Max group size: 18

Itinerary

Day 1
Bilbao

Arrive at Bilbao’s Sondica Airport designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. Transfer to hotel for a day of resting and exploring on your own.

Day 2
Bilbao Walking Tour and Guggenheim Museum Visit

Meet your guide in the morning for a walking tour of Bilbao.  Visit the Old City (Parte vieja)–the medieval section of Bilbao begun in the 13th century. Here you will find the Mercado de la Ribera, said to be Europe’s largest covered food market. Hordes of shoppers select from dozens of varieties of fresh fish, meat, fruit, vegetables, flowers, olives and nuts. Classic pintxos bars are plentiful in Bilbao’s Parte vieja, making this part of town ideal for sampling these miniature works of art.

Next, stoll with your guide to the neighboring 19th century neighborhood called the Ensanche–the expansion–modeled on Barcelona’s neighborhood of the same name. Bilbao pushed beyond the medieval city walls as the city prospered from sea trade and industry, and many of the Ensanche’s buildings are fine examples of 19th century grandeur. Today the Ensanche is the central commercial district and home to revered restaurants, pintxos bars, shops and the Guggenheim Museum.

Your guide will accompany you to the doors of the Guggenheim Museum. Designed by Canadian architect Frank Gehry, the groundbreaking titanium-clad building has been called “the greatest building of our time.” Its sinuous shapes contrast dramatically with the classical core of old Bilbao. Inside, the focus is on artists from the second half of the 20th century.

The Museum’s Guggenheim Restaurant: makes a fine choice for an introduction to avant-garde Basque cuisine made famous by chefs such as Martín Berasategui and Juan Mari Arzak. Try the multi-course tasting menu, or if you prefer a light lunch, the Bistro run by the same chef offers lighter fare.

After lunch visit Bilbao’s Metro designed by architect Norman Foster. The stations are surprisingly sleek and light filled, having been located as close to ground level as possible. The entrances are noteworthy, and in Bilbao they are affectionately called “fosteritos” after the architect who designed them.

Option: Evening guided pintxos tour in Bilbao’s Old and New (19th century) Cities. Extra cost applies.

Day 3
Traditional Basque Cider Making and Drinking at Petritegi Cider House

The northern Basque region is famous for the natural “hard” cider produced there. Today you will travel to the town of Astigarraga, 1.5 hours from Bilbao, to visit artisanal cider producer Petritegi cider house. Petritegi is the most famous cider house of them all and have been producing cider for about 300 years. With your guide you will have private access to this traditional cider-making house, and enjoy lunch with the owner.

Natural Basque cider, called sagardua, has been produced in the Basque Country, and northern Spain, for centuries, although many ciderhouses and apple orchards were largely abandoned after the Spanish Civil War when the wave of industrialization brought families to the urban areas. Traditional cidermaking is now experiencing a revival. Natural Basque cider is non carbonated, and produced without the addition of sugar. The alcohol content is generally around 6%.

The still cider is stored in and served from wooden barrels from winter through early summer until which time it is bottled. The cider is served by holding the glass far below the barrel spigot or the bottle so that the cider is aerated as it falls. No more than what can be swallowed in one swig should fill the glass.

Return to Bilbao after lunch.

Option: Evening cooking class with Michelin star chef Daniel Garcia of Zortziko Restaurant. Daniel shows you Basque and modern cuisine recipes in his studio located in the same house as his restaurant. After cooking and sampling the dishes you will move to the main dining room or the bodega (wine cellar) private room for a tasting menu designed for you by Daniel.  Extra cost applies.

Day 4
Architectural Hotel in La Rioja

WineryhotelRiojaSpain

Pick up your rental car at Bilbao’s airport for two days in La Rioja. Drive the 1.5 hours to the village of Elciego. Once you catch sight of your hotel, slightly outside of the town, you will understand why people come from all over the world to stay there. Designed by Frank Gehry, the Marqués de Riscal Hotel shares the titanium cladding and curvaceousness of Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum. But while the Museum stands monolithic next to the river, the hotel is all movement in shimmering silver and purple in a landscape of vines. Once inside, the grandeur feels cozy, and somehow serenity and quiet dominate.

The rooms in the Gehry wing share one thing, which is that no two rooms are alike.  Angles, ceiling heights, orientation and furnishings all differ from one room to another.  All of the rooms envelop you in otherworldly luxury.
During your stay in the hotel you may wish to take advantage of spa treatments in the Caudalíe Vinothérapie® Spa. Choose from an indoor swimming pool, steam room, and wine therapy massages and treatments.  All products are appropriately grape-based. Extra fee applies.

A most relaxing spot in the hotel is the rooftop lounge and outside bar area. The view is over the adjacent village of Elciego and of the surrounding vineyards.

You may wish to have dinner in the hotel’s 1868 Bistro Restaurant run by Michelin-star chef Francis Paniego of El Portal de Echaurren fame.

