Restaurants in bilbao

First a small sample of trip photos: https://imgur.com/gallery/SKffjfU
I’m an a single 61 year old man who has not traveled a lot. By way of background, I was in a seven year relationship that ended two years ago. She had traveled extensively and lived in Barcelona and Mexico City years before we met. The plan at the start of the relationship was to take lots of trips. I’d start planning them but for one reason or another she wouldn’t commit to them. In the end, the only time we flew together was to Salt Lake City two months before we split up.
After the breakup, I figured I’d meet someone new and we’d travel. However, that hasn’t happened and, obviously, I’m not getting any younger. I’ve always been fascinated by Basque Country and its people and culture. In the fall, I let work know I was taking two weeks from third week of April to early May. Then I just let it languish. A few months ago I was having lunch with clients who travel a lot and mentioned San Sebastián. They gave me the kick in the butt I needed and I made flight reservations and found a place to stay in San Sebastián.
I didn’t want this to be a 10 cities in 12 days trip so it was always planned with San Sebastián/Donostia being the main focus with a couple of overnight trips with most stuff left at the place in Donostia. I returned two weeks ago and on reflection, everything went even better than expected. I really didn’t have a single negative experience on the trip.
GETTING THERE: I live in San Luis Obispo County, halfway between LA and the Bay Area. My flight was SLO-SFO-Frankfurt-Bilbao. It was a long day of travel-about 24 hours with layovers-but everything went smoothly. Got in to Bilbao just before midnight and took a cab to my place a short walk from the Guggenheim and crashed for the night.
BILBAO: I stayed three nights: arrival night and the following night and then the final night of the trip, before flying back from Bilbao. It rained in Bilbao almost the entire first day there, which I loved. We don’t get a huge amount of rain where I live, so I bought an umbrella from a street vendor and wandered the city, seeing the museum from the outside and getting pintxos and cider in Casco Viejo. Arsenal had a big game that night and I wound up at Molly Malone with a couple of very drunk guys from Kerry who spent the day drinking at the pub because their mate had passed out in the hotel room and they didn’t know where it was. Arsenal won 5-0 and the Kerrymen’s roommate ultimately woke up and gave them directions.
DONOSTIA: I spent the first half of the next day wandering Bilbao again, this time in the sunshine. Then took an Alsa bus to San Sebastián. Reservations online were easy and it was something like €4. The scenery on the trip was amazing. Something I loved seeing that doesn’t happen at home is clothes hang drying out the windows of many homes.
My place in San Sebastián was exactly what I’d hoped. Big enough to hold my stuff but not so expensive I’d feel bad leaving it empty for overnight trips. Also a short walk from the main bus station and walking distance to just about everything in town. The food was insane and on the first day, I was treated to one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen at La Concha Beach.
Some highlights of the next couple of days included a trip to Sidrería Aburuza and Real Sociedad against Real Madrid at Reale Arena in Donostia. After a couple of days, I decided the destination of my first overnight trip would be Getaria and booked a room online for about €90.
GETARIA: The bus ride was quick and easy and the room was beyond expectations with a stunning ocean view and the entire ocean facing wall made of glass. The food was fantastic in Getaria and feasted on prawns and mussels. I tried to book the room another night but they had a large group arriving the next day.
Back in Donostia I hiked and also visited the little amusement park at TJ top of Mount Igueldo. Found a fantastic bar called Teorema in Gros with a really personable ownebartender - just a great vibe.
SAINT JEAN DE LUZ: The one pre-planned overnighter was Saint Jean de Luz. Another easy bus trip. Little hotel in the middle of town called Txoko, once again perfect for what I needed. It was a nonstop rain for first day but perfect for sightseeing. The interior of the Eglise Saint-Jean-Baptiste was stunning to a student of history. Watch the PSG-Dortmund match at a great little bar and restaurant called Corsaire right next to the hotel.
FINAL DAYS AND RETURN: After SJDL retuned to Donostia for more food and walking the city. Walked some residential neighborhoods that were fascinating. The reverse bus trip to Bilbao was again easy. Stayed in a “nice” corporate hotel in Bilbao the final night and it was the least special of any place. However, I had a work Zoom at 8:45 pm Bilbao time so it felt better safe than sorry. The return flight on Lufthansa was uneventful and my daughter’s boyfriend picked me up in SLO at midnight.
FINAL THOUGHTS: This was my first time in Europe since 1987 and my first big solo trip. I was nervous about it based on my lack of experience and not having a travel partner for backup on missed items. Honestly it could not have gone any better. I feel it was about 50% good planning and 50% dumb luck. It had motivated me to plan more trips. If I meet a travel partner, great. If not, also great.
TLDR did a solo trip to Basque Country.

