Our current journey has taken us to several spots in the north of Spain. This is an area I have been eagerly anticipating. We’ve travelled to many cities in Spain that are gorgeous, lively, historic, and fun. Aside from Madrid and Sevilla, those cities have been primarily in the south. Finally visiting some of the cities along the Atlantic coast in the north is an exciting change. Spain feels different in the north for sure. It is very green, humid, and damp. Beyond that, architecturally and culturally Spain feels different in the north as well. We were lucky to cruise from west to east across the northern coast in the Bay of Biscay, which allowed us to make port in three cities in three separate autonomous communities.
A Coruña, Galicia
If you’ve followed along with our cruise life adventures you’ll know that Dragon is often unable to go ashore when she is on duty or on call. A Coruña was an opportunity for both of us to explore together. The day started in the heart of the port where a running race was happening, so the entire area was a bustle of activity, sound, and action. We headed off on a long walk around the peninsula from the port to the Tower of Hercules. Along the way we passed the Castle of Santo Antón, San Amaro Beach, the House of Words and the Menhirs for Peace. The Tower of Hercules is truly incredible. It is the oldest Roman lighthouse in existence, believed to have been built in the 1st century, making it around 2000 years old. Mind blowing!!! The hike around to the tower was easy and beautiful with most of it along a wide boardwalk, then on to a well maintained trail.
After visiting the lighthouse we walked through the city back towards the port. We found an adorable cafe, the Tasca A Cunquiña to enjoy a refreshing beverage next to the delightful Plaza del Humor. We barely moved from there before stumbling onto the Rua Franja, a charming, narrow street filled with busy cafes and restaurants. We skipped the local Spanish fare this time for some burrata and pizza at La Saporita, a cute Italian eatery with excellent food and friendly staff. After lunch we made our way back to the ship, wandering through the still bustling marina area. It was a gorgeous, sunny day and A Coruña exceeded all expectations. We’re looking forward to a return to this delightful Galician city in the future.
If you don’t like exploring on your own and want a guided tour, check out this inexpensive guided walking tour of A Coruña.
Gijon, Asturias
The next stop on this portion of the voyage was Gijon in the autonomous community of Asturias along the Bay of Biscay. Due to the business of the ship that day, Dog went exploring alone in Gijon. The day began with the port shrouded in fog, slowly improving to a temperate overcast day. Wandering the city was interesting as it was much more sedate, seeming almost to be a bit of a ghost town. It really wasn’t, but I’m not sure if it was just a typical slow Monday or what. The port was very big and interesting to wander. After exploring the port and the streets in the immediate vicinity it was time to climb.
Rising away from the marina was Cerro de Santa Catalina that turned out to have multiple interesting features. The first thing I encountered were the remains of an old cannon battery, including two restored cannons. Next to the remnants of the battery was a skate park, with a bunch of kids making use of its bowls and features. That was cool to see. Beyond the skate park there were sheer cliffs with old stairs down to the rocky waterfront. Meanwhile, on the top of the hill was an even more extensive historical cannon battery as well as a massive modern sculpture, the Elogio del Horizonte overlooking the cliffs to the water below. The entire park was totally worth exploring.
After descending the far side of the park I wandered past a beautiful catholic church called Iglesia de San Pedro to find a massive sandy beach, Playa de San Lorenzo. The coolest discovery of the day was finding the Roman Baths of Campo Valdés and a nearby statue of Caesar Augustus. Roman ruins were not on the list of expected findings in Gijon that day, but after seeing the Tower of Hercules I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. On the way back to the shuttle bus I grabbed some espresso and tapas at Olibher where the staff were super patient with me practicing my broken Spanish.
If you are spending a few days and have more time for a lengthy excursion, check out this full day excursion from Gijon to Spain’s first national park, one of the beautiful treasures of Asturias.
Bilbao, Basque Country
Bilbao was the final stop on our northern Spain voyage and turned out to be an exciting and lovely finish. A real cosmopolitan city in the Basque Country of Spain’s north, Bilbao surprised us right away as we took a bus in from the port of Getxo. The first thing you see coming off the port is a beautiful beach followed by multiple streets of gigantic, immaculately manicured, architecturally beautiful mansions built in the early 1900’s. Known as the Paseo de las Grandes Villas, it was truly stunning!
Proceeding into Bilbao, the good first impression continued with a walk along the riverfront from the Palacio Euskalduna to La Salve bridge just past the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum. The Guggenheim is an incredible structure, with large notable artwork around the outside. The giant puppy covered in flowers was beautiful and kind of stunning. Not having time to visit the museum on this trip, we took some pictures and proceeded into the city.
We had heard on the ride in that Bilbao is famous for their own special Basque cheesecake as well as their own style of light snack dining called pintxos. We tend to usually fly by the seat of our pants for finding restaurants, but for the cheesecake we decided to check with the wizards of Google and found our way to Bascake Bilbao. Turns out the wizards know some stuff. Dude, the cheesecake at Bascake Bilbao is out of bounds good. It isn’t as tart as we have in the U.S., with more of a subtle flavor and with a less firm, more giggly texture. We had both the classic and the pistachio! Yeah!!! After starting with dessert we proceeded a few doors down to Restaurante Abando which turned out to be a great find. We sat at the bar admiring all the pintxos options, selected a few, and ordered our go to Spanish tasty beverage, tinto de verano.
Our few hours wandering Bilbao made for a fantastic day of amazing flavors and awesome sightseeing. We quickly discovered there was just too much to see in a few short hours. We look forward to coming back to tour inside the Guggenheim, visit the architectural iron Bilbao Bridge, stroll through the old city, and discover more of all that Bilbao has to offer.
On our next visit we are planning an outing to the incredible San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, known to some as Dragonstone.
Is There A Verdict?
Northern Spain is certainly a change from the Mediterranean and really from some of the central cities as well. Madrid is so modern and cosmopolitan. Sevilla has a flavor all its own, between the oranges and the historical Moorish influences. Perhaps obviously, the weather in Spain feels far different in the north. It permeates everything really. Northern Spain truly earns the moniker “Green Spain” having so many trees and vegetation compared with the more desert feeling that much of the south has. Beyond that, the vibe in Spain feels different in the north. The north feels calm, relaxed, and maybe more rugged. There is a lot of glitz and glam along the Mediterranean that you don’t see as much of in the northern cities. These cities somehow feel more lived in and permanent. Even the different autonomous communities feel different from one to the next.
Visiting the few cities in the north of Spain we were able to on this journey has been an interesting and refreshing change of pace. We are planning to hike a significant portion of the French Way of the El Camino soon, which will no doubt provide a further look at the many differences and wonders of Spain’s north. We’ll update you again on those discoveries after the trek is completed. I feel a certainty that hiking the Camino will point out even more ways that Spain feels different in the north. Next stop, France. Talk soon friends.
*Disclaimer: this post contains some sponsored links for tours that may result in a commission to the author.
