Christmas in the north, a good idea?

[outpostbabu]

Hi all,

I'm thinking of taking another trip to Spain over Christmas holidays this year. This time I would like to visit the North. Starting in Madrid (or preferrably Barcelona) then immediately on to Pamplona, Bilboa, Oviedo, and finally Santiago de Compostela. Having never travelled in Spain over a major holiday, I have a few questions.

Will transportation be limited by holiday schedules or weather? I prefer trains but bus is ok too. I don't think I'll be renting a car.

Will there be tons of tourists at this time of year? I'm very interested in seeing the holiday festivities but preferably without a bunch of foreigners :).

Is it feasible to see a bit of all the places I've listed in about 10 days (including Christmas Day and New Years)? If not, which of these are the highlights of Northern Spain in the winter? I looked at photos from all of them on Flickr and they all looked great!

Thanks!

[Ben]

Sounds like a great trip, but you will need to wrap up warm! It can get pretty snowy in some of the places you have mentioned at that time of year. I'm not sure about public transport on holiday days, I would look at renfe.es to see if they have any info yet, or maybe you can contact them via their site. Otherwise hopefully Marina will know.

You certainly won't have any trouble with tourists in Northern Spain at this time of year. I spent New Years Eve in San Sebastian the same year I came to Spain (it was the reason I came to Spain), and had the time of my life. Remember that the Spanish don't go out til after midnight on NYE, but once they do... It was an incredible night, followed by a stroll around the bay in 20 degree (celcius) sunshine the following day, total bliss. Do try and include a full day and night in San Sebastian if you haven't been there, I think it is one of the most beautiful places in Europe.

I think you could see all those places in ten days but it will depend on careful planning of the transport, and depending on holiday timetables etc. Santiago is a very long way from Barcelona after all, and you risk spending a lot of your time travelling rather than enjoying the places...

[Marina]

My advice would be not to cover so many palces but enjoy a lot the ones you visit. For example Santiago is quite far from Barcelona and on the other hand I think that Galicia deserves a trip on its own. I would for example do Barcelona (3 days), Zaragoza (1 day), Pamplona (1 day), San Sebastian (2 or 3 days), Bilbao (2 days), Gijon or Oviedo(1 day). So then the distances between places are not that long and you can enjoy the towns more than spending most of your holidays in the train.

In the 25th of December and the 1st of January it is possible that the train (http://www.renfe.es) and bus services won't be so frequent, but if you reserve with time you won't have a problem there.


Take in to account that Christmas in Spain is a family holiday and people usually stay with their families in their home towns. So it should be a very good time as you will have most of the "tourist atractions" for yourselves.

Have a great trip and let us know your final plan!

[outpostbabu]

Thanks for the responses! I'm glad you mentioned San Sebastian too, I had forgotten about it. I hadn't really planned on staying any amount of time in Barcelona (or Madrid if I landed there) because my last Europe trip was to Barcelona for a week or so. Love the city but its just a jumping off point for this trip. So I would either land early and leave the same day or spend one night and leave the next morning. The previous trip was *supposed* to include the Basque country in addition to Barcelona but because I was travelling with a group of friends, I had to make some concessions :).

The idea this time was to draw a line across the northern edge of Spain, from Barcelona to the west coast above Portugal. I think with the snow, the mountains, and the holiday season it will be the perfect place for a winter trip.

Perhaps I will have to rearrange my plans. Of the places I've listed (and those you added), which would be "must see" places during Christmas? And if you have to pick just one or two, which would you choose? I really enjoy smaller towns with easy access (on foot, by taxi, or bus) to the countryside and would really like to find a place that is both mountainous and in view of the coast.

Thanks for your help! And keep up the great work with the podcasts!

[Ben]

San Sebastian and Santiago are the most impressive, though Pamplona could be very nice at Christmas, especially if you could get right up into the Pyrenees to somewhere like Jaca...

[Marina]

Ok, if you leave out Barcelona I would choose "San Sebastian", "Santander", "Oviedo" (smaller and more historical than Gijon), "Santiago" and "Pontevedra". I would also visit some smaller towns if I had the chance. Jaca, the one that Ben mentions, is lovely in winter but it is high up in Huesca province and unfortunately a bit out of your way.

[Ben]

Marina is right about Jaca, forget that... I would also consider forgetting Pamplona, getting straight up to the North coast, and concentrating on the cities Marina suggests above. In that case, it would make a lot more sense to go via Madrid.