Hey folks, We are going for our first Europe trip and very excited to see Northern Spain, including Madrid. Our flight lands in Madrid 8AM on 20th May and we leave in the afternoon on 30th May. Our plan is to take public transit from Madrid to Bilbao and rent a car there for 6 days, take public transit back to Madrid.
Day 1: Bilbao - walk around town, Kafé Antzokia, opera or theatre performance
Day 2: Bilbao - Guggenheim, Cathedral, SAN JUAN DE GATZELUGATXE, (optional drive to Castro Urdiales/Laredo and back)
Day 3: Gijon/Oviedo - on the way Santillana del mar, Comillas, San Vicente de la Barquera, Playa de Torimbia,, Vista del Castro de las Gaviotas, Mirador de San Roque (restaurant at the mirador called Restaurante La Rula and it has THE BEST view!!), Villaviciosa, Revillagigedo Palace
Day 4: day trip to Picos de Europa
Day 5: day trip to Lagos de Saliencia
Day 6: Aviles, Cudillero, Praia das Catedrais beach, A CORUÑA
Day 7: Pontevedra boat trip to Cíes Islands, train/bus to Madrid
Day 8: local Madrid
Day 9: day trip to Cuenca
Day 10: day trip to Segovia
Day 11: flight from Madrid
Some of the days may look like a lot but we keep things flexible and see only what we can comfortably and leisurely. This is just a wide view.
Our biggest issue right now is figuring out reliable train/bus from Madrid to Bilbao and back to Madrid and whether we should book in advance or when we reach there. I am reading mixed reviews about Alsa and Renfe for the Madrid to Bilbao route. Not sure what is the best option and if we are too late to book. Happy to also take any suggestions on the itinerary and places we plan to see. And any smaller towns we should stay in instead of the urban areas.

I’m planning my honeymoon in Basque Country with 3 days in Bilbao before biking the coast to San Sebastián. I want to see as much as possible but also stay somewhere beautiful with access to a couple restaurants and places to walk to in morning or evening. What’s a good jumping off point, and is it possible to see Santander, Vitoria and Bilbao in that amount of time? We will have a car.

I’m travelling to San Sebastian in 2 weeks and have a flight to Bilbao. I have a couple of questions.

1. How much time do I need to get out of Bilbao airport? The flight is from Germany (no passport control needed) and I will only have hand luggage. The reason I ask is because I need to book a bus to get to San Sebastian and my flight arrives at 2220. The closest bus is at 2245 – I’m assuming that’s way too close? The next bus after that is at midnight, but means I would get to San Sebastian at 0130.
2. This might be a weird question, but do I need to carry jeans/trousers? I am mainly going for the food and am extremely unlikely to go to the fine dining places – do any of the normal restaurants or pintxo bars have any requirement for people to dress a certain way? Or are shorts good enough? I can only one small hand luggage item and I’m trying to minimise what I am carrying!

Hi, I am going to Basque country in June (bilbao, San sebastian) and I want to have an excellent restaurant experience.
I am going with my brother. I want to spend max 300 euros per person.
I am from Argentina, so that much is a lot of money for me.
I want to go only one "Michelin" star restaurant.
Wich one do you recommend between asador etxebarri and txispa, supposing that there is no reservation problem. I can book either of both.
I have read good reviews from both and I know that txispa cheff came from asador. Also the food it's a little similar.
My personal though are than txispa is newer so the cheff puts more effort and creativity than asador cheff. Asador cheff maybe it's tired and the service itsnt as good as someone who has the challenge of given the best because of new restaurant. I think that the best time to have the best experience of a restaurant it's when it's has recently open, because you put a lot of effort in bringing the best service an quality food possible. Txispa it has been open from a year. Asador more than twenty.
There's someone who went to both places and recommend txispa over asador?
I thought on going to other Michelin restaurant as azurmendi, mugritz or Amelia but I have read people who was disappointed Or expected more for the money they spent.
Thank you and sorry for the long post.

