Wine and Food Holidays in Basque Country Spain
How to Plan a Great Wine and Food Holiday in Basque Country Spain
When I was 14 years old, I remember the first day of my Spanish class in Junior High.
I walked into the classroom.
When I caught my first glimpse of my professor, my heart began to race!
His name was Mr. Leon.
While not exactly tall, he was extremely dark and handsome.
He was from the Basque region of Spain.
And from that moment, I could not wait to learn the language and visit the Basque Country of Spain.
My Taste of Basque Country Cuisine
Ten years later, a family friend invited me to taste the cuisine of Martin Berasategui.
It was then that I had my first taste of octopus prepared with its own black ink.
Though the dish sounds rather canabalistic, it was delicious!
That first bite, rich with flavor, only heightened my desire to have a holiday in Basque Country Spain.
Today Chef Martin Berasategui owns several restaurants, one you can visit in Gipuzkoa (see details at end of story)
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Is Basque Country in Spain?
Most people outside of Spain assume that Basque Country – including the large city of Barcelona – is in Spain.
Geographically it is in the country of Spain, but the Basque Country (or Euskadi as it is also known) has a very different culture from the Mainland in Spain.
I experienced that first hand when breakfast in one of my Basque country hotels featured grilled tomatoes, garlic, bread, and fresh olive oil (even more fabulous than it sounda!)
The language of the Basque people is Euskera, which is the oldest language of Europe.
Most everybody speaks Spanish.
And during my visit to Bilbao and San Sebastian, the hotel staff and staff at the restaurants I visited spoke English.
I also heard the staff speak French as well.
The Basque region and Basque culture is very popular with European tourists.
Getting to the Basque Region
It is very easy to get to the Basque region.
Most all European airlines fly to Bilboa.
It is a small and manageable airport.
From the Bilbao airport, you can take a bus into the city, rent a car, or take a cab.
It is just 20 minutes away.
Getting to San Sebastian from the Bilboa Airport
The beautiful seaside town of San Sebastian is a lovely drive less than 90 minutes from the Bilboa airport.
You can rent a car, take a bus, order a taxi, and pre-arrange transport from your hotel.
The taxi we ordered upon landing was fairly expensive … over 100 Euros.
And though the driver was nice and cab was clean, you might consider splurging with a hotel pick-up and arrive in style for about the same cost.
A quick search on the Internet can also reveal transport you can arrange in advance for about half the price.
Arrival in San Sebastian
Arrive in San Sebastian on a sunny day, and be prepared to be wowed.
The style of the architecture is Belle Epoque, just like Nice, France.
As you walk along the gorgeous boardwalk, you can just imagine yourself doing a “promenade” here in the 18th century.
You can stop in many cafes for a drink.
It’s worth a splurge to pay the extra price and seek out a nice cafe overlooking the gorgeous sea.
On a beautiful summer night, we enjoyed the view and the still sunny skies until nearly 9:30 pm, when we had to leave for our restaurant reservations.
Dining and Eating in San Sebastian
San Sebastian has a well deserved reputation is a food-obsessed city, packed with fabulous 3-star Michelin restaurants.
Please believe me when I say it is necessary to research these restaurants, and book almost a year in advance.
With just seven months advance, none of the top Michelin restaurants was available to book.
Even though I was confident that at least ONE restaurant would have a cancellation, that was not the case.
In the end, that worked out well because restaurants without a star do work very hard to impress you with their creativity and their cuisine.
The Pintxos Bars
The region of Rioja, Spain, is famous for its tapas.
People just eye the delicious looking food inside the bars, choose a few items and a glass of wine, and take it an upturned barrel outside.
San Sebastian is similar.
And though the tapas in Rioja are tasty …
… well, the pintxos (tapas like snacks) are more attractively displayed and quite delicious.
It is typical to visit a few of the pintxos bars and choose an item or two at each location.
The more popular hours are between 5pm and 9pm, when it is too late for a formal lunch and too early for the notoriously late Basque Country dinner.
The city is filled with a wide range of pintxos bars, offering traditional Basque dishes and wines.
What to do on a Sunny Day In San Sebastian
The beaches of San Sebastian are spectacular.
They are among the finest in the world.
And the sunbathing …
… ooh la la!
You will find cafes overlooking the beach that are quite pleasant.
Bicycling or hiking are popular activities.
What to do on a Rainy Day
San Sebastian is in the North of Spain, and it rains quite a bit.
Since one of the many key attractions of the city is eating, this is a great rainy day activity in itself!
