Bilbao - West of San Sebastian Travel Guides | Bilbao | Sub Regions | Bilbao - West of San Sebastian

The Guipúzcoan coast west of San Sebastián is characterized by some fairly muscly cliffs placated by a few excellent beaches. As with Vizcaya, the area’s history is solidly based on the fishing of anything and everything, from anchovies to whales. Getaria is the most characterful of the towns along this stretch, but for a bit more action you might want to check out Zarautz, which becomes a busily upmarket beach resort during holiday season.

Bus from San Sebastián bus station with Euskotren.

Improbably perched on a hunk of angled slate, Getaria is well worth a stop en route between Bilbao and San Sebastián. Despite being a large-scale fish cannery, the town is picturesque, with cobbled streets winding their way to the harbour and, bizarrely, through an arch in the side of the church.

Getaria gets its fair share of passing tourists, reflected in the number of asadors that line its harbour and old centre. For an unbeatable authentic feed, grab a bottle of sprightly local txakoli and wash it down with a plate of grilled sardines.

The Iglesia de San Salvador, is intriguing. The wooden floor lists at an alarming angle; to the faithful in the pews the priest seems to be saying mass from on high.

You won’t stay long without coming across a statue of Juan Sebastián Elkano, winner of Getaria’s most famous citizen award for 480 years running, although fashion designer Cristobal Balenciaga has come close in recent times. Elkano, who set sail in 1519 on an expedition captained by Magellan, took command after the skipper was murdered in the Philippines. Sailing into Seville with the scant remnants of the expedition’s crew, he became the first to circumnavigate the world. Not a bad finish for someone who had mutinied against the captain only a few months after leaving port.

Beyond the harbour, the wooded hump of San Antón is better known as El Ratón (the mouse), and it certainly does resemble that rodent. There are good views from the lighthouse at its tip; on a clear day you can see the coast of France on the horizon.

Museo Ignacio Zuloaga

Carretera San Sebastián-Bilbao, Zumaia,T 943-862341, F 943- 862512. Wed-Sun 1600-2000 Apr-Sep only. Zumaia is serviced by Euskotren hourly from Bilbao’s Atxuri station and San Sebastián’s Amara station, also regularly by bus from San Sebastián bus station. It’s a 15-min walk on the Getaria/San Sebastián road from the centre of Zumaia.

Five kilometres to the west of Getaria is the town of Zumaia, at the mouth of the river Urola. The major attraction is the Zuloagamuseum just to the east of town. Ignacio Zuloaga, born in 1870, was a prominent Basque painter and a member of the so-called “Generation of ‘98”, a group of artists and thinkers who symbolized Spain’s intellectual revival in the wake of the loss of the Spanish-American War, known as “the disaster”. Zuloaga lived in this pretty house and garden, which now contains a good portion of his work as well as other paintings he owned, including Goyas, El Greco, Zurbarán and others.

Zuloaga is most admired for his expressive portraiture, with subjects frequently depicted against a bleak Spanish landscape. In his best work, the faces have a deep wisdom and sadness that seems to convey both the artist’s love and hatred for his country.

In the absence of constructive parental guidance, the aim in life of Zarautz seems to be to try and outdo its big brother Sebastián just along the coast. Similarly blessed with a beautiful stretch of sandy beach and a characterful old town, Zarautz has suffered from quick-buck beachfront high-rise development. Despite the rows of bronzed bodies and the prudish but colourful changing tents, it can be quite a fun place. There’s a good long break for surfing – one of the rounds of the world championship is often held here, and there’s scope for more unusual water sports such as wind- boarding. There are a few well-preserved mediaeval structures, such as the Torre Luzea, and a handful of decent bars. Zarautz is also known for its selection of classy restaurants; after all, there’s more to a Basque beach holiday than fish ‘n’chips.

It comes as a surprise to many to find out that the capital of the Basque semi-autonomous region is untouristed Vitoria. Less glamorous than San Sebastián and less metropolitan than Bilbao, it's a likeable place, full of green spaces and chatting students.

The city's outskirts are a little strange, circled with large homogeneous apartment blocks suitably interspersed with parks to keep the "quality of life" statistics high. The Casco Antiguo is much more charming, if a little run-down in places. As usual it's the focus of much of the city's nightlife, especially on Calle Cuchillería at weekends. The Ensanche is attractive too, with an excellent city park and a number of musuems, most notably the new Artium. Vitoria's most charming architecture is where the two areas meet, with the arcaded Plaza de España and the curious Arquillos, designed to integrate the higher old town with the low spread of the new.