First came the seen, then thus the palpable Elysium, though it were in the halls of hell, What thou lovest well is thy true heritage What thou lov’st well shall not be reft from thee The ant’s a centaur in his dragon world. Pull down thy vanity, it is not man Made courage, or made order, or made grace, Pull down thy vanity, I say pull down. Learn of the green world what can be thy place In scaled invention or true artistry, Pull down thy vanity,
-Canto LXXXI, libretto-Ezra Pound.
Incredible this hour that can appear sometimes outside of all hours that perhaps is a hole in time’s discharge or rather a strip of fabric in time’s net we are stuck in; this way of being between this orifice-like clockless hour where the first dream of another animal can occur… the hour which we gain access to in the lee of other times and of this immeasurable life with its hours ahead and on the side and its time for each thing, its things at the precise time… …to be in a motel room or on a balcony or a train car and looking at an abandoned gyro restaurant window or the skeleton of a dog, or the eel which slides between the eddies of the earth or maybe you’re holding yourself in your arms in a state of siesta in the slime of creation amongst the lizards and eels, hopes, dreamsongs and last-breaths, the congress of the generationally blind and the primordial terror of the firmament filled with eyes and augers then asking “why this world?”, rising and glimpsing that pulse of light through the keyhole of the door that opens to the terrace, to that woman who filled our life with broken mirrors and shoddily structured nostalgia (who never finished doing her hair nor her doctoral thesis, who never learned Croatian, who never learned to play the accordion) now in a gust of green from the nightgown she wore that last night… …or perhaps to meet death unnatural or walk in on death in an outhouse; to see death mass- produced, death stumbling through an opium den or death that self-immolates like an oil well… …then without notice or any sort of warning of transition forward to a Philadelphia or Alaşehir cafe where we talked with Cervantes, Montaigne, Baudelaire and Baudrillard about fuses and fissions, or about latitudes and departures and about the first dream, first laugh, the first braid and the first song, and talking in circles about the same labyrinth in Hyperborea where hearths are hollowed to hearts; then to the cave from the continuous scene in a Tarkovsky movie, where my consciousness streams out through butterflies, earwigs, eels and lice in hordes that thrash through chains of rivers and constellations, coronations, celebrations, and aberrations then tearing towards the front of the Greek pizza shop on Girard Avenue and turning that statue of whatever was once there into a giant rattrap. An approach to what no longer follows the order God meant it to… you, lounging in the beehived Bilbao day in some other way(in the shower or a puddle, by the rivers of Babylon or in the street or in a sonata)touching on something that doesn’t truly reveal itself to the senses, that breaches succession and so it goes like this… slipping through the fissure of time’s flayed shoulders like eels through a mass of sargassum; those eels and also the glassware of Galileo churning against the other during his night drinking his weight in stars. The caravels sailing beneath the moon towards Sumatra or Seville eying the black ribbon of inter-migration crossing its arc through the seaweed or streets or the spring sky or the paintings of Varo or in the theater stalls giving themselves to the observer, the one no longer checking his watch in bullet-blasted Barcelona or Belgrade; so simply the self-swallowing snake composed of eels, stars and glass that flows in a silly solitary cycle, so defined as a word that is looking for itself and that also sets in motion from the sargassum through time's flagellation and random semantics a verb’s forward march; this churning course of eels and their words, and also the spray of light through the keyhole that blares from the scope of whoever in Lisbon or Macau peers at the stars,glass and the eels in their Ocean-bound benzene-shaped dance fulfilling itself one more time without other sands left in the hour, being as glass is or rather as the eel is; do you understand that none of this can be said from sidewalks or chairs or soap-boxes? do you understand that only like this, eel or glass giving way and growing into a strip then no longer being among the weeds can you truly know what will happen even though it’ll be far too late? there is a course of measure for this happens often; try it like they did on those dusty Cantabrian nights, like his antediluvian self who seeks stellar messages to help him understand his position in the dance we will one day call reality through moon glimmers of the sea though he can never know, not for anything; though something like the whistle of a wing, a drawn back then an absent moan of love and then now, maybe. Yes.