Day 5
Architectural Wineries in La Rioja

Today’s winery visits will make evident the contemporary contrast between traditional winemaking and innovative winery architecture in the Rioja.  Ysios, López de Heredia, Baigorri and Marqués de Riscal Wineries collectively offer a glimpse of old vines, traditional methods and traditional wineries contrasted with modern ecological technology and cutting edge architectural design in the employ of the ancient art of winemaking.

Ysios Winery

You will visit one of Spain’s most modern and innovative wineries, Ysios in Laguardia. Designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, the winery takes the form of an extraordinary curving and rippling shape, not unlike Calatrava´s other projects. Viewed in the reflection in the moat beside it, you can see the shape of six barrels sitting against the backdrop of the wavy Cantabrian Mountains.
As for the end product, the wine, you will judge for yourself in the magnificent tasting room overlooking the vineyards.

??López de Heredia
Traditional powerhouse winery in Haro with a modern boutique designed by Zaha Hadid, an Iraqi architect.

Head to Rioja’s traditional wine capital Haro. López de Heredia is one of the historical wineries in La Rioja, dating back to the second half of the nineteenth century. It has remained in the same family through many generations with Don Rafael López de Heredia and his sons and daughters currently steering it successfully into the 21st century. Astonishingly, as you will see, the family absolutely insists on and firmly believes in using traditional methods in all facets of the winemaking, including their very own in-house coopers or barrel makers – a sight to behold! Indeed, tradition oozes from every nook and cranny here…unique in every way. Their trademark wine, the famous Viña Tondonia, has an avid fan base not only in Spain but worldwide, and López de Heredia is one of the few remaining wineries still producing aged white wines.

The tour takes you through a labyrinth of underground caves excavated in the rock, home to more than 15,000 oak barrels used for aging their wines. A fascinating visit, which culminates in the stunning modern reception area designed by Zaha Hadid, an Iraqi architect. You will enjoy a tasting of two of the winery’s most emblematic wines.

Bodegas Baigorri
A modern winery in the Rioja Alavesa whose stunning new building alone is worth the visit. The winery operates all winemaking without pumps, with the use of gravity alone, to produce tempranillo based red wines. Built into a hillside, the entrance on the top floor is a glass rectangle offering sweeping views over the Rioja Alavesa landscape. On the bottom or ground floor a sleek modern space offers wine tasting and a small menu for lunch if you wish to try the wines with food.

Marqués de Riscal
The Marqués de Riscal winery, one of the references in the Rioja region, dates to 1862. The air of tradition is reinforced when you visit their underground wine cellar where bottles dating to the early years are stored. The fact that this winery commissioned one of the world’s most architecturally innovative buildings to accompany their historic winery installations brings home the coexistance of tradition and modernity in the City of Wine.

For lunch or dinner you may wish to drive to the town of Ezcaray to Echaurren Restaurant run by renowned chef Marisa Sánchez who is Michelin-starred Francis Paniego’s mother. Chef Sánchez’s restaurant specializes in traditional Riojan cuisine.  If modern Spanish cuisine rooted in the traditions of the Rioja appeals to you, you simply step next door to the modern side and find a table at El Portal de Echaurren run by son Francis Paniego.

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Day 6
San Sebastián: The Gourmet City

Drive to San Sebastián. On the way you may wish to stop at Chillida Leku, sculptor Eduardo Chillida’s outdoor sculpture park.

Late morning private walking tour of La Parte Vieja of San Sebastian with renowned local expat resident. Visit delightful shops supplying local chefs and gastonomes and La Brecha Market before heading into the pedestrian streets teeming with pintxos bars. Trot between bars for lunch. Pintxos, wine and beer included as your guide shows you where to taste the best traditional and avant-garde bites.

Dinner:  We can reserve your table at Michelin-starred Restaurant Arzak, Akelarre, Bersategui, or Mugaritz.

Day 7
Basque Cooking Class in San Sebastián

Kursal San Sebastián

Choose the cooking class that suits your taste:

The first class takes place in a private studio and is hosted and translated by an American expat and long-time San Sebastián resident who is immersed in the Basque food and wine world.  The chef who teaches the class is a professional chef in a prestigious cooking school in San Sebastián.

The second class is in a traditional Sociedad gastronómica or cooking society and is taught by a Basque chef Artiz who is the head chef of the Society.

1– Cooking class with a local professional chef in a studio overlooking one of the Parte Vieja’s pedestrian streets.  Go to La Bretxa Market before the class to buy ingredients for your class. Take an active part in the preparation of Basque traditional specialty dishes. Lunch with wine follows.

2–Cooking class in a traditional Sociedad gastronomica (Basque cooking club). The Sociedades are traditionally male-only cooking clubs whose members cook collectively, eat and famously sing together. Today the famous chefs of San Sebastián belong to the Sociedades. You will cook in one of the city’s most prestigious ones.  Your host and instructor is Artiz, a young yet accomplished chef working in his native city. He is often called upon to cook lunches and dinners for San Sebastián’s elite. You will spend the morning cooking traditional dishes and discussing Basque cuisine. Once prepared, you will enjoy lunch accompanied by local wines in the society’s very egalitarian and modest dining room.  Traditional Basque recipes such as Bacalao al pil-pil. Cocochas de merluza, Alubias de Totosa, and seasonal dishes will be prepared.
Dinner:  We can reserve your table at Michelin-starred Restaurant Arzak, Akelarre, Bersategui, or Mugaritz.

