Travel Guide: Basque Country, Spain
Last spring, Darcy and I planned a trip to La Rioja to learn more about wines we enjoy at the restaurant, get inspired by the food and relax a little bit. We flew into Spain through Bilbao and planned to drive down to La Rioja, which starts about 1 hour away by car.
We had a few days with Bilbao as our homebase while we waited for my sister to fly in from Puerto Rico and join us. I didn’t have any expectations beyond walking around the city and eating pintxos between sips of vermouth, but I quickly grew restless. We would be renting a car to drive to La Rioja, so we checked it out a few days early and drove around the Basque Country as well.
I don’t know that I can choose words to do justice to my memories. I remember vivid green mountains, crisp morning air, tons of fish and seafood, funky cider and txuletón. What was meant to be a side trip ended up being a huge highlight and I left the Basque Country hungry for more.
I am sharing some trip recommendations for the Basque Country in case you feel inspired to visit. May I suggest planning a detour from more popular destinations like Barcelona and Madrid to visit this emerald jewel? You won’t be disappointed.
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GETTING THERE & AROUND
The easiest way to get there is to fly through a hub city in Spain. We flew from Boston Logan Airport to Madrid (~7 hours) and took a flight to Bilbao (1 hour). Barcelona is another major hub in Spain and the timing is about the same for both legs, so you can choose your own adventure layover city or go for the best deal.
Experienced/adventurous travelers should consider working the Basque Country into a more extensive roadtrip. Fly into Madrid and drive 8-10 hours via Ribera del Duero for some kickass wine (2-ish day trip, perfect to spend a night in a small wine village). Another option I’d love to try in the future would be to fly into Bordeaux via Paris and make my way through the French Basque country back into Spain, and leave the country from Bilbao. This is about a 4 hour drive in total that could be broken into a 3-day experience with lots of wine tastings in between.
To get around the Basque Country, renting a car is the way to go. Buses are readily available but the schedules are hard to find online and the language barrier can be a hurdle. There is a train station in Bilbao but I couldn’t tell you where the trains go, since the schedules and routes were not loaded onto Google Maps. In contrast, driving was a pleasure with the smooth pavement, winding roads, marvelous tunnels and beautiful sights. Tolls are expensive so be prepared.
Expect winding mountain roads, lots of coastal vibes and killer cider. Between the major cities of Bilbao and San Sebastián, you’ll be able to visit many small coastal towns and enjoy gorgeous seafood. In the lush inland areas, you’ll find sagardotegi (ciderhouses) and asadores (grillhouses).
As you plan your trip, brush up on your Spanish. The Basque speak Euskera, all the TV is in Euskera, the signs are in Euskera… and although hotels will provide service in English, Spanish will be the most helpful.
PLACES TO STAY
We stayed in the Bilbao city center, where you can find many hotels with modern amenities and be close to the action.
In the future, I would also choose to spend a night in Getaria so I could really go hard on the wine and wake up to beautiful views, somewhere like Ameztoi or Hotel Iturregi.
PINTXO TIME!
In Bilbao, we focused on lazy strolls punctuated by pintxo pitstops. You can think of pintxos being in the same genre as bruschetta: little toasts piled high with all manner of toppings, all held together with a skewer (hence the name). You can find them at bars and cafés for a few euro a piece, and I would say 3-5 pieces can definitely make a breakfast, light lunch or pad your belly for some drinking. No need to get a menu, as you can just point at the ones you want to try, raise your fingers to signal how many, and hand over some cash. A few we enjoyed below:
Café Iruña: This place is open all day and I am STILL dreaming of the pintxo with crab salad, sweet shrimp and grated hard-boiled egg. There was also another one with a fatty concoction of ham and lard that was luxuriously rich. The vibe is so vintage, you can imagine folks at the turn of the 20th century holding court over coffee in the grand salon. This is a must.
Café Bar Bilbao: What a tight squeeze in here! Hidden in the old town, you’ll find this café bordering an enclosed plaza. We visited for breakfast and enjoyed the fresh pressed orange juice, cappuccinos and different takes on potato & onion tortilla pintxos. Seeing many old locals reading the paper and enjoying pintxos gave me the certainty that I chose a great venue for my morning meal.
Erribera Merkatua: This is a food hall / market right by the river, where there is tons of activity. The upper level has food stalls that all offer comparable pintxo and beer selections, and the lower level functions as a market. While not as impressive as other markets we have visited in Spain, this is worth making a stop.
VISITING THE CIDER HOUSES
We came to Spain in search of wine, but we LOVED the cider houses. If you’re a New Englander, you will feel right at home at the sagardotegi, which are Basque cider houses. Imagine a rustic steakhouse meets a brewery — this experience is as much about the food as it is about the drink.