Vitoria's new town isn't going to blow anyone's mind with a cavalcade of Gaudí-esque buildings or wild street parties but it is a very satisfying place: a planned mixture of attractive streets and plenty of parkland. It's got the highest amount of greenery per citizen of any city in the country and it's no surprise that it's been voted one of the best places to live in Spain. With the innovative Artium now in place, the mantle of ‘Basque capital’ seems to sit ever easier on Vitoria's shoulders.

C Francia 24, T 945-209020, F 945-209049, http://www.artium.org Tue-Fri 1100-2000, Sat/Sun 1030-2000. €3. Wed "you decide".

The shiny new Artium (opened April 2002) is Vitoria’s answer to Bilbao’s Guggenheim and San Sebastián’s Kursaal. An exciting project, it features excellent contemporary artwork and many exhibitions, which incorporate some of the older buildings in Vitoria's Casco Medieval. The visitor’s attention is taken immediately by the confident angles of the building and Un pedazo de cielo cristalizado (A crystallized piece of heaven) by Javier Pérez, a massive hanging glass sculpture in the atrium. The work by contemporary artists, mostly Basque, is backed up by some earlier 20th-century pieces by Miró, Dalí and Picasso, among others. There is a cool little café.

This strange sunken triangle is the work of Eduardo Chillida, designed to commemorate the timeless Basque fueros, or statutes, which are still very much the groundstone of the separatist position. There's a frontón in one corner where you have a reasonable chance of seeing a game of pelota. Otherwise, it's a place to sit on steps and chat, smoke or contemplate as folk in a hurry stride past. On C Prudencio María Verástegui 14, Segunda Mano, is an amazing second-hand shop which literally seems to have everything, from skis, to confessionals, to tractors.

The new town’s nicest street, pedestrianized and stretching from the old town to the railway station, is the focus of the knock-off-time scene, with a hatful of excellent cafés and bars where people cheerfully munch pintxos to stave off the pangs until dinner. The street is further enhanced by a couple of characterful sculptures.

C Cadena y Eleta s/n, T 945-150631. Museum Tue-Fri 1000-1400, 1600-1830; Sat 1000-1400; Sun 1100-1400. Free.

There's no missing the New Cathedral, built in the 20th century in neo-Gothic style; it's bulk looms attractively over this part of town. Built in authentic medieval style, it now houses the Museo Diocesano de Arte Sacro in its large apse. This has a good collection of religious art and has succeeded in bringing excellent temporary exhibitions to supplement it since opening in 1999.

This gorgeous park is an excellent retreat right in the heart of Vitoria. Cool and shady, it has a number of exotic trees and plants and a couple of peaceful cafés. You can watch old men in berets playing bolas (boules), and there's an old bandstand with Sunday concerts, guarded by statues of four ancient kings. If you see anyone taking things too seriously, they're probably politicians - the Basque Parliament stands in one corner of the park.

Paseo Fray Francisco 8, T 945-181918, F 945-181919. Tue-Fri 1000-1400, 1600-1830; Sat 1000-1400; Sun 1100-1400. Free.

Located in a very grand 20th-century palace, this art museum has lost some of its more interesting work to the new Artium. It still has a good collection of Basque art, including canvases by Zuloaga, as well as some Flemish masters, and a decent selection of coins. The formal garden is dotted with sculptures, most by Basque artists.

Armentia s/n.

It’s well worth the half-hour walk or the bus ride to see this church in the village of Armentia, now subsumed into Vitoria's outskirts. The village is supposedly the birthplace of San Prudencio, the patron saint of Alava, and the church was erected in his honour. Rebuilt in the 18th century, it still has some excellent features from its Romanesque youth, such as a harmonious round apse and the carvings above the doors, one of Christ and the apostles, the other of the Lamb and John the Baptist. To reach Armentia on foot, continue past the Museo de Bellas Artes on Paseo Fray Francisco de Vitoria, turn left down Paseo de Cervantes when you reach the La Sagrada Familia chapel. The basilica is at the end of this road.

Vitoria's shield-shaped old town sits on the high ground that perhaps gave the city its name; beturia is an Euskara word for hill. The town was founded and fortified by the kings of Navarra in the 12th and 13th centuries but was an obscure Castilian town for much of history. The Casco Medieval isn't a social hub like the old towns of Bilbao or San Sebastián's old towns but it's got a finer selection of architecture tucked inside some well preserved sections of wall. Some of the area seems a little run down, but not Calle Cuchillería, the axis, which is a street of studenty Basque bars. There are also a number of museums thoughtfully making use of some of the Casco's prettiest buildings.

