Northern Spain's Ancient Caves, Basque Coast & La Rioja

Arrival in Bilbao, the Basque Country's revitalized industrial heart, begins with a focus on Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum. The evening is dedicated to the museum, allowing for an encounter with both the building and the collection. Navigating the galleries offers a close study of the architectural design. Afterwards, the route proceeds to the Hotel Carlton Bilbao, which provides the accommodation for this first night in the city.

The day's focus is the origin of art in the limestone caves of Cantabria, beginning with an overland journey from Bilbao to Santillana del Mar that takes approximately two hours. The route leads to the UNESCO-listed caves at Puente Viesgo, specifically El Castillo and Las Monedas. El Castillo contains some of the world's oldest dated cave paintings, including hand stencils from over 40,000 years ago, while Las Monedas preserves charcoal sketches from the end of the last Ice Age. After this immersion in deep time, the route continues to the preserved medieval village of Santillana del Mar, a landscape of cobbled lanes and ancestral stone houses. Local establishments provide lunch and dinner, and the day concludes at the Parador de Santillana del Mar.

Today is a study in the architectural ambitions of late 19th-century Spain, concentrated in the coastal town of Comillas. The first stop is El Capricho, one of the few buildings Antoni Gaudí designed outside of Catalonia. Its vibrant ceramic sunflower tiles and Mudejar-influenced forms mark it as a key early work. The tour then proceeds to the immense Seminario Pontificio, a neo-Gothic and Mudejar-style complex whose scale speaks to the immense wealth and religious influence concentrated in Comillas during this period. After exploring these monuments to Catalan Modernism and ecclesiastical power, the return to Santillana del Mar offers a quiet contrast in its medieval streetscape.

The morning begins at Altamira, the most famous of all prehistoric art sites. Because the original cave is closed for conservation, the visit is to the Altamira Museum and its Neocave, a meticulous, scientifically exact replica. This reconstruction allows for an examination of the archaeological and artistic context of the polychrome bison friezes, providing a level of study no longer possible in the original cave. The exploration of ancient art continues at the Cueva del Pendo, known for its monumental, 25-metre-long Red Frieze of painted animals. From there, the landscape shifts dramatically on the overland drive into La Rioja, Spain's preeminent wine region. The destination is the historic CVNE winery, where a wine tasting and lunch are preceded by a visit to the remarkable Eiffel Cellar, designed by Gustave Eiffel in the late 19th century as a piece of industrial art. The day concludes in Haro, with accommodation at the Eurostars Los Agustinos.

The journey into deep time reaches its apex at the Atapuerca archaeological sites, a UNESCO World Heritage location that has profoundly altered the scientific understanding of early human evolution in Europe. A guided walk through the excavation trenches reveals the landscape where some of the continent's oldest hominin remains, dating back over a million years, were unearthed. The afternoon presents a deliberate contrast, shifting from ancient origins to the future of winemaking at the Marqués de Riscal estate. Here, the focus is the 'City of Wine,' an avant-garde hotel and winery complex designed by Frank Gehry. Its flowing titanium ribbons, echoing the colour of wine, stand against the ancient vineyards—a potent symbol of La Rioja's fusion of deep tradition and bold contemporary design, explored through a sommelier-hosted tasting.

Leaving the vineyards of La Rioja, the route heads north into Navarra, with a stop in its historic capital, Pamplona. The city is explored on foot, with a guide leading a walk along the 875-metre route of the Encierro, the Running of the Bulls. This is less a sightseeing walk than a reading of the urban landscape, tracing the path of a ritual that has defined the city's global identity and shaped its streets. The immersion in local culture continues with a lunch of pintxos in the old quarter. From Pamplona, the final leg of the day's journey is an overland drive to the Basque coast, arriving in the elegant Belle Époque seaside city of San Sebastián, set on the crescent of La Concha Bay.

The day is an immersion in the culinary culture of San Sebastián, renowned for having one of the highest concentrations of Michelin stars in the world. The morning's walking food tour is distinguished by its partnership with a local social enterprise; the exploration of the city's markets and pintxos bars directly supports a community project that provides meals to residents in need. This provides a framework for understanding the city's food scene not just as a luxury, but as a community fabric. The afternoon is unstructured, offering time for independent exploration or a walk up Monte Urgull, whose summit affords classic panoramic views of the city and La Concha Bay. A final farewell dinner at a local restaurant concludes the expedition.

The expedition through Northern Spain concludes this morning. After a final breakfast overlooking the Atlantic, a transfer is arranged to the San Sebastián airport for onward flights, carrying the distinct cultural and historical impressions of the Basque Country, Cantabria, and La Rioja.