Spring is definitely the time to visit for the best experience as the cider will be fresh and plentiful. About a 45-60 minute drive east of Bilbao, you will find a town called Astigarraga close to San Sebastián where you could waste a day hopping from one cider house to the next. Some quick research will show you the cider houses all present a very similar menu and experience, so I don’t think you can go wrong.
The cider is generally more rustic and wild than, say, Angry Orchard. Expect to taste unfiltered, funky, acidic and flat (non-carbonated) ciders. Be advised that the point is to enjoy a meal or snack with the cider; I don’t think it is considered good etiquette to visit them like a bar, so at least try some croquettes with your drink. The set menu meal is an event in and of itself! If you want to check out a few places, note the hours of operation, plan your day, call ahead to inquire about a reservation and come ready to binge.
Here are two that we visited and loved:
Saizar Sagardotegia: Saizar is a more commercial brand of cider and they are STACKED. All the cider is rustic, made with local apples and everything goes in the batch; don’t bother asking what varietals because they are not telling! We visited for lunch and enjoyed croquetas, bacalao (codfish) and txuletón (aged ribeye). Any steak lover will be satisfied with the gamey flavor and lean texture of the steak. Don’t be that person who orders their steak well-done — be a good guest and let the grill master cook the steak to their taste. I promise you will not be disappointed. Say hello to cellar master Esteban, whose mumbled Spanish was hard to understand but we spoke the international language of tipsy giggling and got along very well.
Bereziartua Sagardotecia: This cider house is a more humble family-owned operation and you will likely be led around the cellar by the father or son. The menu mirrors other cider houses and you can expect to enjoy a communal meal at a long table, beerhall-style. Be advised they only serve lunch on weekends, so you may want to plan for dinner here. We loved the humble hospitality and they were kind to gift us a souvenir bottle of cider.
A note about service and etiquette at the cider houses: (So you don’t make the same mistakes I did…)
There is no cider on tap to order from a server; you will be handed a glass at the table and it is your job to get served by the cellar master. All the cider is served from the barrels, not bottles, in an act called “txotx” (pronounced like the “tchotch” in tchotchke). Here’s how it works: The cellar master uses their key to open the barrel and the cider streams out. Hold out your cup low and a few feet away from the barrel to catch the stream, then follow the stream up toward the barrel. Somebody will be holding out their cup behind yours to catch the next pour. Don’t fill your cup more than half-way; this is super duper looked down upon. There is tons of cider, after all — what’s the rush?
DRINKING TXAKOLI
The traditional wine of the Spanish Basque Country is called txakolí (pronounced tcha-koh-LEE) and I’m going to call it early: you’re going to see it more and more. Txakolí is a rustic style of wine, predominantly white (but sometimes rosé) and most often with a very light fizz. The flavor is very tart and acidic with a nice touch of salinity, reminiscent of citrus and green apples. Endlessly chuggable with seafood as well as the rich txuletón steaks of the region!
We got to visit Bodega Gorka Izagirre only 10 minutes away from the Bilbao airport. We booked our winery tour in advance and were greeted by José, the bodega master. He showed us a few of the vines, entertained my questions about the winemaking, and finally enjoyed a wine tasting with us. Their style of txakolí is less rustic and more refined, but you’ll see fun techniques like extended skin contact in use here. After our tasting, we had a reservation at their Michelin-starred restaurant upstairs, Eneko. This was my sister’s first experience coming off the plane from Puerto Rico, what a start! Between the bodega visit and lunch, we spent about half a day here. Highly recommended!
Next time, I would love to make my way to Getaria by the sea and visit a few other txakolí makers. Bodega Aizpurua, Txomín Etxaníz and Ameztoi (whose txakolí rosado we serve at Little Sister) would all make fantastic visits. Make note as some of these also offer lodging!
OTHER COOL STOPS ALONG THE WAY…
We spent half a day each in San Sebastián and Hondarribia, right on the border with France. San Sebastián is a fairly extensive city that reminded me of Nice in the French Riviera. There is beach, there is shopping, there are bars and restaurants and lovely gardens everywhere. Hondarribia is more small and quaint, with a pretty boardwalk and small bars where you can sip some wine and curiously observe the French-Spanish word salad spoken by servers and patrons. Please visit Chef Iñaki Gezala at his restaurant Batzokia Jatextea, where we enjoyed a beautiful halibut with crispy garlic sauce and a rice pudding for dessert that had me begging for the recipe (he graciously obliged).