If you love architecture, history and chocolate you should really visit Baiona (Lapurdi, Basque Country). It is beautiful and vibrant, with lots of nice places to eat and an amazing ambience.
I'm not sure what I had been expecting initially but I was blown away by how
beautiful Baiona is. It is a very old city and the districts,
architecture and atmosphere reflect each era of history. We stayed at an AirBnB at the Jewish district of Saint-Esprit, near the synagogue. The centre and and Petit Bayonne are a short walk away across the Adour river but it has very good bus connections as well. The train station is also located here.
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| Farmer's market |
One of the reasons we wanted to come on a Saturday was to visit the farmer's market! The vegetables, mushrooms and cheese sold here are out of this world. It may seem weird to drive two hours away to buy vegetables but seriously our next meals at home were superb because of this 😂
I didn't take many photos but the cathedral is also worth visiting because it is one of the few that maintains some of its original lush paint work. I actually had no idea cathedrals were originally painted in and out, so it was incredible to see an example in person.
Afterwards we just kept walking and exploring as much of the old town as we could.
I really love the bright coloured Basque style houses of Iparralde! I kept stopping to take photos because most of the city has kept its old style houses and paint work and its just so beautiful!
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| Lots of street art and detail in the streets of Baiona |
Our merienda was of course "Chocolat mousseux, chantilly & toast" at Cazenave. Baiona is famous for its chocolate and its a must to try it at least once in my opinion. The chocolate served at Cazenave is hand whipped and so light and airy and the creme was just sublime.
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| Bayonne jambon, cheese & marmelade breakfast |
On our way back home the next day we detoured a bit to visit Ezpeleta (Espelette) which is super pretty but honestly felt a bit like a window shop village for tourists. We decided to go elsewhere for lunch and had an amazing meal at La Nivelle in Senpere (Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle).
I had such a good time and loved Baiona so much that I need to visit again soon!
If you have a couple of extra days in your visit, a beautiful way to get to know the coast in the Bilbao area is to walk along the cliffs from the fishing village of Plentzia to Punta Galea cape in Getxo, where the Estuary of Bilbao opens. Its a very easy hike that takes around 3-4h, climbing several capes and crossing both sand and rock beaches.
We took the metro to Plentzia and walked left before the bridge, leaving
the village to our right. The path towards the cliffs starts behind the
San Telmo bus stop and is closed by a gate (which you can easily cross
through a gap on one side). After crossing an
area plagued by pampas grass the path starts meandering near the cliff
edge.
The vegetation soon turns into beautiful scrubland of heather and gorse. Heathlands are unfortunately disappearing in Europe, and in an effort to conserve them the local government has fenced off parts of the area. Please be responsible and only walk inside the footpath to prevent further destruction!
A beautiful (and easy) walk from Gernika to the village of Mundaka, following the basin of the River Oka.
We got the train from Bilbao to Gernika where we started off our walk.
La Tejera, where clay was made into bricks and tiles and now abandoned, was built in 1892.
We also accidentally bumped into Beresi basoa, a work of art and nature by Rober Garay. We skipped exploring it as its private and would love to have a proper tour.
Still some ways to go!
Finally in Mundaka, our last stop is at the Santa Catalina hermitage to admire the isle of Izaro and open sea before getting the train back to the city.
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