I took advantage of the rain to visit the San Telmo Museoa (watch fabulous video here)
That had some great archeological collections.
Rainy Day Cooking Classes
San Sebastien is popular with foodies around the world who dream of coming here and going back to their country as a master chef.
I can testify that it CAN be possible.
We were in San Sebastian during a long rainy spell.
This made us appreciate our first day, filled with glorious sunshine.
Luckily, I was able to grab two spots at a cooking class offered in our Maria Cristina hotel from a culinary brand called Cooking with Memo.
Our class was around four hours, and included a lot of fun, a lot of wine, and a full 4 course sit down lunch.
And yes, a break during the cooking session with wine.
It was a lot of fun and we met some other fun people who enjoyed cooking with a lot of passion.
Then There Is … The Maria Cristina Hotel
You will find delightful hotels at all price ranges in San Sebastian.
For this trip, we chose the posh Maria Cristina hotel.
We also chose a view of the ocean.
Behold the gorgeously appointed, luxuriously furnished room, the luxury marble bathroom, and the spa.
It is a pleasure just to spend a rainy afternoon inside the room or the spa.
Appropriate Amount of Time to Book a Holiday in Basque Country
There are many beautiful regions in Basque Country.
In this article, there was really only enough room to talk about San Sebastian.
Yet you can drive to nearby Rioja and visit the gorgeous Frank Gehry structure at the Marques de Riscal Hotel and Guggenheim Museum.
You will read about more attractions in the interview I had with Maider Etxebarria, the Director of Tourism in the Basque Country Government.
Booking Michelin Star Restaurants Well in Advance
If your goal is to really visit all the top Michelin restaurants in San Sebastian, book as many nights as you can get dinner reservations for.
If your goal is to enjoy the beach and taste the delicious pintxos, two or three nights is fine.
Bilboa is very pretty and is also very rich in history.
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Interview with Maider Etxebarria, the Director of Tourism in the Basque Country Government.
It’s very exciting that the Basque region is actively promoting tourism and is sponsoring in large part the International Wine Tourism Conference.
It is one of the biggest tourism conferences in the world, bringing together top level tourism professionals.
The Interview
– Maider Etxebarria, what is Basque country and how it is different from Spain culturally?
The Basque Country or Euskadi, as it is also known, has always been a country
that due to its characteristics, its size and the entrepreneurial nature of its citizens.
It has been open to the world and we continue to do so as a host land and a tourism
based on a unique, sustainable culture.
A small region that counts on the incentive of the best gastronomy and with the hospitality of its people.
The Basque Country has always been a land of connectivity and willing to open routes.
A good example of this is that the first circumnavigation of the globe was completed by the sailor Juan Sebastián Elkano, commanding the Ship Vitoria
– What are the top key cities in Basque country everyone should see?
The Basque Country is ideal to enjoy in short stages.
Distances are short between the three capitals; Vitoria, Bilbao and San Sebastian.
It is the ideal place to enjoy numerous attractions in a short space of time because of its varied landscapes, pleasant climate, the sea, the mountains, an ancient culture and world-famous cuisine.
Bilbao, cutting-edge metropolis, San Sebastián, beautiful and refined, or Vitoria-Gasteiz, our “green capital”.
The best thing is that you don’t have to choose – you can visit all three as they’re so close together.
What is the best way to get to the Basque region from an American city?
For example, should they fly to Madrid or Barcelona? After that what airport is best to begin their Basque country adventure?
The Basque Country is the natural point of entry from the continent towards the southern hemisphere.
We are in the transit zone between the Spanish and Portuguese markets and the rest of Europe, within an area of influence of more than 2,000 square kilometers connecting more than 10 European Union regions, with 80 million inhabitants, which makes up 25% of the population of the Euro zone.
The Basque Government has developed a management model for the Basque airports based on complementarity, which includes the three airports at Hondarribia/San Sebastián; Loiu/Bilbao and Foronda/Vitoria: one airport, three terminals that connect the Basque Country to the main hubs in Europe.
– Everyone speaks highly of the fantastic cuisine in the Basque country. What are some examples of unique cuisine?
Cuisine is at the core of Basque culture.
It is part of our tradition, of the customs that have been preserved over the centuries, passed down from generation to generation.
Sharing our region’s outstanding food is a way to bring people together, a place to meet, a cult of friendship.
Our cuisine is internationally recognized as one of the best on the planet, a reputation built on experienced professionals from different sectors who stay true to the basics: quality of ingredients.
