Advice/questions about Northern Spain
Oct 6, 2016, 11:37 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 224
Advice/questions about Northern Spain
My wife and I are traveling to Spain and France over the holidays and I'm hoping to get some advice. We were in Spain last Spring (Seville, Granada and Madrid) and were enamored - so we decided to come back.
Our plan is to arrive in Madrid on 12/25, then travel North to the coast for a week before ultimately making our way to Bordeaux and catching a flight out on 1/4.
I had some questions:
- Is there a particular town in northern Spain that we should spend NYE? We were thinking of using Bilbao and San Sebastián as "bases" for traveling to the other towns.
- How will the drive be from Madrid to the northern coast that time of year? Will the roads be passable or is there a lot of snow? Is it smarter to just take a train or bus and rent a car once we get to the coast?
- is there a particular town we should stop in if we want to spend a night in the Rioja region to use as a base for 1 night?
- Will anything be open in Madrid on 12/25? We arrive at around noon and plan on spending 1 or 2 nights there. We spent a week there just last year, so we're familiar with the city but not sure how the holiday affects it.
Thank you for your help!
Our plan is to arrive in Madrid on 12/25, then travel North to the coast for a week before ultimately making our way to Bordeaux and catching a flight out on 1/4.
I had some questions:
- Is there a particular town in northern Spain that we should spend NYE? We were thinking of using Bilbao and San Sebastián as "bases" for traveling to the other towns.
- How will the drive be from Madrid to the northern coast that time of year? Will the roads be passable or is there a lot of snow? Is it smarter to just take a train or bus and rent a car once we get to the coast?
- is there a particular town we should stop in if we want to spend a night in the Rioja region to use as a base for 1 night?
- Will anything be open in Madrid on 12/25? We arrive at around noon and plan on spending 1 or 2 nights there. We spent a week there just last year, so we're familiar with the city but not sure how the holiday affects it.
Thank you for your help!
Oct 11, 2016, 1:39 am
#2
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Singapore
Programs: OZ Diamond, BAEC Silver, Marriott Platinum, HH Gold
Posts: 515
Hi,
As a Spaniard (originally from Madrid but living abroad since 2009), here are my thoughts:
- Re snow late December - there may well be parts of the road(s) with snow, particularly in areas of high altitude. Nevertheless, temperatures in Spain in Winter are not extreme. That said, one can expect temperatures around 0 degrees celsius, or perhaps a couple of degrees above 0. Therefore, you are perfectly fine driving up north, just make sure you check the traffic and weather information beforehand just to be on the safe side.
- As a base to explore the north, I would choose San Sebastian over Bilbao. San Sebastian is, in my humble opinion, a much nicer city. It has a "classier" feeling if that is what you would prefer. Bilbao, on the contrary, is a bigger city but it does not look that nice.
- Madrid on Xmas day - yes I think you should be able to find shops and others open.
Hope this helps. Perhaps someone else has further insight on your other questions.
Cheers
J
As a Spaniard (originally from Madrid but living abroad since 2009), here are my thoughts:
- Re snow late December - there may well be parts of the road(s) with snow, particularly in areas of high altitude. Nevertheless, temperatures in Spain in Winter are not extreme. That said, one can expect temperatures around 0 degrees celsius, or perhaps a couple of degrees above 0. Therefore, you are perfectly fine driving up north, just make sure you check the traffic and weather information beforehand just to be on the safe side.
- As a base to explore the north, I would choose San Sebastian over Bilbao. San Sebastian is, in my humble opinion, a much nicer city. It has a "classier" feeling if that is what you would prefer. Bilbao, on the contrary, is a bigger city but it does not look that nice.
- Madrid on Xmas day - yes I think you should be able to find shops and others open.
Hope this helps. Perhaps someone else has further insight on your other questions.
Cheers
J
Oct 14, 2016, 10:05 am
#3
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: NYC
Programs: AA Platinum Pro (LT Gold), Marriott Bonvoy LT Titanium, National Exec,Hyatt,Melia, BA Exec, Iberia+
Posts: 527
San Sebastian is wonderful, and a great place for a base! I've never been there in winter, but I'm sure it's still lovely.
If you either want to splurge on a hotel or have SPG (Starwood) points (or Marriott points, as you could convert them), I'd suggest a night's stay at the Marques des Riscal, designed by Frank Gehry and with a look that reminds one of the Guggenheim in Bilbao. That's in the tiny town of Elciego, on the property of the Marques des Riscal vineyards, and is about a 10-minute drive from the lovely town of Logrono which has wonderful pintxos, especially on Calle Laurel.
If you either want to splurge on a hotel or have SPG (Starwood) points (or Marriott points, as you could convert them), I'd suggest a night's stay at the Marques des Riscal, designed by Frank Gehry and with a look that reminds one of the Guggenheim in Bilbao. That's in the tiny town of Elciego, on the property of the Marques des Riscal vineyards, and is about a 10-minute drive from the lovely town of Logrono which has wonderful pintxos, especially on Calle Laurel.