The Basque Country

We can’t wait to share this most picturesque region of Europe with you. To give you a point of reference, the Basque Country straddles the Pyrenees Mountains North into France; and South into Spain—covering about 3000 square miles of varied terrain from beautiful coastal environments to dramatic mountains and everything in between. We will spend most of our trip in Spain, with one day in France. The following pages provide you with an overview of another amazing journey, brought to you by your friends at Castles & Concerts.

Today, Bilbao still operates as an important port for the region, still has ironworks and still has many banks headquartered there. Suprisingly, however, this “all business” town has transformed into a major tourism destination with the opening of the Guggenheim Museum. Designed by renowned architect, Frank Gehry, the iconic Guggenheim Museum attracts thousands upon thousands of visitors to Bilbao every year.

As is our custom, we will split up into smaller groups during the day and all come together for a banquet and concert in the evening. We will visit the Guggenheim on one day; on another, we will walk the Siete Calles of the Casco Viejo (Seven Streets of the old town). If you are up for it, you can take the elevator to the Basilica de Begona, a massive structure over-looking the town that was built on the spot that the Virigin Mary is said to have once appeared. If you get into town early enough, we’ll head out on the road to visit some of the most charming coastal fishing towns like Getxo (where we will visit a well-preserved 600 year-old castle); and perhaps head in-land to Guernica where we will visit the Santamamine Cave where there are 13,000 year old pre-historic paintings dating from the Cro-Magnon era; and also visit the Tree of Guernica, where the rights and privileges of the Basque people were first recognized in the 14th Century.

On Wednesday, May 18, we head east down the coast from Bilbao and begin our Main trip in one of Spain’s most beautiful cities, San Sebastian. Even though the town was founded in the 11th century, it only rose to prominence in the 19th century, when the Habsburg Queen, Maria-Cristina, chose San Sebastian as their summer watering spot to cure her daughter’s skin ailments. San Sebastian quickly transformed from a remote fishing village into THE preferred holiday destination for International Society that, in many respects, remains today.

No trip to the area is complete without a visit to the old fishing village of Hondarribia. We will stroll through this old fortified town that houses a 10th Century Castle now run as a Parador. We will follow a small part of the Camino de Santiago to get us down into the painted village area, where we will have a lunch of more delicious Pintxos.