The Basque Country boasts the highest concentration of restaurants highly recommended by the most prestigious reviews.
No less than 31 Michelin stars in a country that can be travelled from one extreme to the other in less than two hours.
We are a point of reference globally in Food and Wine Tourism, which is one of the main reasons why people from all over the world visit us.
Eating and drinking well is an affordable luxury in the Basque Country.
Local seasonal products in pintxo form (basque snacks) with a good wine from the Rioja Alavesa, txakoli (white basque wine) or cider.
You will be in gourmet paradise!
Enjoy! Experiment, observe, then give way to the passion of taste.
– In America the times for meals are fairly defined across the nation. In Basque country, what are the typical times to vegan breakfast, lunch, and dinner?
The late meal times in the Basque Country can be a little confusing for a visitor.
Yet the offer is so wide that no one will be left without an opportunity to taste the gastronomy regardless of schedules.
In Euskadi almost any time can be suitable for eating.
There are early and late breakfasts, the meals are usually late for European schedules, but the Basque hospitality adapts to any demand.
– A region such as San Sebastian, is famous for its gastronomy. What are three of your favorite restaurants and how far is it necessary to make a reservation in advance?
The Basque Country is a paradise for lovers of fine food and wine, offering you enormous variety as well as quality.
Restaurants serving nouvelle cuisine or traditional cooking, spectacularly designed or simple and cosy.
San Sebastian and its surroundings are strewn with the culinary stars.
Year after year the influential Michelin Guide recognizes them as the best cooks on the planet.
They include Martín Berasategi, Juan Mari Arzak, Pedro Subijana and Andoni Aduriz, along with their colleagues from other local towns, make up part of the stellar constellation.
This has made San Sebastian’s cuisine one of the Basque’s Country’s main tourist attractions.
Yet these culinary stars also belong, in a certain way, to every pintxo bar,
restaurant, cider bar and carvery that enriches the capital and its surroundings.
– What is the best time of year to visit Basque country?
Anytime.
The climate of the Basque Country due to the influence of the sea is delightful.
You can enjoy it in autumn, with colorful forests.
In spring, with the green of the mountains or the valleys.
In the summer with hundreds of kilometers of coasts and beaches.
And in winter with mountain routes and cities with their unique shops.
– Most people know that there are many water sports in the Basque region because it is near the sea.
In terms of waves and surfing, you will find that the coast from San Sebastian to Getxo, through Zarautz, Sopelana, Bakio and Mundaka, has the best waves in Europe.
The love of surfing is reflected in the endless number of surfers from around the world who make the pilgrimage to these beaches.
The towering waves provided by the Cantabrian Sea (some ranked World Class) make it possible to hold major championships such as those of San Sebastian, Zarautz and Sopelana.
The latter two are included in the European and World circuits.
Also the Punta Galea Big Challenge in Getxo (World Big Wave
Tour). Click here for more information
What about activities for people who enjoy nature?
If someone asked me what color Euskadi is, I would say green.
Euskadi is not only cities, but it is also nature.
Well-preserved nature spots, mountains and valleys, with well-marked routes to enjoy.
There are many possibilities to enjoy nature in Euskadi, from adventure activities to family walks.
A wide offer that could describe us as a natural paradise.
Euskadi has natural national parks, 23% of its total area, there are also environments for bird watching.
In Euskadi we take care of our land and that is why it is a country that can be enjoyed in a sustainable way.
– i love the gentle sparkling wine of txakoli. Can tourists visit wineries in Basque Country?
You can visit working wineries and take part in tastings.
Sometimes they are offered in the evening to learn the secrets of this very special wine.
In passing you will also get to know coastal and inland towns full of local colour and traditions.
You will see the vineyards that produce the grape that performs the magic of turning into “txakoli”.
When the staff shows you how to combine it with other local products like Idiazabal cheese, Bermeo anchovies or Gernika peppers you will feel like a qualified sommelier.
Thank you Maider Etxebarria, the Director of Tourism in the Basque Country Government, for your time and enthusiasm with this excellent interview!
Love Spanish Wine? Check out this Fabulous Region
Hotels in San Sebastian
Maria Cristina
Paseo Republica Argentina 4
San Sebastian 20004 Spain
Restaurants in San Sebastien
Martín Berasategui
Loidi Kalea, 4 – 20160 Lasarte-Oria (Gipuzkoa)
Lat. 43.2668 / Lon. -2.0155
Tel. (+34) 943 366 471 / (+34) 943 361 599
[email protected]
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