Hondarribia

The Basque rib steak: aged, thick-cut, grilled over charcoal and served rare.

January to April in a Basque cider house: fixed menu, unlimited cider, and you queue at the barrel with a glass.

White tuna from the Bay of Biscay, caught on lines in summer and tinned within hours.

Black beans from the Oria valley, served with morcilla and pickled peppers in the town that grows them.

Hard sheep's cheese from the Basque hills, smoked or unsmoked, best bought at a market.

Europe's largest covered market, a bustling landmark of local produce and exceptional pintxo culture

Hake cheeks, gelatinous and expensive, cooked in green sauce or in pil-pil.

Basque bite-sized culinary creations served on bread, perfect for an evening of bar-crawling in San Sebastián

The pioneer of San Sebastián's creative pintxo scene, serving hot, inventive small plates straight from the plancha

The Basque bar that revolutionized tortilla culture by serving individual, runny-centered portions fried to order

A decadent Basque spider-crab preparation served hot in the shell with a flavorful, gratinated sauce

An exquisite Basque salt-cod dish featuring a velvety, emulsified garlic-infused oil sauce

A classic Basque tuna-and-potato stew born on fishing boats and celebrated during the coastal bonito season

A Basque grill that cooks simple, high-quality ingredients over open charcoal.

A world-renowned Basque seafood restaurant celebrated for its masterful preparation of whole turbot over an open fire

A tiny, revered Basque bar famous for its meticulously crafted tortilla de patatas and expert charcoal-grilled steaks

The Basque half of Rioja: medieval wine villages, bodegas cut into the hill, and two famous modern wineries.

A rippling, wave-form winery by Santiago Calatrava, set among the vines of Rioja Alavesa.

A historic winery transformed into a modern architectural marvel by Frank Gehry in the heart of Rioja

The best-known txakoli house in Getaria, with vines above the sea and visits by appointment.

Refreshing, slightly effervescent Basque white wine from Getaria, traditionally poured from a height

Traditional Basque cider house experience featuring rustic set menus and natural cider poured directly from the barrel

Five days of jazz in July, with free stages on the beach, running since 1966.

Bilbao's nine-day August festival: riverside txosnas, a giant figure, and the city outdoors until dawn.

A tidal estuary of marshes and sandbanks, with the best surf beach on the coast at its mouth.

The world's first transporter bridge, still carrying cars and passengers across the Nervión on a hanging gondola.

Cliffs of vertically tilted rock between Zumaia and Deba, with a coastal path along the top.

On 20 January the whole city drums for twenty-four hours, from midnight to midnight.

A cave of eccentric stalactites that bend and loop instead of hanging straight down.

A Gothic cathedral in Bilbao's old town, formerly a parish church elevated to cathedral status in 1949.

A landmark titanium building by Frank Gehry that transformed the industrial city of Bilbao into a cultural destination

An inland salt valley of wooden terraces, worked for salt long before anyone thought of the coast.

A Baroque basilica and pilgrimage complex in the Basque Country marking the birthplace of Ignatius of Loyola.

A chapel on a rock reached by a stone bridge and 241 steps, above the most dramatic stretch of the Basque coast.

A fashion museum in Getaria, in a palace at the edge of the village where Balenciaga was born.

Mountains between Bizkaia and Álava, and the cave where Basque mythology puts its goddess.

Eduardo Chillida's three iron sculptures anchored in the rock at the end of the beach.

A distinguished fine arts collection featuring masters like Velázquez alongside a premier assembly of Basque modern art

The hill above Bilbao, reached by a century-old funicular, with the whole city laid out below.

A hilltop viewpoint with the classic curved-bay view of San Sebastián, reached by a vintage funicular.

A historic Dominican convent turned museum, notable for its striking Sert murals and extensive Basque societal history

Basque pilgrimage basilica rebuilt in the 1950s — raw concrete, Oteiza's apostles, Chillida doors, a serrated silhouette above a limestone gorge.

A perfect crescent of golden sand in the heart of San Sebastián.

A tidal beach within the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve near Mundaka in the Basque Country.

A long sandy beach in the surf town of Zarautz on the Basque coast.