A Spanish Heritage

Duration: 13 days

Highlights: San Sebastian, French Basque Country, Bilbao, Santillana del Mar, Altamira, Comillas, Cangas de Onis, Asturias, Oviedo, Gijon, Santiago de Compostela, Galicia

This itinerary is ideal for those wishing to discover more about Spain's fascinating history.

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Itinerary

Day 1 - Arrive San Sebastian

On arrival, you will be met by your Guardian Angel and taken by private car and driver to your hotel.

Overnight: Maria Cristina

 

Day 2 - San Sebastian

Enjoy a half day of sightseeing in San Sebastián, including the famed horseshoe bay of La Concha, ending at the spectacular “Comb of the Winds” cliff sculpture. See the “Chillida Leku” sculpture park, once the home of Eduardo Chillida, Spain’s greatest 20th century sculptor before taking a stroll in the fascinating “Parte Vieja” old town, home of countless bars and restaurants serving the finest “pintxos” in the world. San Sebastián is quite simply one of the gastronomic capitals of Europe, with restaurants totalling over a dozen Michelin stars, boasting mythical names like Arzak, Aduriz, Berasategui, Subijana.

Overnight: Maria Cristina

Meal Plan: B

 

Day 3 - French Basque Country

Today, choose between a full day excursion across the frontier to visit the French Pays Basque (Basque Country). Not nearly so developed as the Spanish Basque region, this is a delightful combination of green valleys, traditional half timbered houses and charming seaside towns. The fishing port of Saint Jean de Luz is well worth a visit (and a delicious lunch), as is the regional capital of Bayonne. Alternatively, drive inland to visit enchanting villages like Sarre or Ainhoa.

Overnight: Maria Cristina

Meal Plan: B

 

Day 4 - San Sebastian - Bilbao - Santillana del Mar

Today drive westwards, first to Bilbao, the most important city in the Basque country and home of the stupendous titanium Guggenheim Museum, created by Frank Gehry.  You will have time to visit its soaring interior and exhibition spaces in the company of an expert local guide, followed by lunch, perhaps in one of the taverns or famous “cider houses” of the historic “Siete Calles” district.

After lunch continue westwards following the coast into the region of Cantabria. Past the capital, Santander, and on to the enchanting village of Santillana del Mar, one of the most perfectly preserved in all Spain. Its streets, which herds of cows still pass through, are lined with elegant palaces dating from the 16th and 17th centuries. Tonight you will stay in one of the finest of Spain’s famed “Paradores”, once the home of a local nobleman.

Overnight: Parador Gil Blas de Santillana

Meal Plan: B

 

Day 5 - Santillana del Mar - Comillas - Santillana del Mar

Today could be spent in the company of an expert local guide exploring the streets and houses of Santillana, its art museums and superb Romanesque Colegiata church.  

In the afternoon, perhaps a visit to the fascinating museum and reconstruction of the world famous prehistoric cave paintings of Altamira (the original caves are closed to visitors). Alternatively, head down towards the coast to the charming village of Comillas, a long-favoured holiday resort of local aristocrats.  You may choose to have lunch in the remarkable “Capricho de Gaudi” restaurant, one of the first structures built by the Catalan architectural genius Antoni Gaudi.

Overnight: Parador Gil Blas de Santillana

Meal Plan: B

 

Day 6 - Santillana del Mar - Cangas de Onis

Option 1
Today you head inland into the superb mountain scenery of the Picos de Europa mountains, some of the finest in all Europe. Your road takes you along narrow valleys, beside rushing streams and up to superb viewpoints.  You may wish to stop in a village to sample the amazing cheese of Cabrales (blue heaven for some gastronomes – putrefaction for others!). If the weather is fine you may like to take the spectacular cable car ride up to the high mountain pastures at Panes.

Option 2
Take the coast road, often with spectacular views of the ocean, past the seaport of San Vicente de la Barquera, the small town of Columbres and on to the most delightful fishing port of all, Llanes, with its narrow streets and gaily painted houses. A perfect place for a lunch of superbly fresh fish.

Option 3
If you enjoy hiking, then a walk (not too strenuous because there is no climbing) along the absolutely spectacular gorge of the Cares is a marvellous possibility.

The day ends in the delightful village of Cangas de Onis with its magnificent single span medieval bridge, built for pilgrims on one of the roads to Santiago. Check in to another splendid Parador, once the important monastery of San Pedro de Villanueva.

Overnight: Parador de Cangas de Onis

Meal Plan: B

 

Day 7 - Asturias

Travel up into the mountains to visit one of Spain’s holiest shrines, the Cave of Our Lady of Covadonga, visited by pilgrims from all over Spain, including the Prince of Asturias, heir to the Spanish throne. Covadonga is also the location of the semi-mythical fortress of Pelayo, a local 8th-century lord who was the only Spanish ruler to resist the advance of the all-powerful Moorish armies that had conquered the Iberian peninsula in just a few years, and who would inspire 700 years of pushback in the 'Reconquista'. Continue upwards, along the breath-taking mountain road that is the most famous stage in the Tour of Spain bicycle race, to the exquisite mountain lakes of Covadonga.

You may wish to enjoy lunch at leisure in the delightful town of Ribadesella, overlooking the Atlantic rollers, before continuing on to your accommodation in Gijón.

