Green Spain: Basque Country to Asturias

Route description

San Sebastián curves around the shell-shaped bay of La Concha, and its old quarter is the place to try pintxos, the Basque bar snacks, from counter to counter. West of the city, the coast road through Zarautz reaches Getaria, a fishing village known for grilled fish, txakoli white wine and a museum devoted to the designer Balenciaga.

Continue to Bilbao, where the titanium-clad Guggenheim Museum stands on the river with a giant flower-covered puppy by the entrance. From Bilbao the A-8 (E70) motorway runs west along the coast to Santander, a seaside city with the Magdalena Palace on its peninsula and the Centro Botín art centre on the waterfront. Some motorway sections in the Basque Country are tolled.

Santillana del Mar is a medieval village of stone houses and wooden balconies, and the Altamira cave museum, with its replica of the painted cave, is two kilometres away. Nearby Comillas has El Capricho, an early building by Gaudí covered in green and sunflower tiles, and further west Llanes has a small harbour whose breakwater is painted with colourful blocks.

The route ends in the Picos de Europa at the Lagos de Covadonga, two glacial lakes above the sanctuary of Covadonga. In peak season private cars are restricted on the road to the lakes, so take the bus from Cangas de Onís. This is Green Spain for a reason: expect rain at any time of year, and pack layers.