Hello everybody!
This week end I'm coming to visit Bilbao and I was wondering what restaurants would you recommend.
I am interested in local cousine (I have nothing against modern interpretations but I still prefer somehting closer to the tradition), will be flying in and be sleeping in the city center so we need to move around on foot or by public transportation,

I'm going on a road trip in my small camper van from Bilbao to Valencia and back, for two weeks in late April/ early May. I'm middle aged but still hip.
I would appreciate any recommendations for where to stop/explore along the way. I would prefer to stay out of the big cities.
My plan so far is a night or two in Bilbao, and of course the Rioja region, although I don't know where yet (love red wine). I've walked the Camino de Santiago from St Jean Pied de Port before, so have been to places along that route but would go back if there was a recommended event/festival.
Looking for the most scenic route off the beaten track, beautiful villages, churches, restaurants, great places to park my little camper overnight (I leave no trace).
Thanks in advance ;)

Looking for recommendations for an upcoming trip to Spain, flying into Barcelona…
Timeframe is end of August for about 10 days.
Have heard great things about the Mediterranean coast: Lloret de Mar, Valencia, Alicante, Murcia, Malaga, Marbella, Cadiz, Sevilla.
Any cities above would you say are a must see? Or not see? A good overnight option? Or a few stops in 3 days or so? I also wouldn’t mind a smaller city/town to get a different feel from Barcelona. Any recommendations for small towns along the way?
Alternatively, making traveling the coast during this time frame a bit more difficult, my friend will be in San Sebastian, and I’d like to visit him. Basque region is equally high on my list. Would likely have to cut some time out of the coast. Would be more of a 50/50 Barcelona/San Sebastian trip.
Lastly, my other friend wants to go to Ibiza. Like I said, I’m not much of a club guy anymore, and picture myself more in Menorca, but have heard there is some beauty to be found in Ibiza.
I’m okay with some touristy stuff, but try to avoid the trendy tik-tok stuff and look for an authentic experience when I’m traveling and tend to relish those memories most dearly.
Clearly, I have a lot of options for just 10 days. I think I’ll have to decide between 3 options (below)
TLDR trip options:

1. A week +/- in Barcelona (Possible overnight nearby), 3+/- days in San Sebastian. Probably fly home out of Bilbao.
2. Starting in Barcelona for a few days, traveling along the coast south over the course of 5 days or so. Fly out of final city.
3. Basing myself in Barcelona, doing an overnight trip or two along the coast, hitting Balearic islands.

For reference:

• I’m a 30 year old male. From the US. Going with a few friends.
• Very active. Love running/hiking/exploring cities by foot/bike. Would like to do a bit of all of that while I’m there.
• Equally happy doing the above as well as lazing on the beach while I’m there.
• Architecture, historical sections of town are where I’m most drawn to.
• Looking forward to engorging myself with tapas and beer outside after all that walking. Big on the local/small restaurants and bars.
• Not super into the big clubs anymore, but no stranger to nightlife. Could be convinced to go to the right club.

In advance, ¡Gracias por ayudarme!

I am the oops kid in my family. I am ten years younger than my youngest sibling. My brothers, sister, and parents used me as an unpaid babysitter a lot when I was growing up so I could "bond" with my nieces and nephews.
Whenever a family vacation rolls around my folks and my siblings go have fun and leave me with all the kids since I can't go to some of the places they go or I am told that I "probably wouldn't be interested" in doing some of the stuff they do.
I made up my mind over Christmas that I was done doing the babysitting. So I am going along with all the planning. I am helping my folks research some great local restaurants in the city where we are going. I'm helping my siblings find cool and interesting things for all the kids to do. It will be an amazing holiday.
Which I am going to blow off.
I am going to university out of state in the fall. I have a partial scholarship and money from my grandparents for my education and my future. My parents cannot hold anything over my head. I am actually going to go on my own vacation with a couple of friends.
My parents are not abusive or anything. They are just old. And my siblings are from a different generation than I am. My oldest brother is literally old enough to be my father. They treat me more like a child than a sibling.
I am interested to see how their vacation goes without me along. Obviously I cannot help them preplan child care. And the reservations at some of the restaurants do not include me or the kids. Also the days they are having adult outings they have planned for the kids and I to be elsewhere. My oldest niece is only 15 so I don't think they will leave her in charge. But they have been grooming her to take my spot when I go to school so maybe they will fuck her over. Not really my problem.
A couple of things before I hand myself over for judgement.
I have been clear several times in the past that I do not want to babysit. I have asked for payment and been told that my being on vacation is my payment.
I do love my family but I don't like them much. Like I said my parents are old and if they weren't Catholic they probably wouldn't have had me. My siblings do not treat me as an equal. Which is fair. I'm 17 and just finishing high school. They are all working professionals. We do not have much in common.
I love my siblings but they do not treat me like an aunt like they do with my sister. I am more like the oldest cousin.
And lastly I have spent a long time thinking about this. I am okay with screwing them all over. We went on a family trip to Spain last summer and I didn't get to do anything I wanted to do, besides go to the beach, because I was watching the kids. So I missed out on the Guggenheim in Bilbao and the Prado in Madrid. Along with other things. That was the last straw.