[Marina]

Sorry to contradict you again Ben:) you can travel from Barcelona to San Sebastian by train changing trains in Zaragoza and without coming to Madrid. That is why I suggested Zaragoza in my second e-mail

[Ben]

But if you have a return flight, and finish up the trip in the north in Santiago, it is a loooooong way back to Barcelona to catch the flight out... which is why I suggested Madrid.

[landlady]

oh oh, sounds like a domestic coming on :p

Sorry Ben & Marina, just my sense of humour. No harm meant. :-*

[gary]

I have done Barcelona at New year and it is great - Try to catch the Tres Reyes parade on 12th night - tourists, no - but every man woman and child seems to be on the streets catching sweets thrown from the passing floats

[outpostbabu]

I think Ben has a good point about Madrid. I had imagined that if I left from Barcelona the train would hug the mountains as it moved west. Of course I could be completely wrong on that. Starting from Madrid also happens to be a bit cheaper. My goal is to see mountains and snow. Near Atlanta, where I live in the States, it may snow once a year (if that) and even then its usually just a light sprinkling.

Anyway, don't mean to ramble. Marina's list looks good to me, though I am not familiar with all the places on it: "San Sebastian", "Santander", "Oviedo", "Santiago" and "Pontevedra"

But what of Bilbao?

Now I will do some research on Flickr and thereabout and let you know what I come up with! Thanks so much for the info!

[Marina]

Bilbao is a good option as well, but I can give you much information about it as I've only been there for a few hours in the Guggenheim Museum. I've got a friend from there and I think it must be a good city for partying and having nice food.

If you'd like to see the snow the only sure option are the Pyrenees but there is no road or train that crosses them longwise from Cataluña to the Basque Country.

In the end I have to agree with Ben;). If you've already been to Barcelona and you don't intend to spend time there I think it will make your life easier to start your trip from Madrid.

[outpostbabu]

I'm not making it to Madrid/North Spain for Christmas but I have just bought tickets to arrive on the 30th for a stay until the 8th. It is only now, checking in here, that I see Jan 6 is a big holiday. So I have Jan 1 and Jan 6 to look forward to. Whats going on in Madrid during this time? I'd like to take part in the festivities but from what I've read alot of the bars are reserved for private parties?

[eLiNe]

Hi,
I have travelled in the north of Spain severeal times, and are also going there this chrismas holliday/ new years eve. My starting point will be Madrid.
In my opinion, inside spain you can get cheap plane tickets. I would have bought a plain tickets from Madrid to either Bilbao or San Sebastian. As I understand, a new cheap airline has just started flights from Madrid to Bilbao. This summer I took the train from Madrid to Bilbao. It was ok, but it took 8 hours. That is a long time, when you are only staing for 10 days.

When arriving in the north, I would have rentet a car, which is quite cheap in spain.
If I were you, I would leave out Santander. If you are going to the north, and really want to see the north, I would spend all my days there. San Sebastian is a must. If you have a car, you can go to all the small basq cities inbetween bilbao and san sebastian, like Mundaka and Lekeitio, which I really recommend. Around Bilbao there is also really nice places like, Getxo, Algorta...and so on.

[Marina]

I'm not sure if you'll be in Madrid all of your holidays but here are a few events that you might like to see:

31st Dec- head to the Puerta del Sol to eat the grapes:
Buy a bottle of cold cava and twelve grapes per person in a shop, some of them sell the grapes already prepared in nice little packets, then head to the Puerta del Sol at least one hour before midnight to enjoy the party and eat each of the grapes with each of the twelve bell dongs to welcome the New Year. If you manage to eat all of them in time you will have a very lucky year!!!.

5th Jan- Cabalgata de Reyes
The Three Kings parade starts in the Retiro park (near the Puerta de Alcalá) and goes all the way to the Puerta del Sol. Don't be surprise to see lots of parents carriying ladders in the metro beforehand:eek:, they are used for the little ones to have a better view of the Kings who will be giving sweets to the children.


Other Christmas musts are:

Going to the Plaza Mayor Christmas market where you will find all the elements to compose a Nativity Scene, any Christmas decoration, and the most amazing masks and the most colorful wigs.

If you like classical music is worth it to attend to a church concert, they are usually free, and some of the choirs are amaizing. (Look for them in any December local guide)

You can also buy a lottery ticket for La Loteria del Niño which is similar to the Christmas one but in Reyes day.

Note that if you want to eat out on the Christmas Eve or Christmas or New Years Eve or New Year you will need to reserve in advanced.

