Luxury Travel to Bilbao

This sleepy town had never turned back since the introduction of Gehry's iconic Guggenheim Bilbao..

Based in  the luxury Hotel Gran Domine Bilbao or the Hotel Miro,  both with a fine vantage view of the Guggenheim, or have a weekend break in the charmingly (and luxuriously) restored palace of Palacio Urgoiti, a vastly different experience from the modern design hotels in town, enhance your visit to the town that served as an exemplar of the 'Guggenheim effect'. 

Take the metro in Bilbao, possibly one of the best subway systems in the world- unique transparent doors sliding open as if to enter into a most surreal journey indeed, a theme that continues throughout the metro station- from its pseudo-turnstiles to the way the dome coves and envelopes you as you go down the escalator. Designed by Sir Norman Foster, these subway stations increase the style cache of even the most plebeian of neighbourhoods.

Have lunch at the Museo Guggenheim in a restaurant led by the young, promising Josean Martinez, affiliated to the Berasategui group. Having worked at El Bulli and Martin Berasategui, the restaurant offers traditional Basque cuisine done in a manner that would not let down its immediate surroundings. On another museum trip to the Museo de Bellas Artes, stop by the minimalist Arbola Gana where dishes are garnished with 'faux wasabi' and the frontline dessert is the balsamic vinegar ice-cream.

Should you want to continue your luxury-gastronomic explorations in Bilbao, sampling the best of Basque cuisine, take up our gastronomic tour of Bilbao, going on to the town of Galdako near Bilbao,where the Andra Mari restaurant sits on an inspired setting of a beautiful countryside, with views of the Ibaizabal valley and surrounding mountains or make the necessary pilgrimage to San Sebastian, heading for Arzak, where the boundaries of nueva cocina (nouvelle cuisine) are constantly being redefined. On this tour, you'd probably see much of Basque country en route to your destination restaurant- surprisingly pretty industrial parks, genteel neighbourhoods where some of the most stunning houses in Bilbao are to be found or the picturesque rolling hills of San Sebastien. Possibly one of the best ways to explore Basque country, we've sourced some of the most luxurious destination restaurants that maximize both sightseeing opportunities and the number of days for you to sample Basque cuisine. On your way back to the airport, stop by the Gaztanaga Restaurant, renowned for its beef steaks.

If you're looking for a more ascetic way to explore Basque country, opt for the 'Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela' tour-  a unique way to see some of the most beautiful scenes in the country, whether through farmland or a track overlooking a dramatic Cantabrian sea, albeit with luxury accommodations and sustenance.

Go horseriding through the Parque Nacional de Aralar or surfing on the Cantabrian sea, where some of the longest left-handed waves in the world are to be found.