for pintxos. There are also lots of other excellent bars in that vicinity. Be prepared for zero English speakers though. I really must learn more Spanish.
Finally, I don’t mean to be a stick in the mud, but I’d do Barcelona at a separate time to the North West. Barcelona is worthy of a few days itself but there is so much to see/do in the Basque Country/ Rioja region and I’d split them into different trips. I’m itching to get back as there’s so much I haven’t seen or done.
I’m very jealous whatever you decide! Have a great time.
All three are fantastic, and Bilbao/San Seb are firmly on the 'go back to' list.
As has already been said just wander from bar to bar, glass of wine and a bite to eat is only a few Euros.
We're more 'arty' than 'foody', Guggenheim was a little disappointing, but only due to the stunning outside not delivering inside, and the 'best' art being outside.
Trip up the Bilbao Funicular was good, with great views from the top.
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe just up the coast is worth a trip, especially if you're Games Of Thrones fans, it was a bit lost on us but an interesting place regardless.
As has already been said just wander from bar to bar, glass of wine and a bite to eat is only a few Euros.
We're more 'arty' than 'foody', Guggenheim was a little disappointing, but only due to the stunning outside not delivering inside, and the 'best' art being outside.
Trip up the Bilbao Funicular was good, with great views from the top.
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe just up the coast is worth a trip, especially if you're Games Of Thrones fans, it was a bit lost on us but an interesting place regardless.
MarkJS said:
Finally, I don’t mean to be a stick in the mud, but I’d do Barcelona at a separate time to the North West. Barcelona is worthy of a few days itself but there is so much to see/do in the Basque Country/ Rioja region and I’d split them into different trips. I’m itching to get back as there’s so much I haven’t seen or done.
I'd agree with this.. but if you are going to drive across all of Spain, I'd stick to the Pyrenees and make that part of the trip. We're back for our third Pyrenees trip this October (second in a nice car). 
- Ainsa - picture postcard hilltop medieval village with a lovely square is worth a night. Like all of these, if it was in Tuscany there's be 1000's of buses a day coming through but it's in Spain so you get it mostly to yourself.
- Alquézar - Same again but a better castle and wall. May not be enough to tempt you to stay overnight - we didn't.
- Sos del Rey Católico - quieter again, probably not worth a night.
- Canfranc Estación - massive train station in the mountains that's now a luxury hotel with Michelin dining in train carriages? Sure! We've not been to this one yet but it looks lovely.
- Jaca - We've stayed here too and thought it was good enough to go back to this holiday, but maybe more because of the roads around there.
- We've also stayed in places that aren't so good - Olot (strangley unfriendly people if you don't speak Catalan) and Sort (ugly as the South end of Northbound Rottweiler and crappy food, like a cheap ski-resort).
- Everyone's already spoken up Logrono, but not enough. For me I enjoy it more for Pintxos crawls compared to than San Sebastien but I don't care about beaches so...
- Restaurante Terete in Haro - They do baked mutton in the oven under a clay bell to keep it moist and a serve for two could serve eleven. Upgrade the wine to the Grand Riserva Rioja - an extra €10 got us a '94!! Book ahead and wear stretchy trousers.
- Marques de Riscal also has an outdoor lamb BBQ (asador) place under vines which was open last time we were there in October. We've been twice.
- Hondarribia - we've not been but quite a few people on here and recommended it. It's where the Pintxos world championships started so the food must be OK and they are holding it there again in late October.
- Borgos has much to recommend it with vibrant food (oh god, I still dream of the morcilla), loads of Vermouth bars, a great cathedral and a really cool "Museum of Human Evolution".
- Santoña is on the coast and the capital of Spanish anchovies, which
may beare the best in the world. A lunch spent crawling the tapas bars and then stocking up on cans at the canneries afterwards is a successful day in anyone's life. - For the Picos, we stayed at Palacio de Luces outside Llanes. The restaurant is going for a star or 3 and the food was bananas for the price. Breakfast was super special as well.
- San Vicente de la Barquera - we've also stayed at in the same area and it has a nice locals-sea-town feel.
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