Kaixo! I would like to visit Bilbao and try all your delicious pintxos and good food. I will be bringing a small dog with me. It is a small, quiet (and if I may, sweet and adorable!) dog who will sit quietly in a backpack designed for dogs. I seldom see dogs in restaurants in other parts of Spain (such as Barcelona and Madrid). I would like to ask if the pintxos bars and restaurants here allow diners in if they have a dog in a bag? Any insights would be helpful. Thank you very much, eskerrik asko!

I have an upcoming trip to Mexico. I'll be flying in and out of CDMX and visiting Mazatlán and Oaxaca. I'd really like to get to experience the desert, but I'm not sure where a good place to go would be. One option is to go to Torreón on the way to or from Mazatlán, rent a car and drive to Dunas de Bilbao. But I'm open to other options. Thanks!
EDIT: I ended up going to The Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Biosphere Reserve (Reserva de la Biósfera Tehuacán-Cuicatlán). It's a very large area (4,900 km²), but near the marker for the reserve in Google Maps is a place called Helia Bravo Hollis Botanical Garden (Jardín Botánico Helia Bravo Hollis), which is a well-run section of the reserve focused on learning about the different varieties of cacti and other flora and fauna of the area. I highly recommend going there and getting a tour from their knowledgable staff.
I also ate at the nearby Restaurant Itandehui Flor del Cielo at the recommendation of my guide. The staff were very friendly and the meal was great.

I have an upcoming trip to Mexico. I'll be flying in and out of CDMX and visiting Mazatlán and Oaxaca. I'd really like to get to experience the desert, but I'm not sure where a good place to go would be.
One option is to go to Torreón on the way to or from Mazatlán, rent a car and drive to Dunas de Bilbao. But I'm open to other options. Thanks!
EDIT: I ended up going to The Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Biosphere Reserve (Reserva de la Biósfera Tehuacán-Cuicatlán). It's a very large area (4,900 km²), but near the marker for the reserve in Google Maps is a place called Helia Bravo Hollis Botanical Garden (Jardín Botánico Helia Bravo Hollis), which is a well-run section of the reserve focused on learning about the different varieties of cacti and other flora and fauna of the area. I highly recommend going there and getting a tour from their knowledgable staff.
I also ate at the nearby Restaurant Itandehui Flor del Cielo at the recommendation of my guide. The staff were very friendly and the meal was great.

Hello everyone, I will go Basque region for 5 days and I made reservations accordingly. I will go some fine dining and local food places. So I know this post is a little bit off-topic however since Basque is really famous region I wanted to share my plan and take some recommendations from you. While I was doing that I got help from previous Basque Country topics and I would like to thank everyone who contributes to this sub. I want to share my selects so if you have any experience or any recommendation to change I would be very grateful.
I wanted to share 800 to 900 euros to food that's why I could not include any 2 or 3 star restaurants. But I am still holding Azurmendi reservation, so if I change my mind maybe I can go there as well. But if I do that I think I need to go 2 to 3 places less.
First day: I will come to Bilbao in the evening, so I want to start my journey through a casual place, Los fueros or Taska Beltz wine bar
2nd Day: Lunch: Lasai, Dinner: Islares--I think these 2 are new, relatively cheap mixture of fine dining and local food
3rd Day: Lunch: Asador Erretegi Joxe Manuel, Dinner: Casa Julian (I could not book Elkano so if I somehow get a place through waiting list I can go there this day)
4th: Lunch: Alameda, Dinner: 1 to 2 Pincho Bars (4th and 5th days are Sunday and Monday that's why I do not have much choice through restaurants in French Basque region, my first choice would not be Alameda, I think Le Kaiku or Chaka Ona are more interesting)
5th: Lunch: 1 to 2 pincho Bars Dinner: Narru
Thank you for reading my post, I would appreciate any comments and recommendations.

