Basque Country Highlights

  On 12 August 2026, for the first time in over a century, a total solar eclipse will be visible from the Iberian Peninsula. The path of totality crosses Spain from west to east, and the Basque Country sits right in the middle of it: Bilbao, Vitoria-Gasteiz and much of the territory will see the sun disappear completely for a brief, unforgettable moment, at around 8:28 in the evening. Total solar eclipse, Yakima, Washington, 21 August 2017. Photo: Justin Hawkes / Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 2.0 Spain is effectively the only country in continental Europe where the eclipse will be seen as total — the other option is Iceland, with its habitually cloudy skies. If you are thinking about where to experience it, the Basque Country makes a compelling case. What to expect The eclipse begins as a partial at 19:32 — the Moon starts to cover the solar disc slowly, and the light changes in a way that is hard to describe: it loses its shadows, turns flat and strange. For almost an hour, the...

 If there is one sweet that defines Bilbao, it is la carolina. Not the most sophisticated, not the most famous beyond these streets — but without question the most beloved. The one that vanishes first from the tray at family celebrations, the one every Bilbaoan remembers from childhood with meringue on their fingers and an unavoidable smile. Carolina by Martina Zuricalday To understand la carolina, you have to picture Bilbao at the turn of the twentieth century, in the maze of narrow streets of the old town known as the Siete Calles — the Seven Streets. A pastry maker from the neighbourhood, whose name history has not seen fit to preserve, had a daughter who was mad about meringue. To make it easier for her to enjoy it, he devised a pastry that would show it off in all its glory: a crisp puff pastry basket, filled with custard cream or coconut paste, crowned with a dome of meringue painted in two colours with chocolate and egg. On his daughter's birthday he presented her with his c...

  The simplest and most demanding sauce in Basque cooking has centuries of history behind it In his book  The Basque History of the World , Mark Kurlansky recounts how, in the 10th century, the Vikings were able to undertake long ocean voyages and cross the Atlantic because they stocked their ships with cod dried in the Arctic air. From those intrepid sailors — who had made their way to the banks of the Adour river in search of whales — the Basques learned shipbuilding techniques and, crucially for our story, improved the cod-drying process by adding salt. The difference was enormous. Viking dried fish, Kurlansky tells us, "looked like a piece of balsa wood; to prepare it, the cook broke it apart and chopped it with a hammer." The Basque method, by contrast, allowed the fish to be soaked back to life and made edible again. It was a leap forward that changed not just gastronomy but history itself: it was this salted cod that provisioned the Basque whalers on their extraordina...

For four days, the bay of Pasaia hosts the greatest gathering of traditional vessels on the Basque Coast Poster for the fourth edition of Pasaia Itsas Festibala, designed by artist Roskow. Tucked between San Sebastián and the French border, the small port town of Pasaia holds a secret that most travellers speed past on the motorway: for centuries, it was one of the great hubs of Atlantic seafaring — a place where towering galleons were built and launched into expeditions that crossed oceans and connected the Basque Country with the world. This May, that story comes roaring back to life. From 14 to 17 May 2026, Pasaia hosts the fourth edition of  Pasaia Itsas Festibala  — the International Maritime Festival — and it's shaping up to be the most ambitious gathering yet. Dozens of traditional wooden vessels from across Europe will fill the bay, while the town itself transforms into a living celebration of maritime heritage, both tangible and intangible. When    14–17 May...

It sits on the bank of the Nervión estuary like a ship that never set sail, right next to the Church of San Antón, at the edge of Bilbao's medieval old town. The Mercado de la Ribera is not just a place to shop — it holds a Guinness World Record, seven centuries of history, and some of the best fresh produce in the Basque Country under one roof. Easy to find, impossible to miss The market sits at the end of each of the Siete Calles — the Seven Streets that form the heart of Bilbao's old town. If you're coming from further away, the tram drops you right at the door. No excuses. The old Mercado de la Ribera. Photo: Amigos del Mercado de la Ribera via Facebook Seven centuries of market life The origins of the Ribera market go back to the 14th century, when farmers, livestock traders and fisherwomen from the surrounding villages would gather here to sell their produce in what was then an apparently chaotic open-air market. In the late 19th century a cast iron and glass st...

  If there is one place in the Basque Country capable of stopping time, it is San Juan de Gaztelugatxe. A rocky islet connected to the coast by a winding stone causeway, crowned by a centuries-old hermitage 80 metres above the Bay of Biscay. A place of legends, pilgrims and, more recently, Game of Thrones fans arriving from every corner of Europe. San Juan de Gaztelugatxe in Bermeo (Bizkaia) A path that is already part of the experience To reach the hermitage you must climb 241 steps — 231 before renovation works in 2014 — carved into the rock along the causeway that links the islet to the mainland. This is not just a visit, it is a small adventure. And every step is worth it. Stairs of San Juan de Gaztelugatxe. Photo: Eduardo Kenji Amorim via Unsplash Dragonstone, in the heart of the Basque Country Game of Thrones fans will recognise it immediately: San Juan de Gaztelugatxe served as the visual inspiration for Dragonstone, the fortress of Daenerys Targaryen. Although filming ...