Many people from all over Europe and in some cases even from the rest of the world visit Spain in their droves in the summer months. Most of these visitors head for Spain’s Mediterranean coast and the Balearic Islands, leaving the rest of the mainland reasonably unvisited. Whilst the likes of the Costa del Sol and the Costa Blanca are indeed beautiful and have many sights to see and activities to do, there is more to Spain than just these European boltholes. In this article, we at Travel Llama look into the Alternative Spain which could make a different vacation for you and what they have to offer.
We start off with the Northern Coast and the Beach city of San Sebastian, set in the Basque homeland that borders France in the North East. We then look at the Christian pilgrimage site of Santiago de Compostela in the Province of Galicia. The final destination in this article is the City of Cordoba in Andalucia.
San Sebastian (Donostia)
Everyone has heard of the Basque land through the activities of the Basque separatist group ETA, though now the group has announced a permanent cease fire there should be no worries in going to Spain. The Basque culture with their own unique language, sports and food are a fascinating and friendly people and a visit to their homeland offers a truly alternative look to the Iberian Peninsula.
San Sebastian, Donostia in the Basque tongue, is the capital of the Basque province of Guipuzcoa and widely considered the prettiest of the Basque towns. It sits around the stunning bay of La Concha and is an elegant and graceful seaside resort. The old town is a lively if not the liveliest area of the city and has more bars per square metre than anywhere else in Spain (considering the popularity of certain southern resorts, that’s quite a feat).
There are quite a few interesting attractions around San Sebastian including some informative museums and historic architecture, though most of the buildings date from after 1815, as most of the old city was destroyed during the Peninsular War. The Museo de San Telmo is set in an old sixteenth century monastery and is a beautiful sight in itself though the main reason for coming here is to see the Art masterworks inside. These range from renaissance pieces to Baroque and the museum has many paintings from local Basque artists.
The Museo Naval is also rather interesting, but unfortunately it still has not put up English signs and you will need to understand Spanish in order to appreciate a lot of the exhibits. The museum shows the history of Basque seafaring tradition and has example fishing vessels from throughout history.
A favourite thing to do in San Sebastian is to take the funicular rail up to the summit of Monte Igueldo, where stunning views over the bay and city can be appreciated. You can walk to the summit if you wish but it is a hard slog and if you do indeed take the sweatier option we guarantee you will take the rail back to the bottom!
The beaches here are known as some of the best Spain has to offer and are very popular with the locals as well as foreign visitors. It is also a Surfing hotspot here and many surf shops offer equipment hire and even lessons for beginners. This will set you back around €55 for a lesson, which includes your wetsuit and a board.
The restaurants in San Sebastian (Donostia) range from delicious Basque and Spanish to North African and Thai and you will almost certainly find a lovely little bistro that is within your budget and caters for your tastes. Basque food is supposed to be the very finest of the Iberian Peninsula and not many would disagree though don’t mention it to those form Barcelona or Sevilla!
Like all major European resorts San Sebastian has a wide variety of accommodation options including camping, hostels, family hotels all the way to the classy end of the market with hotels such as Hotel de Londres e Inglaterra.
Have you visited this region? let us know how it went?
