kilometres to the west, you will find Comillas. A quaint coastal village outside the Nature Reserve of Oyambre, which offers an intriguing mix of beaches, food and cultural experiences. Here you can walk the modernist route with 11 monuments, where the biggest attraction is the "Flower House" (El Capricho) - one of Antoni Gaudí's few projects outside of Barcelona. Old District (Casco Viejo) Great for tapas and to enjoy a lively atmosphere. The famous 7 calles (7 streets) and Plaza Nueva are where most tapas and pintxos bars concentrate. There is a flea market in Plaza Nueva on Sundays. Rent a car and organize a roadtrip. This is our favorite option. Motorways and roads in Spain are generally safe. Smaller roads provide fantastic scenery. On the negative side, building a good itinerary can be very time-consuming. Below you can find 3 great itineraries, almost ready to use, to enjoy an itinerary that covers most highlights shown on this article. Recommended accommodation: The Ureta Landa Gaztelugatxe apartments are a good option since they are surrounded by a beautiful landscape and are located just over a mile from Areaga Beach. If you want to visit this beach in northern Spain but if you don’t have a car, consider this excursion from La Coruña. It’ll take you to Playa de las Catedrales as well as the city of Lugo so you can see its Roman wall.

Pintxos Tour. We recommend you to enjoy a pintxos tour (the way tapas are called in the Basque country) during your stay in San Sebastian. it is a good way to combine dining and learning about the city. There are many tours available but they are a bit over-priced in our opinion. During high season you should make sure you book well in advance! in THIS LINK YOU CAN FIND A GOOD PINTXOS TOUR OPTION.The nature of northern Spain is beautiful, wild and lush. The landscapes are constantly changing between the sea and mountains and it offers great holiday opportunities. When much of today's tourists tend to gather in the south, in northern Spain it is quiet and relaxed. Here you won’t find any beach vendors, all-inclusive hotels or large tourist resorts. In our ultimate guide of where to stay in northern Spain, we’ll show you the best destinations.

Barcelona is also well known for its gastronomy. Near the Casa Batlló is Moments restaurant, an award-winning fine-dining establishment within the Mandarin Oriental, Barcelona that has earned two Michelin stars and specializes in contemporary Catalan cuisine. La Rioja is a gorgeous region in Northern Spain, prized for its idyllic scenery of vine-covered rolling hills and lush oak forests. The region also has a rich cultural heritage, linked with the medieval Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. There are several entrances to the park but the main one is on the N-134 highway, which connects the towns of Tudela and Arguedas. By the way, if you have time, I advise you to visit Tudela – a small town founded by Muslims in 802.The city of Santander, located in a beautiful bay, is an ideal destination for a family holiday in northern Spain. There are several child-friendly beaches to choose from. Visit the peninsula of Magdalena with its Palace and zoo and have a picnic on the grass under the pine trees. In the evening, try the trendy tapas bars on the side streets of Paseo de Pereda. Take a ferry to Somo and hike along the pilgrim route of Camino del Norte with the family. A great experience for the kids is at the Nature Park of Cabárceno.Similar to being on safari, they have 150 animals from 5 different continents living in a huge area, separated naturally by cliffs. Spring and fall have similar temperatures, always around 20°C, so this may be the best season for excursions, visits to national parks and farms, hiking and city tours.

A formerly grey and industrial city, Bilbao has been reborn with beauty and splendor thanks to its culture, art, and gastronomy. Today, Bilbao is a must-see in Basque Country. Mark and I spent a good chunk of time going on road trips from Barcelona to Valencia, from Valencia to Malaga, visiting vineyards in the south of Spain, and exploring Costa Brava Region. There we wandered to small inland villages and walked the streets of busy cities. And we seriously loved it. So you won’t find many tour buses there with tourists standing in line to take photos of a certain landmark. You also won’t find crazy wild nightlife or completely stuffed beaches as in the southern regions of Spain. Remarkable historic monuments distinguish León, which displays its impressive heritage through architectural masterpieces such as a 10th-century Romanesque church, an Early Gothic cathedral, and a Spanish Plateresque monastery. In addition to the amazing landmarks, the charming Old Town ( Casco Antiguo) and several top-notch museums provide enough cultural attractions to keep visitors busy.If there’s one thing in the north of Spain that you must do at least once in your life, it’s the Camino de Santiago. This is one of the most important hikes in Spain and a sacred pilgrimage that ends in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia.