Day 2 - Rioja region

Today will be spent accompanied by an expert local guide whose family has lived in the area for centuries. She is a great expert on everything in the region, and friend of many winery owners. She will be able to fine-tune all aspects of your time in the Rioja, most particularly adding visits to wineries according to your interests. 

To start the day you will drive through some of the wine country on both sides of the river to get a first impression of the Rioja area, passing through well known names like Cenicero and Fuenmayor. Then a short drive to Logroño, capital of the autonomous region of La Rioja. Here you will begin with a visit to Bodegas Alcorta, which is one of the largest and most interesting in the region. From there you will enjoy a stroll in the historic centre of the city pausing to see some of the important old churches and other buildings. No visit to Logroño is complete without a visit to the Patisserie Viena, the most renowned in the whole region.

Overnight: Hotel Marqués de Riscal

Meal Plan: B

Day 3 - Rioja region

To start the day there can be no better introduction to the wines of Rioja than the Marques de Riscal bodega, which is one of the oldest and most prestigious wineries in the entire Rioja region. The bodega is a fascinating combination of state of the art wine technology and equipment and cellars going back to the mid 19th century which are reminiscent of a chateau in Bordeaux. 

After which it is a short drive to La Guardia. This walled hilltop town is one of the most attractive in the whole region. Beneath the streets the ground is honeycombed with passages and cellars which once were used to store and make wine, although few today still fulfill this purpose. A stroll through the delightful narrow street brings you to the exquisite church of Santa María whose sculpted west door is a national monument. Walking back towards the (tiny) main square you come to a private house, owned by your guide’s family where you will visit the extraordinary cellars, which date back to the 10th century where you will enjoy a glass of wine and perhaps a few tapas. 

Another interesting visit can be to a private home dating back to the 18th century. After lunch (at leisure) in one of the excellent local hostelries (or perhaps before lunch) a drive out into the countryside to enjoy some of the most beautiful wine landscapes in all Spain where the vineyards roll up from the banks of the River Ebro. Among the numerous wineries here is the remarkable Ysios bodega, built by Spain’s best known contemporary architect, Santiago Calatrava, whose building follows the line of the mountains behind.  Nearby also the fascinating Herencia Remondo winery built into the side of a man-made hill. 

Overnight: Hotel Marqués de Riscal

Meal Plan: B

Day 4 - Rioja region

Continuing your exploration of the Rioja wine region, the road today leads a short distance west through fabled wine villages like Avalos, San Vicente de Sonsierra, crowned by its hilltop church, and Labastida. 

Then, just across the Ebro to another delightful little town, Briones, whose cobbled streets climb up the hill to the Town Hall. Briones is famed for possessing one of the most remarkable wine museums in all Europe at the Dinastía Vivanco winery. It provides a fascinating and stunningly presented display of absolutely everything relating to wine over the centuries; soils, grape varieties, presses, barrels, tools, bottles, glasses – there is nothing missing! And also in Briones another interesting visit can be to one of the small manufacturers of charcuterie which forms such an important part of gastronomic Spain. A couple of miles from Briones is Haro, the regional centre and in many respects the cradle of the fine wines of La Rioja when in the 19th century philoxera ravaged the vineyards of France. The building of the railway to Haro enabled La Rioja to export huge quantities of wine to replace the losses in Bordeaux. For this reason many of the most famous bodegas are to be found in Haro; names like La Rioja Alta, Paternina, Lopez de Heredia, and Muga which was founded here in 1932. You will enjoy an exclusive visit to this winery which unusually has its own cooperage workshop. There will also be time to see the often impressive exteriors of nearby wineries, including Lopez de Heredia which recently received the very contemporary addition of a small visitors’ pavilion by architect Zaha Hadid.

For lunch (payable locally) what better option than to try the delicious roast lamb served on long wooden tables in the 100-year-old “Terete” retaurant. Then return to Elciego.

Alternative option

In the countryside of this area, you can find numerous little towns and villages, each with stories of their own. Ezcaray is a quiet, scenic village where the surrounding mountains offer some magnificent hiking trails. You may wish to team up with a Michelin-star chef here and go on a foraging trip, hunting for wild berries and other ingredients to use during an expert private cooking class.

Alternatively, you might like to get a behind-the-scenes look at a local blanket factory. The particularly woolly Angora goats here provide mohair, one of the most luxurious fibres in the world, allowing the factories to produce some of the warmest and comfiest blankets around.

Overnight: Hotel Marqués de Riscal

Meal Plan: B

Day 5 - Pamplona & San Sebastián

Today it is time to leave La Rioja and travel north eastwards towards Pamplona, capital of the autonomous region of Navarra. 