Day 8
Madrid

Transfer by taxi to the Bilbao airport (1.5 hours) for the short flight to Madrid.

PlazaMayorMadrid

Check in at your hotel in Madrid’s city center, a part of town with restaurants and tapas bars on nearly every corner, and often many per block. Take a stroll through historic Madrid, and enjoy sitting at a table in the Plaza Mayor, the city’s monumental 17th century Baroque square lined with arcades filled with picturesque cafes, Historically the Plaza was the site of everything from bullfights to Inquisition burnings, but today its uses are far less sinister.

Madrid is not only the capital city and the reference point for classic Spainish style and sensibility. Today Madrid has become a dynamic and utterly renovated city making its way into the limelight of modernity so often focused on Barcelona for design, fashion and cuisine. Impressive works of architecture include the Hotel Puerta America with 12 floors, each one designed by a different architect. including Norman Foster, Jean Nouvel and Zaha Hadid and Barajas Airport’s new Terminal 4 designed by architects Antonio Lamela and Richard Rogers.

The city is witnessing a surge in fine dining spots and modern tapas bars serving design tapas and molecular cuisine. You will find out about some of them on your tapas tour tomorrow,
Dinner: Consider Santi Santamaria’s Santceloni, La Terraza del Casino, Michelin one-star Zalacaín, or traditional Casa Lucio.

Day 9
Culinary Madrid

Your guide will pick you up at your hotel for an evening walking tapas tour visiting a selection of tapas bars ranging from turn of the century traditional bars to minimalist spots serving avant-garde tapas.  Private tour guided by chef and food and wine historian and expert Gabriela Llamas, a member of Spain’s Academy of Gastronomy and a knowledgeable and delightful companion.  Gabriela loves showing visitors and foodies the bastions of traditions on one street followed by the latest star chef’s tapas bar.  You will stop at different tapas bars, each specializing in tapas ranging from traditional patatas bravas, jamón ibérico or pescadito frito to cutting-edge minimalist tapas in sleek design bars with fashionable clients.

Madrid is one of Spain’s best cities for tapas hopping.  Basque, Galician, Asturian, Andalusian, and Castilian bars and restaurants are found across the city. Gabriela’s tapas tour is a true insider’s visit to the on and off the radar, traditional and modern places in Madrid.
While tapas hopping you will pass by many of the capital’s most impressive sights, such as the Plaza de Oriente near the Royal Palace, the 17th-century Plaza Mayor and the narrow streets of Madrid of the “Austrias”, named after the Austro- Hapsburg dynasty.

Day 10
Artistic Madrid

Free day to visit Madrid’s splendid Prado Museum, Reina Sofía Art Center, Thyssen Museum, newly opened Caixa Forum, all located on Paseo del Prado Street and walking distance from your hotel.  After a morning of visual culture you might choose to browse the avant-garde shops in the trendy Chueca district with its classic 19th century buildings revived as restaurants and boutiques.

Day 11
Toledo

High speed AVE train to Toledo (30 minutes) to see this monumental seat of three cultures of medieval Spain.
Although now completely overshadowed by nearby Madrid, it is Toledo and its narrow, winding streets and steps, stone houses and churches that embodies Spain’s past.

In the Middle Ages, Toledo was built on a “convergence” of Christianity, Islam and Judaism, and contains two of the few remaining medieval Spanish synagogues. Visit El Tránsito, a 13th century synagogue and the adjoining Jewish Museum, devoted to the history and legacy of Jewish Spain.

Private Wine Tasting with the Adolfo Family in their Family Wine Cellars

Restaurante Adolfo is the finest restaurant in Toledo.  Adolfo occupies the ground floor of what was a Jewish merchant’s house in the 1400s, with a fine coffered ceiling supported by granite columns, and dark-red tiled walls. Game is the specialty here, but the fish is outstanding too. The eleventh century bodega (wine cellar) is carved into the earth and contains over 50,000 bottles. The restaurant’s wine list offers over 1,200 different wines.

Begin your food and wine experience with a private tour of the wine cellar of the Adolfo family. Here you will meet the son and heir and visit the underground cellar followed by a wine tasting. Next you will have a private tour of the family’s El Cigarral vineyards and winery, with another wine tasting.

Once back at the restaurant enjoy a specially prepared tasting menu paired with Spanish wines drawn from their extensive holdings.

See Restaurante Adolfo in Food & Wine magazine.

Day 12
Departure

Taxi to Barajas airport. Be sure to allow time to explore and marvel at the new Terminal 4 designed by architects Antonio Lamela and Richard Rogers.

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