Day 01: Arrival at the airport of Bilbao and transfer to San Sebastián. After checking in at the hotel, we will discover the beauty of this city, with the countryside around the Bay of La Concha next to Mount Urgull and Mount Igueldo. San Sebastián is synonymous with good cuisine. Today, we will enjoy a dinner of pintxos in the city’s lively bars. We will stay at Hotel María Cristina, a 5-star hotel that bears witness to the luxury tourism the city enjoyed during the Belle Époque.

Day 02: We leave San Sebastián and travel along the coast to the fishing village of Getaria, which spreads whimsically into the Cantabrian Sea. We will visit the historical centre and learn about one of its most illustrious children: the designer Cristóbal Balenciaga. We will visit his Museum before travelling inland to the region known as Rioja Alavesa. This is a countryside of wine and, in Laguardia, we will visit an underground winery to taste a glass of Rioja at the end of our visit. Today, we stay at a well-conserved 4-star hotel: Hotel Villa de Laguardia. We will enjoy a dinner of local food, rich in meat and vegetables and washed down with a good Rioja wine.

Day 03: In the morning, we arrive at the city of Bilbao, where we visit one of Gehry’s most representative works: the Guggenheim Museum. We will visit the interior and look at the exterior architecture before continuing on our way to Santander, another of the charming cities on the Cantabrian coast. We will wander around the Peninsula of La Magdalena and stroll through its well-conserved gardens. We will visit the Palace of La Magdalena, which is one of the most important civil buildings in Spain. From here, we travel to the historical town of Santillana del Mar to stay at the Parador Hotel.

Day 04: We will visit Santillana and its collegiate church of Santa Juliana. Nearby, we will visit the Caves of Altamira before moving on to Comillas. Here, we can see the ‘Capricho de Gaudí’ and other buildings related to the figure of King Alfonso XIII, such as the Palace of Sobrellano. We leave the coast and travel inland towards the majesty of the Picos de Europa mountain range. Our journey takes us to the Parador Hotel of Fuente Dé (3-star), set in a privileged position at the foot of the Picos de Europa National Reserve. We will have a chance to taste the local cheeses, pulse dishes and mountain meat.

Day 05: We will go up to the Vantage Point of Áliva on the cable car that is near the hotel. We make our way back to the coast and arrive at Llanes: here we visit the historical centre and old whale-fishing port. We will also see the piece by Ibarrola: Los Cubos de la Memoria (The Cubes of Memory). The beach of Gulpiyuri offers us its natural rarities, a unique sandbank that is not in contact with the sea. We will walk on the rocks and see the phenomenon known as the bufones, which offer us the sound of the sea as we pass under the rock. From here, we travel along the coast of Asturias, seeing examples of Spanish-American architecture, and arrive at the luxury hotel of Las Caldas (4-star), very near to Oviedo. We can relax at the hotel’s bar before enjoying a dinner of Asturian products, including a wide selection of cheeses.

Day 06: In Oviedo, our local guide will show us the beautiful Cathedral and we will learn about the novel titled La Regenta, which offers a wonderful portrait of this city. We will visit the Camilo de Blas cake shop to try its carbayones. We return to the coast and to the pretty village of Cudillero, where colourful houses form part of the beautiful seaside scenery. Nearby, we will visit the Palace of Selgas, a wonderful set of constructions from the end of the 19th century, comprising several buildings and historical gardens in the style of Versailles. We will stay at the 4-star Hotel Spa Palacio de la Magdalena, a historical building from the 18th century. At night, we will travel to a llagar to enjoy local cuisine and taste the cider, the ‘national’ drink of Asturias. We will also learn how to escanciar, which is an interesting and not-too-easy way of pouring the drink.

Day 07: Now, we travel to Galicia along the Cantabrian Coast; we cross the River Eo and arrive at Ribadeo, which stands in a privileged location above the estuary. We visit the beach of As Catedrais, which reveals rocks that are similar to huge buttresses at low tide. We then travel to the historical Mondoñedo to see the Cathedral, the countryside of A Terra Chá and, finally, the city of Lugo; the Roman walls of this city have been designated a World Heritage Site. Further south, after visiting the Benedictine Monastery of Samos, we arrive at the historical town of Monforte de Lemos and stay at its 4-star Parador Hotel. The building is an old Benedictine monastery that has been turned into a hotel and offers views of the valley of Terras de Lemos.

Day 08: Today, we discover a real treasure: the Ribeira Sacra, a countryside in which vineyards and the River Sil come together in a beautiful valley with mediaeval monasteries that stand as beautiful examples of the Romanesque style. We will taste the wine of the Ribeira Sacra designation of origin at one of the wineries, visit the Monastery of Santo Estevo and sail through the gorges of River Sil. Now, we travel along the River Miño to the farmlands of the Rías Baixas region, known for its estuary landscapes, Albariño wine (Rías Baixas Designation of Origin) and its pazos (typical Galician country houses). Indeed, we will stay at one of these houses, which has been turned into a 4-star Parador Hotel in the historical town of Cambados. We will have time to taste the exquisite fish and seafood as it is one of the areas with the best shellfish in the world.

Day 09: We will visit the Pazo de Rubianes and the world of landscape gardening. We will walk around its gardens, with its camphors and camellias and many other species. We will visit the halls and rooms of the pazo, the vineyards of the winery and end our visit by tasting the fruity white wine of the Albariño variety. From here, we travel to Santiago de Compostela, a real open-air museum sculpted in stone. A local guide will show us the Romanesque-style Cathedral, university buildings and the hustle and bustle of the city’s plazas. We will visit the churches, baroque palaces and experience everyday local life. We will stay at the Parador Hostal dos Reis Católicos (5-star), an old pilgrim hospital next to the cathedral on the imposing Praza do Obradoiro. At night, we will enjoy a farewell dinner of typical Galician food at one of the city’s lively restaurants./p>

Day 10: After breakfast, we travel to the airport of Santiago and that marks the end of our services.