
Basque Country Vacations
Hiking vacations, road trips & tailormade tours to the Basque Country

Bilbao's storied streets

The cities of the Basque Country - Bilbao, San Sebastian, Vitoria-Gasteiz and (culturally if not geographically) Pamplona - all have medieval origins, but have evolved differently through history.
Bilbao is the largest and the one youāll likely fly to. It perhaps also has the most complex story to tell of the four.
The titanium cladding of Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum, gracefully ageing as the years tick past, represents a new Bilbao, transformed from a spluttering, grey, industrial factory into a slick and modern city. As Bilbao rapidly rebranded itself, a fabulous metro system by Norman Foster and a pedestrian bridge by Calatrava joined the museum in a flurry of modernity.
But far from burying its past, what the Guggenheim's arrival actually did was wake us all up to what had always been hiding in the heart of the city all along...


From the Guggenheim, walk further down the river and you get to the elegant medieval old town, with its Gothic cathedral dedicated to Santiago. You see locals eating pintxos. You see pilgrims following the Camino del Norte. You might visit the small museum dedicated to the history of the Basques, housed in a former Jesuit institution.
At the Arenal, the grand Neo-baroque Arriaga Theater brings you back to the 19th century bourgeois boom. Follow the Gran VĆa past the elaborate banks and insurance buildings and you reach the river and the Maritime museum, in the old industrial river area. Views stretch off to the hills covered with the crowded neighbourhoods that grew out of the last industrial boom in the 60s.

Between these streets and more, the story of Bilbao is played out in front of you. You just need someone to open your eyes to it all, just like the Guggenheim did for so many over 20 years ago. That's something we can certainly help you with. We like to join it all up on a relaxed and intentionally simple walk around town.
Any trip which touches on the Basque Country will likely begin, end or pass through Bilbao, so adding a couple of nights in the city is easily done.
By way of example, our Basque Cultures & Cuisines: A Private Guided Journey starts with the city and our Basque Rioja Inn to Inn Walking Vacation could equally begin with a night there.
Walking Highlights of the Pyrenees: Bay of Biscay to Costa Brava
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$4,900 pp
- 17 days
Self Drive
Walking Highlights of the Pyrenees: Bay of Biscay to Costa Brava
When: Apr-Jun; Sep-Oct
Guide Price: $4,900 per person
Guide Duration: 17 days (can be made longer or shorter)
Our greatest walking vacation along the Spanish Pyrenees, from the Basque Country to Catalonia, and from fishing villages to deserts, high mountain peaks to beech forest.
Basque Cultures & Cuisines: A Private Guided Journey
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$5,222 pp
- 8 days
Basque Cultures & Cuisines: A Private Guided Journey
When: Apr-Oct
Price: $5,222 per person
Duration: 8 days
Riojan vineyards, Pyrenean cider barns, ancient towns and lively markets - enjoy the tastes and tales of the Basque Country with a guide who calls it home.
Basque Rioja Walking & Wine Vacation
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$2,422 pp
- 9 days
Basque Rioja Walking & Wine Vacation
When: Apr-Jun; Sep-Oct
Guide Price: $2,422 per person
Guide Duration: 9 days (can be made longer)
Walking, wine and world-class cuisine. That's what you can expect from this exclusive route through the quiet valleys, vineyards and villages of Basque Rioja.
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