Hello redditors,
As a sort of last minute travel plan with my parents, we have gotten the idea to travel to Cantabria, Asturia and Galicia by car from the Netherlands. Dates are sort of fixed, we will leave on 29-03-24 and we have to be back by 09-04-24.
I have done some of my own research, but am of course open to suggestions. Our main interests are architecture, nature, quality food and my mother also likes art. My parents are however not the youngest anymore, and walking for more than one hour continuously is strenuous for my mother. We are no fans of places that are too crowded with tourists, but we think this time is still well in the off-season for these regions?
Here is the travel itinerary I've come up with so far, and I have a couple of questions:
29-03 Netherlands - Bordeaux: We will cut the journey in two since it is a bit much to drive the entire distance in one day.
30-03 Bordeaux - San Sebastian/Bilbao - Santander: My father wants to meet an old friend of his in either Bilbao or San Sebastian. Which one would you pick for a short (a few hours) visit?
31-03 Santander: I thought Santander would be a nice city to explore for a day, but open to other suggestions in the area.
01-04 Santander - Picos de Europa - Oviedo: Travel day from Santander to Oviedo, I thought this would be a great opportunity to visit the beautiful Picos de Europa National park. As far as I can judge there is quite some tourist infrastructure there, which can help my mother experience it without long hikes too. Do you guys have any specific recommendations for this park, or other national parks on the way from Santander to Oviedo?
02-04 Oviedo: A day for exploring Oviedo. Open to suggestions for restaurants, hotels and places to visit.
03-04 Oviedo - Gijon/Aviles: Staying in Oviedo seems fine for when we want to explore these other cities. Can we do this in one day, or should we just pick one (if so, which?)
04-04 Oviedo - Playa de Las Catedrales - A Coruna: Travel day again, which would bring us to A Coruna, with a stop on the way for the Playa. Is this beach worth visiting, and are there any other things on this route we should stop at?
05-04 A coruna - Santiago de Compostella: I thought of taking A Coruna as a base to travel from, but open to suggestions , Vigo, Pontevedra, or smaller towns in the region would be fine too! I think it would be stupid to miss Santiago on this trip, but since I expect it to be very touristy, I think it's better to stay somewhere else?
06-04 A Coruna - Finisterre: Another day in A coruna, with the option of going to Finisterre if the weather is reasonable.
07-04 A coruna - Léon: Going to Leon this day since I think it looks very pretty, and stay there for the night. Any places we should visit on our way there?
08-04 Leon - Tours (France): Time to go back, if there's any nice place to visit on the way home near the Pirineos or something, let us know.
09-04 Tours (France) - Netherlands: The end.
I would be super grateful for your suggestions. One thing I am still uncertain of is which place is best to use as a base for travelling from in Galicia. I picked A Coruna for now, but mayde there's better ideas? Smaller towns or villages are also fine! Is there any must-see I have perhaps missed?
Any suggestions for restaurants with quality local food and hotels in the places I mentioned are very welcome too.
TLDR; Going to Green Spain from 29-03 to 09-04 by car. What places to visit and what to do?

Hello! I will be travelling with a group of women to Bilbao in April and we would love to find a good bar or nightclub to go dancing on a Saturday night, ideally somewhere with a 30s crowd so not too young. Also if anyone can recommend some good restaurant bars in general I would be so appreciative! Finding it very hard to find places via google

Hello everyone. So I am just curious for those living in Granada, Spain I am curious to know if you have had a similar experience to what I am about to describe?
As a blind person that has traveled a lot with my family, I probably have a very different perception of a lot of different places than many others would have.
Having traveled all over Spain with my family, I have really started to like Granada. I have been to all the coastal areas, Madrid, Barcelona, Santander, Bilbao, Valencia, Malaga, and other places. My experience of Granada is that it has a very different vibe than the costas and areas that have traditionally been popular with expats. Tourism aside and the study abroad students, I have found that Granada has a much less international feel compared to the costa del sol or costa blanca for example. The expat community seems to be a lot smaller and from my experience a lot less English spoken by locals.
The cafes, restaurants also had a much different feel compared to the costas when i was there. It is very much a college town compared to Malaga and other parts of Spain i have been to. Just a really different feel to the place. I can’t comment on any of the scenery because I have never seen anything before, or the Alhambra. I didn’t really like Madrid or Barcelona that much when I visited them. To me they were too hectic and chaotic. Granada seems to have a much slower pace of life than Madrid or Barcelona, or even Malaga.