[outpostbabu]

Thanks for all the info. My plan is coming together now. Since my intent is to see the Basque country, something I missed on my last trip, I will fly from Madrid to Bilbao. I won't have a car and so will be dependent on buses and trains once I get there. My next questions are for those familiar with Bilbao and the Basque country:

1. Are hostals/hostels plentiful in Bilbao? When I visited Barcelona, Granada, and Sevilla, it seemed they were all over. Will I be able to find one during the holiday season? I can reserve many of them online but prefer arriving, then finding a place to stay near the things I want to see.

2. Since I won't have a car, will the bus/train system be adequate to get outside of Bilbao once I'm there? It looks like Santandar is about 50 miles away. I'd like to see it, maybe San Sebastian, and some smaller towns in the Basque region (thanks eLiNe for the recommendation).

3. And finally: The only site I've searched for flight info is spanair.com. Are there are other local carriers in Spain? I tried Ryanair and some other European carriers but they only served the major cities.

Thanks for all the help with my trip, I'm really looking forward to going back to Spain!

[Ben]

Iberia also do a lot of local flights. Check www.rumbo.es for internal flight deals.

Don't miss San Sebastian whatever you do! It is the jewel of the North Coast of Spain! Tapas in the old quarter... a dream!

I believe there is a train running along the whole north coast of Spain, so getting to San Sab or Santander shouldn't be a problem. Have a look at www.renfe.es

I think you should have no problem finding a hostal at this time of year.

Saludos!

[PeterC]

[quote=Marina;8417]Bilbao is a good option as well, but I can give you much information about it as I've only been there for a few hours in the Guggenheim Museum.

Peter adds:
I first visited Bilbao in 1958, when it was a dirty industrial city, wow what a change now! The river area is great on a fine sunny day, these tend to be few and far between:( . I did manage to get a pic of the Gugg when the sun was shining, see my webshots site.

Bilbao is a great city, I am there for a few days most months, the food is fantastic. I usually stay in the Hotel Ercilla, one of the few occasions when I eat in the hotel. In the Ercilla, it is the restaurante Bermao, one of Spains best. As far as the Gugg goes, it depends on what exhibitions are showing, usually none and once you have seen it once, that is enough.

[outpostbabu]

For those looking for trains in the North, I found this site:

http://www.feve.es/00/index.html

[outpostbabu]

Just to finish this thread out, I am back from my trip to northern Spain. I decided to see the cities of Oviedo, Santander, Bilbao, and San Sebastian. I flew into Madrid (landing an hour or so after the bombing), and immediately took the train to Oviedo. It is a beautiful train ride. I had considered flying (1hr vs 6hrs) but I am so glad I took the train for the scenery! This was true all throughout my trip. So you see so many small towns, mountains, all the different environments of Spain, its really amazing. I stayed in Oviedo for a day, didn't find much to do though its a beautiful and quiet town. I think this was because I arrived just before New Years. Then I took the train to Santander. Again, another beautiful train ride. In Santander I found the sea and many more places open to serve food and beer. Stayed there for a day and took yet another train to Bilbao. Again, stunning scenery. I instantly loved Bilbao! As soon as the train gets close to the city you know this place isn't like the rest of Spain. It has a brownish-grey, gritty feel to it, which I last discovered in Barcelona. But its not so big and bustling as Barcelona. It's a beautiful city and there's tons to do. I spent most of my days here, with the exception of 1.5 days in San Sebastian. I visited the Guggenheim of course. I thought the art was somewhat lacking but the building is more spectacular than in pictures. I settled in this town so I also got to know some of the people at the bars and places like that. There's always at least one place I visit in Spain where I think "I could live here", and Bilbao was it for this trip. I enjoyed San Sebastian as well. You can't really compare anything to it. The city right up against the sea with those giant beaches and little mountains. It's fantastic but I felt it was more touristy than Bilbao. So after hiking up the mountains and taking a lot of pictures. I went back to Bilbao. I have not one complaint about this trip, the north is definitely my favorite part of Spain! I'd love to go back and see Galicia and more of the Basque Country.

If anybody is interested, I occassionally posted to my blog from the trip:
http://fortunemegastore.com/blog/

There are some photos from the trip there as well that might eventually make it into the Notes flickr group.

Thanks again for all the input on where to go! It really helped make for a great trip!;D

[Marina]

It's great you enjoyed Bilbao so much!!! I've only been in the Guggenheim for a few hours but don't really know the city, I think Ben and me should go at some point and let my friend Elena, who is a Bilbaina, to show us the nicests places and the good bars.

Actually, I love the picture of Bilbao's river that you've got in your blog.