Gorgeous landscapes, sumptuous food and unique cultural heritage are but just a few of the reasons to trek up north. I spent two glorious weeks in September traveling through the Basque country. Here are a few highlights.

San Sebastian’s harbor

Donostia/San Sebastian

The stunning seaside town of San Sebastian is a true gem that deserves every praise it gets. The city of 180,000 radiates from the conch-shaped bay filled with crystal-clear water. Delightful green squares dot the narrow streets and pedestrian zones.

Getting around is a breeze, as the city has a good public bicycle rental program and extensive paths. When you’re ready to take a break, take the funicular to the top of Monte Igueldo, from where you’ll have a breathtaking vista of the sea, city and surrounding landscape.

Bilbao

What used to be a gritty industrial town is undergoing a cultural, economic and culinary renaissance. The famed Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Gehry, is a must-see, but so is Bilbao’s lovely city center.

Cod croquettes or shrimp brochettes go perfectly with a drink of txakoli, the region’s sparkling wine.

Even if you’re not a public transportation geek like me, it’s worth taking a ride on its one-line tram that traces the waterfront from the bus station, past the Guggenheim and to the historic old town. You’ll see how marvelously the futuristic experiments interact with Bilbao’s traditional cityscape.

Coastal villages

There are so many reasons to brave the jagged roads and drive along the region’s sapphire coast. The delightful port city of Lekeitio boasts a fairytale center and a postcard-perfect beach. Zarautz, once an exclusive playground, is now an affordable surfing destination.

Guernica, infamous for the brutal air raids by Hitler and Franco, is immortalized by Picasso’s painting (installed at the Reina Sofia in Madrid) and the town continues to draw visitors.

An annual festival in Mutriku

Plenty of other towns like Bermeo, Mutriku and Zumaia are also great places to spend an afternoon eating good pintxos and enjoying the sound of Euskara (Basque), Europe’s only language isolate.

St. Jean de Luz

If you want a break from Spain, hop on a train from San Sebastian. An hour later, you’ll find yourself in the lovely French town of St. Jean de Luz.

A traditional fishing port, it is also hailed as the capital of French Basque cuisine. Don’t forget to try gateau basque, a buttery cake filled with cherries or cream. Though it has its share of tourists (mainly from France and Spain), there’s plenty of space on the calm beach. It’s also a great place to shop for foodstuffs to take home as souvenirs.

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Bilbao is an immediately attractive city with green parks and a pleasingly well-heeled atmosphere. There are so many exciting things going on in Bilbao that it’s hard to know if the focus should be on the new or on the old.

Architectural draw

Santiago Calatrava’s Campo Volantin Footbridge.

The city has become a magnet for those thrilled by contemporary architecture. Gehry’s museum is a masterpiece, and Santiago Calatrava’s imprint on the city is also undeniable. His Campo Volantin Footbridge is a marvel, and Bilbao’s Sondika Airport, also designed by Calatrava, is dramatic and grand.

But lovers of older styles shouldn’t sit Bilbao out. The city’s Casco Viejo (Old Town) is dripping with old world charm. The Gothic Catedral de Santiago, at the center of the Old Town, is gorgeous; elsewhere, there are plenty of Neoclassical and hybrid eclecticism buildings to admire.

A touch of tension

Yet despite Bilbao’s palpable prosperity and many charms, there’s tension in the air. Upon observing a protest adjacent to the Arriaga Theatre led by men and women in their sixties and seventies, many holding signs written in Basque, I asked a local what the protests were about. I assumed that the protesters were holding a vigil for those murdered by separatist terrorists.

Bilbao’s Casco Viejo (Old City).

In fact, the man on the street told me, the silent protest was not for the victims of Basque terrorism at all. Those holding signs were the parents of convicted terrorists demonstrating for the transfer of their children to prisons inside the Basque Country—away from the prisons, elsewhere in Spain, where they are currently housed.

All of this, while very interesting, no doubt gives a misleading impression of the placid and quite wealthy city. In fact, Bilbao is very safe. The various skirmishes over language, culture, and politics in the Basque Country are mostly invisible to visitors.

What tourists see is an omnipresent Basque language, as well as tourist shops selling Basque flags and t-shirts.

Bilbao on a budget

Here are five tips for saving money in Bilbao.

1. Cheap savories.

One word: pintxos (pronounced “pinchos”), or: the Basque version of tapas. Pintxos come in all sorts of forms. There is a lot of cod, shrimp, and mayonnaise involved. All good, and all pretty cheap. Three pintxos and a glass of wine shouldn’t set you back more than €7. Stroll the Casco Viejo (Old Town) to find a pintxos popping perch.

2. Cheap sweets.

Refuel with cheap and filling pastries. Try the local rice tart with coffee. We like the old school feel of New York Café, at Calle Buenos Aires 12.

Take the Bilbobus!

3. Hubbing it.

Bilbao makes a great hub for exploring other cities in the Basque Country and beyond. The exquisite city of San Sebastián is about 90 minutes away by bus (roundtrip around €18), while Santander in the neighboring region of Cantabria is roughly the same distance to the west (roundtrip beginning at €13).

4. Museum switch.

We can’t seriously recommend that you not visit the Guggenheim. But if innovative interiors are less important to you than broad permanent art collections, restrict your explorations of the Guggenheim (admission €13) to the remarkable building’s exterior and check out the Museo de Bellas Artes (admission €5.50) instead.

5. Cheap sleeps.

Bilbao has a good range of affordable beds. We like Hotel Sirimiri, right next to the Atxuri tram station, where a double room runs just €60. The word “sirimiri” means a faint yet continuous mist, a type of precipitation common to Bilbao throughout much of the year.

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