A special feature of this journey is that between Logroño and Pamplona where the road follows the Pilgrimage route of the “Camino de Santiago”, still today traversed every year by thousands of pilgrims trudging their way to the shrine of Santiago de Compostela in far off Galicia. This section of the Camino crosses several of the most attractive villages along the route which are well worth stopping to see. Estella with its narrow streets, beautiful Romanesque churches, and the onetime palace of the Kings of Navarre; and Puente la Reina, whose hump backed Gothic bridge was a vital crossing point for pilgrims in the Middle Ages. Pamplona, famed of course for the bull running during the fiestas of San Fermín in early July is in fact one of the most prosperous cities in all Spain. Its universities and hospitals are renowned and there is high technology industry in its suburbs. The historic centre conserves many fine monuments and reminds the visitor that Pamplona too is an important stop on the road to Santiago. The cathedral is particularly interesting.  And of course the people of Pamplona love their food. There is an abundance of fine patisseries, bars with exceptional pinxos, and why not make a visit to the traditional market of Santo Domingo which overflows with every kind of fresh produce.  Continuing towards San Sebastián you come to a region of Navarra which is famed throughout Spain for the production of foie gras made from duck’s liver. If this is to your taste then a small diversion can be made to the village of Albizu to visit one of the establishments which produces this delicacy.  

The road then brings you to San Sebastián, the gastronomic capital of Spain which boasts one of the highest totals of Michelin stars in all Europe.

Overnight: Hotel Maria Cristina

Meal Plan: B

Day 6 - San Sebastian

San Sebastián has been an elegant resort for over 100 years, since the days when Royalty from all over Europe came to enjoy the superb maritime position on the horseshoe bay of La Concha.  

Today, accompanied by an expert local guide, spend time exploring the city, whose most attractive part is the historic Parte Vieja district where the narrow streets abound with bars and small restaurants, each offering more delicious pintxos than the other. Artistically San Sebastián is synonymous with the name of Eduardo Chillida, Spain’s most prestigious 20th century sculptor and a private visit to his Chillida Leku Park and museum is an unforgettable experience for lovers of contemporary art.  

Leaving the city, you travel westwards along the coast to the delightful fishing port of Getaria.  Here is the place to enjoy the freshest imaginable fish and sea food in one of the harbour side restaurants. But Getaria is famed not only for fish. On the hills above overlooking the sea are several of the most important vineyards producing, in tiny quantities, the “txacolí” so beloved of the Basques. It is very dry, low in alcohol and slightly ‘pétillant’. You will visit a winery to learn all about it. 

On returning to San Sebastián you can, if preferred, take the longer way round and head inland into the hills and valleys of the Basque Country. It is a land of steep hillside farms known as “caseríos” where traditional farming still goes on and fabled local produce like the beans of Tolosa are grown.

Overnight: Hotel Maria Cristina

Meal Plan: B

Day 7 - Bilbao

After breakfast set off for the Idiazabal Cheese Museum, which shows the manufacturing secrets of the dairy products par excellence. In addition, you will be advised on how to taste cheeses and will be able to taste three different types of Idiazabal cheese.

Stop for lunch at Etxeberri restaurant (payable locally) before continuing on to Bilbao, the economic capital of the Basque region.

Overnight: Silken Gran Domine

Meal Plan: B

Day 8 - Asturias & the Cabrales

An early start today, to be taken with an expert local guide westwards towards the spectacular mountains of the Picos de Europa.  These straddle the two autonomous regions of Cantabria and Asturias. Your goal is the small district of Cabrales where Spain’s most celebrated - and powerful – blue cheese is made and where you will visit one of the most respected farms which produces this delicacy made from unpasteurized cows milk and matured in damp caves.  

En route there are many options to make this an memorable day. Close to the main road from Bilbao is the entrancing village of Santillana del Mar whose streets, houses, and palaces have not changed in 100s of years. An excellent place also to taste the delicious “sobaos”, a heavy sponge cake made from the renowned local butter (payable locally). Also close by is the “neo cueva” museum of the prehistoric cave paintings of Altamira.   

The actual caves are closed to the general public but the full scale reproduction is amazing. Or, closer to Cabrales are the amazing caves of El Soplao with miles of underground caverns containing some of the most spectacular stalactite formations in all Europe. Or, if the weather is fine just enjoy a stroll or a hike in the marvelous mountain scenery of the Picos

Driving back down to the coast you will stop in Llanes at the Mar de Toró restaurant for lunch (payable locally).

Overnight: Silken Gran Domine

Meal Plan: B

Day 9 - Bilbao

Today in Bilbao you will visit the spectacular Guggenheim Museum accompanied by a specialist local guide (4hrs). The building itself needs no introduction and visitors are amazed by the scale and beauty of the titanium structure. If you wish, there will be time to stroll in Bilbao, perhaps to visit the riverside market which is filled with produce of every kind. In the Siete Calles district, the oldest in Bilbao, there are plenty of small restaurants and bars, reminiscent of the parte Vieja in San Sebastián, where you can try the local variants of pintxos or, best of all, the superb ham in the tavern of Victor Montes in the arcaded square.  

Balance of the day at leisure.

Overnight: Silken Gran Domine

Meal Plan: B

Day 10 - Departure Bilbao

Today you will privately transferred to Bilbao Airport for departure flight.

 Meal Plan: B