Hola a todos,
My girlfriend and I are coming from Australia to visit Spain in July 2024. We plan to spend a little time (2 - 3 days) in Barcelona, travel along the Costa Brava then go to Bilbao and San Sebastian.
After this we do not have a plan, but we have about 2 weeks of free time before we need to meet some friends in Southern France/Pyrenees.
We would like to see Andalusia and Madrid but by late July/August, I think it will maybe be very hot in these places? We are Australian, so we are used to hot weather, but mainly when there is a beach nearby :)
We looked into other regions and we really like the sound and look of Galica, Austrias and Cantabria - these regions looks very wild and beautiful. But it is a little more difficult to find information on these regions?
We are looking for any advice to help us put together an itinerary for maybe 12 - 14 days of travel through these regions and we are hoping to hear what might be some great places, beaches, towns, restaurants etc. to visit. For transport, we are happy to take buses/trains, rent a car?
Or are we thinking about this wrong and should be heading South? Costa Del Sol etc.?
I don't know if this is important or not for these regions but we can speak a little Spanish - we are learning (hace dos meses). Before we arrive in Spain we will be travelling in Mexico for 2 months, so maybe our Spanish will be a little stronger by this time?
Muchas gracias! Many Thanks!
EDIT: Thank you all very much for the amazing responses/ We have plenty of incredible sounding places to research. We are definitely coming to this beautiful region of Spain! We think we will hire a car so we can explore as much as possible and maybe even stay a third week.
Thanks again!

Planning a quick trip to bilbao for two days. Has anyone stayed in a nice boutique hotel which offers massage service in the spa and would recommend? Also, are there any good ASIAN (south east/japanese) restaurants to visit? I know it sound strange here but I’m craving that food so badly and would love to visit one. Will of course indulge in pintxos as standard.
We’re a couple looking for a restful break with good food and drinks and appreciating the beautiful city and art. Any good atmospheric rooftop bars? Thanks 🙏

Kaixo! Me and my wife are dreaming about a San Sebastian vacation for years and this April we will finally visit this city. We've already booked our flights and accomodation for us and our 2-year and a half old son and we're currently doing our final research.
Our plan is to land in Bilbao at the beginning of April, stay there for one night and then continue to San Sebastian, where we'll be staying for 6 nights. We are thinking to use the ALSA bus in order to get from Bilbao to San Sebastian and the DO50B bus from San Sebastian to Bilbao Airport (in the last day). Also, we plan one day in Getaria (also with a public bus) and one day in Hondarribia and St. Jean de Luz (bus + train). My first question is how feasible is to do all these with a 2-year old kid? He's very adaptable, we've already traveled with him via trains, buses or planes. Also, how crowded are (usually) these transportation options at the beginning of April?
Another question would be if there might be any bars/restaurants closed in the week following Easter? Our activities will be centered around food, we've already gathered a strong list of pintxos bars and we're eager to try them. Also, how difficult is to eat with a kid in these types of bars? We didn't had any problem in Seville or Valencia, for example, but we've been in both of these cities when the weather was warmer (20+ Celsius degrees), so we ate a lot outside.
Last, but not least, has anybody around here had a 1 hour layover in Munich airport when you flew to/from Bilbao? Unfortunately, we don't have any direct flights from Romania so this was our quickest option to choose from.
Thank you so much and looking forward to explore the amazing Basque country!
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Hi everyone! I have been wanting to go to the Basque Country for ages for the wonderful food scene and will finally be able to go in February. But because I will be going during such an off time, I was just wondering if most restaurants will be open still during this time? I've heard some sources say that it's okay and some say otherwise. Any insight would be appreciated and thank you in advance!