This street, and its continuation, Calle Chiquita, is the most happening part of the old town, with several impressive old mansions, a couple of museums, dozens of bars, and plenty of pro-Basque political attitude. On weekend evenings the street is packed as every bar earns their bread keeping the entire student population in drink. Like several in the Casco Medieval, this street is named after the craftspeople that used to have shops here; in this case, makers of knives. At number 24 stands the impressive facade of the Casa de Cordón, a 15th-century building with an impressive carved cord of St Francis over the door. It houses occasional exhibitions. Walking along this street and those nearby you can see a number of old inscriptions and coats of arms carved on buildings.

Plaza de la Virgen Blanca s/n.

This church stands side on to and above the Plaza de la Virgen Blanca like one of a series of chess pieces guarding the entrance to the Casco Medieval. Two gaping arches mark the portal, which is superbly carved. A niche here holds the city's patron saint, the Virgen Blanca, a late Gothic figure. On the saint's day, August 5, a group of townspeople carry the figure of Celedón (a stylised farmer) from the top of the graceful belltower down to the square.

This strange series of dwellings and colonnades were designed in the early 19th century as a means of more effectively linking the high Casco Medieval with the newer town below, and to avoid the risk of the collapse of the southern part of the hill. It leads up to the attractive small Plaza del Machete, where incoming city chancellors used to swear an oath of allegiance over a copy of the Fueros (city statutes) and a machete, in this case a military cutlass.

The postcardy Plaza de España (the Basques call it Plaza Nueva) was designed by Olaguíbel, who thought up the Arquillos. It's a beautiful colonnaded square housing the town hall and several bars with terraces that are perfect for the morning or afternoon sun. On C Cuchillería 54, housed in a beautiful fortified medieval house, the Museo Fournier de Naipes, T 945-181920, is an unusual museum devoted to the playing card.

The pretty, open Plaza de la Virgen Blanca is centred around a memorial, commemorating the Battle of Vitoria on Midsummer's Day in 1813. Napoleon's forces were routed by the Allied troops and fled in ragged fashion towards home, abandoning their baggage train, containing millions of francs, which was gleefully looted. “The battle was to the French,” commented a British officer sagely, “like salt on a leech's tail.” The square is the town’s social hub of the town, with many cafés around it.

C de Fray Zacarías Martínez s/n.

This palace features one of the town’s most seductive medieval façades. Built in 1540, it is plateresque – an ornate style of Spain’s golden age that originally drew elements from the Moors and the Venetians before confidently coming into its own. Next to the palace, parts of the town’s 12th-century walls are very well preserved.

Plaza de Santa María s/n. Tours: 1100, 1400, 1700, and 2000, check with the tourist office, or http://www.catedralvitoria.com for the current situation. €2

Her Gothic Majesty the Cathedral of Santa María is undergoing a long-term renovation until 2009. While this is taking place, the massive 14th-century structure is closed to passing visitors. However, guided tours of the renovation works are being run when the state of play allows. The tours are interesting: the project is a massive one and involves considerable ingenuity and expertise. We arrived at Bilbao After two years and seven months I return to you, cursed city and city locked deep in my heart… City ever closer, ever harsher, ever rustier, ever more cherished. Bilbao. Blas de Otero

C Correría 116, T 945-181922, F 945-181923. Tue-Fri 1000-1400, 1600-1830, Sat 1000-1400, Sun 1100-1400. Free.

This corner of the old town is one of Vitoria's most picturesque. The Casa del Portalón, now a noted restaurant, is a lovely late 15th- century timbered building, once an inn and a staging post for messengers. Across from it is the Torre de los Anda, which defended one of the entrances in the city wall. Opposite is the 16th-century house of the Gobeo family now holds the archaeology museum. The small collection covers the prehistoric through Roman and mediaeval periods. Of the three floors of objects, arguably the most impressive is the so-called Knight's Stele, a tombstone carved with a horseman dating from the Roman era. The top floor contains panels on archaeology.

The province of Alava is something of a wilderness compared to the densely settled valleys of Vizcaya and Guipúzcoa. The walled town of Salvatierra is a good base for exploring the area, while in the west the Cañon de Delika is a valley of considerable beauty, and the Salinas de Añana are an unusual sight, to say the least. North of Vitoria, the two large embalses are the place to go to hit the water in this landlocked zone, while the peak of Gorbeia is a spectacular climb. If you venture off the main roads you'll feel like an explorer in Alava; the tourist count is low here, even in high summer.

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