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Torimbia beach in Asturias: a crescent of sand between green hills, with ferns in the foreground

Sample journey · 11–13 days

Green Spain: the Atlantic north from the Basque Country to Galicia

Bilbao, San Sebastián, Cantabria, the Picos de Europa, the Asturian coast, Santiago de Compostela & the Rías Baixas

Photo: Paolo Chiabrando / Unsplash

Illustrative journey ideas — not bookable packages. No prices, dates or accommodation are implied.

Northern Spain looks little like the Spain of Andalusian postcards. Here Atlantic clouds bring rain, and with it pastures, oak woods and mountains that rise barely a few dozen kilometres from the sea. Each region has its own language and its own table: Basque pintxos, Cantabrian anchovies, Asturian cider poured from a height and Galician octopus with paprika.

This sample route travels from east to west, from Bilbao's art and San Sebastián's bars through the Picos de Europa to the inlets of Galicia. It has active days and quiet evenings: a mountain path one day, a long lunch in a fishing village the next. The pace, the places to stay and the amount of walking can all be shaped around the way you like to travel.

The route

The journey

  1. Bilbao
  2. San Sebastián
  3. Cantabria
  4. Picos de Europa
  5. Asturian coast
  6. Santiago de Compostela
  7. Rías Baixas
  1. Bilbao from Mount Artxanda: the Guggenheim Museum, the river Nervión and green hills around the city

    01Days 1–2 · Bilbao

    A city a museum changed

    The journey begins in Bilbao, a former port city transformed three decades ago by the titanium-clad Guggenheim. One morning is worth giving to the museum, and the afternoon to the Seven Streets of the old town and the Ribera market by the river. Towards sunset, a funicular climbs Mount Artxanda for a view over the whole valley: the river, the bridges and the green hills around the city.

  2. A bar counter laden with pintxos as guests help themselves

    02Days 3–4 · San Sebastián

    An evening from bar to bar

    An hour east, and you're in San Sebastián, whose La Concha bay is among the loveliest city bays in Europe. Mornings for a walk along the shore towards Monte Igueldo, afternoons for a swim or half a day at the market with a local guide. In the evening the old town turns to what people really come for: pintxos on the bar counters, one or two in each place, a glass of txakoli, then on to the next door.

  3. The peak of Naranjo de Bulnes in the Picos de Europa above green wooded slopes

    03Days 5–7 · Cantabria & the Picos de Europa

    A gorge between limestone walls

    On the way west, a stop in the stone town of Santillana del Mar and at the Altamira museum, where the famous Ice Age bison are recreated. Then the road turns into the mountains: three nights at a country house at the foot of the Picos de Europa. The big day is the Cares gorge path, cut into the rock high above the river; you can walk it end to end or go halfway and turn back. The next day could be the cable car from Fuente Dé up to the high plateau, or a slow day in the Liébana valley with its cheeses and chestnuts.

  4. The coloured houses of Cudillero climbing the slope above the village square in Asturias

    04Days 8–9 · The Asturian coast

    Cider poured from a height

    From the mountains, back to the sea. Along the Asturian coast, beaches hide between the cliffs, and coloured fishing villages such as Cudillero climb like an amphitheatre above their harbours. You could stay at a small hotel looking out to sea, spend the days on the coastal paths and the evening in a sidrería, where the waiter pours cider from high above his head so it foams, and fabada and fresh fish arrive at the table.

  5. The towers of Santiago de Compostela's cathedral above the red roofs of the old town

    05Days 10–11 · Santiago de Compostela

    Where the pilgrims' road ends

    Around four hours west, into Galicia. Santiago de Compostela's granite streets often shine with rain, and in the Praza do Obradoiro pilgrims who have just finished their walk sit on the paving and gaze up at the cathedral. It's worth climbing onto the cathedral roofs, stopping at the Abastos market and having dinner of octopus with paprika and olive oil, with a white wine from the nearby valleys.

  6. A stone hórreo topped with crosses beside a calm Galician inlet

    06Days 12–13 · The Rías Baixas

    Albariño and shellfish by the rías

    The final days go an hour south to the Rías Baixas, the long sea inlets known here as rías. Stone granaries on stilts, called hórreos, stand right by the water, mussel rafts line the bays, and the vineyards of the Salnés valley grow Albariño. In season you might take a boat to the Cíes Islands, or simply spend an afternoon in a fishing village over a plate of shellfish. The flight home leaves from Santiago.

Experience highlights

  1. 01

    A pintxos evening in San Sebastián

    Bar to bar through the old town, one of the most delicious ways to get to know the Basque Country.

  2. 02

    The Cares gorge path

    A path cut into the rock above the river, walked in full or in part, as suits you.

  3. 03

    Asturian cider and fabada

    An evening in a sidrería, with cider poured from a height and a warming bean stew.

  4. 04

    Santiago and the Galician rías

    The pilgrims' cathedral, then hórreos, mussel rafts and Albariño by the water.

First, we listen. Then, we explore what's possible.

Make it your own

  • More walking

    Add a day at the Covadonga lakes, or walk the final stretch of the Camino over a few days, arriving at the cathedral on foot.

  • Slower, and more for the table

    Fewer stops and more nights: a longer stay in San Sebastián with a cookery class, and wine estates in the Salnés valley.

  • Begin in France

    The journey could begin in the French Basque Country, in Biarritz or Saint-Jean-de-Luz, and cross the border to San Sebastián.

  • On to Portugal

    Porto is around an hour and a half from the Rías Baixas, so the journey could continue into the Douro valley.

Practical considerations

  • Northern Spain is green because it rains often: a waterproof is worth packing even in summer, and mountain weather can change quickly.
  • Mountain paths are usually at their best from late spring to autumn; the Cares gorge path isn't technical, but it is long and in places runs above deep drops without railings.
  • This is a self-drive journey; most legs take one to three hours, and the longest, from Asturias to Santiago, around four.
  • In July and August the coast and San Sebastián are very popular, so places to stay are worth planning well ahead; June and September are often calmer.

General guidance only. Seasons, weather and wildlife are never guaranteed, and travel requirements are always worth checking before you go.

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