A chauffeur driven tour through
Green Spain a mosaic of natural purity and historic village. Art is intertwined
with nature for example, the world-renowned Guggenheim Museum.....
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País
Vasco (Basque Country/Euskadi), Spain Travel & Accommodation Guide
País
Vasco, or Basque Country is also known by the Basque people as Euskal
Herria. This area covers the 3 Basque provinces of Gipuzkoa, Bizkaia
and Álava. This region is incredibly beautiful - green, mountainous,
with many forested areas. Known to rain often, it is a welcome escape
from the heat of the south of Spain, if you don't mind the rain!
A remarkably unspoiled area, well worth visiting.
Hotel
& Rural Hotel Accommodation - Choose your area:
Basque
Country Holidays - Bilbao, San Sebastian and Vitoria by Steve
Greenwood
The Basque Country is an
autonomous community in northern Spain with capital city Vitoria.
The region borders France, and the locals harbour a proud and defiant nature
with strong support for a separate, united Basque state. The origins of
their local language Euskadi cannot be traced, like that of the Basque
race itself.
Basque Country Coastline
The coastal road from Bilbao
to San Sebastian offers some spectacular
scenery with small fishing villages and coves overlooked with jagged and
dramatic cliffs. The town of Bakio has a long beach, often frequented by
the locals, and a rocky island that is joined to the mainland by a small
bridge. The picturesque port of Bermeo offers a good selection of bars
and restaurants, while the fishing villages of Lekeitio
and neighbouring Ondarroa both offer historical architecture in their Gothic
churches. The coastal town of Zarautz as well as having a 16th century
Town Hall, Palacio Narros and the church of Nuestra Senora de la Real,
also hosts the annual International Surfing Championship.
Bilbao
is the largest city in the Basque Country region and is the capital of
Vizcaya province. The city is a major seaport and in the past has offered
little in the way of attractions to the visiting holidaymaker. However,
major urban renewal has helped to move it away from its industrial roots
and more towards tourism. Many developments within the city have helped
to improve its image including new parks, Metro system and at the heart
of the renaissance, the Guggenheim Museum.
Guggenheim Museum
- Bilbao
The Guggenheim
Museum was opened in 1997 and is one of the most visited museums in
Spain. It offers constantly changing exhibits along with a permanent collection
focused on the second half of the 20th century.
The building was designed
by Frank Gehry and is a masterpiece of modern architecture built out of
titanium, glass and limestone. Inside, the huge windows of the central
atrium bring natural light into the building and outside stand a surrealistic
floral structure of a giant puppy.
San Sebastian holiday attractions
San
Sebastian is the capital of Guipuzcoa province and has been visited
by Spanish aristocracy for hundreds of years due to the quality of its
beaches and beautiful city.
Much of the original city
was destroyed in 1813 during the Spanish War of Independence, so few historical
buildings can be found within the centre.
However, the city does offer
a unique atmosphere and distinguished cosmopolitan feeling making it different
from many other Spanish towns. In summer, the resort is packed with holidaymakers,
and even in the winter the beach and its wonderful promenade of tamarind
trees, Edwardian lampposts and beach front cafes is a popular destination
with the locals.
Vitoria
ranks second in standard of living out of all the cities in Spain. It has
a huge number of green parks around the city including Florida Park that
was created in 1820 with its huge variety of plant species, and San Juan
de Arriaga Park, which is the largest in the city. Vitoria is the capital
of Alava province, which as a whole offers a tremendous diverse amount
of protected spaces including many Nature Reserves including the Izki Nature
Reserve with its melojo-oak forest and Gorbeia Nature Reserve, one of the
Basque Country's biggest natural tourist attractions.