The rest of the day is at your leisure.

Overnight: Parador de Gijón

Meal Plan: B

 

Day 8 - Gijón

This morning you explore the coastal city of Gijón, originally built as a port by the Romans, whose legacy is still apparent in some interesting remains near the harbour. One of the most interesting cultural legacies is a far more recent one though, dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many poor locals of this region escaped the widespread poverty of their time by seeking fortunes in the New World, particularly in Cuba and Mexico. Finding great success on their travels, they would later return to Gijón and show off their riches by investing them in wonderfully opulent houses. Check out a few of the most colourful and architecturally dazzling 'Casas de Los Indianos' to get an idea of the impact the buildings had on local citizens and society.

After lunch at leisure, take a short drive to Oviedo, capital of the Principality of Asturias (from which the heir to the throne, Don Felipe, takes his title).  Oviedo is one of the most attractive and elegant of all Spanish provincial capitals. Its historic centre, situated around the cathedral, is a magnificent example, not just of conservation, but of the incorporation of the old into the life of the city today. It is filled with delightful bars, restaurants, cider houses and spectacular pastry shops and the cathedral itself is superb, as is the Fine Arts Museum. Your hotel is another landmark; originally a vast noble palace, today it is the centre of life in the city and the annual scenario of the Prince of Asturias Prize ceremonies which might be seen as the Nobel Prizes of the Hispanic world.

Overnight: Hotel la Reconquista

Meal Plan: B

 

Day 9 - Oviedo 

Some of the greatest treasures of Oviedo are not in fact in the city, but just outside. It was in this region, shortly after the Reconquista truly emerged and took hold, that a number of exquisite pre-Romanesque little churches were built. Spend the morning exploring the unique shrines of San Miguel de Lillo and Santa María de Naranco, admiring some of the oldest Christian buildings in Spain.

Your afternoon is at leisure.

Overnight: Hotel la Reconquista

Meal Plan: B

 

Day 10 - Oviedo - Santiago de Compostela

Today you again have a choice of routes. 

Option 1

Returning to the coast, the road first passes westwards through Cudillero, one of the most enchanting fishing ports in all Spain, which also boasts some fine “casas de indianos”. Past the resort of Ribadeo, the road turns inland and after passing though the tiny cathedral town of Mondoñedo takes you to Lugo, still surrounded by the perfect circle of its walls built by the Romans. Continue down to Santiago de Compostela where you stay in the superb Parador of the Reyes Católicos, founded by the Catholic monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella as a hospital to care for the pilgrims.

Option 2

Return to the coastal road and drive towards the northwestern tip of the Iberian peninsula. The road ducks in and away from the coast and, after the town of Ortigueira, diverts to take you to the enchanting villages of Cariño and San Andrés de Tejeido. You are now in the heart of the dramatic scenery of the Rías Altas and the quite extraordinary geological landscape of Cape Ortigal where the black granite is some of the oldest stone anywhere on earth.

Continuing southwards you rejoin the motorway system at the naval base town of El Ferrol, and from there quickly to the World Heritage city of Santiago de Compostela which was, for over a thousand years, the end of the road of the greatest pilgrimage in Europe, still made annually by thousands of devout and less devout present day pilgrims. Your hotel, the most magnificent of all the Paradores, was built at the end of the 15th century by the Catholic Kings, Ferdinand and Isabella, as a hospice for pilgrims. Standing beside the great cathedral, it is one of the most magnificent buildings in all Spain.

Overnight: Hostal de los Reyes Catolicos

Meal Plan: B

 

Day 11 - Santiago de Compostela

Today is spent exploring this fascinating city.  Pride of place of course goes to the cathedral, a Romanesque jewel encased in a magnificent Baroque shell. The Pórtico de la Gloria entrance is arguably the finest example of 12th-century sculpture in Europe. Like the other pilgrims, you can stand behind the statue of the saint and, in true Spanish style, put your arm over his shoulders in a friendly embrace. But there is much more to Santiago than that: arcaded streets (built to protect the inhabitants from the all-so-frequent rain), countless churches and monasteries, large and small, and – not to be missed on any account – the market, where fresh fish and seafood from the nearby ocean abound and little old ladies offer you samples of their delicious conical cheeses.

Overnight: Hostal de los Reyes Catolicos

Meal Plan: B

 

Day 12 - The Rias

The most famous natural feature of Galicia is its coastline, pierced everywhere by the long, often tortuous, fjord-like arms of the sea, the “Rias”. Today will be spent following the edge of some of the most beautiful of the “Rias”. Each has its own character, most are filled with rafts and abandoned fishing boats which serve as supports for the productions of millions of mussels and oysters. At low tide in the estuaries, women dig unceasingly for clams whilst from the cliffs, daring fisherman, suspended from ropes, dangle to snatch the elusive goose barnacles from the waves that pound the cliffs. On the Rias of Muros and Arousa you will be able to visit small villages with busy ports and enchanting little churches such as Cambados or Padrón.

Overnight: Hostal de los Reyes Catolicos

Meal Plan: B

 

Day 13 - Depart Santiago de Compostela

Today you will privately transferred to Santiago de Compostela Airport for departure flight.

Meal Plan: B

 

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