Northern Spain Complete Guide 2026: Bilbao, San Sebastián, Santiago de Compostela, Asturias, Picos de Europa, Cantabria, Pamplona & La Rioja
Browse more guides: Spain travel | Europe destinations Northern Spain Complete Guide 2026: Bilbao, San Sebastián, Santiago de Compostela, Asturias, Picos de Europa & La Rioja TL;DR I have walked the green north of Spain enough times now to say it plainly: the strip between the Cantabrian Sea and the central meseta is the part of the country most visitors skip and the part I keep going back to. Bilbao gave me Frank Gehry's Guggenheim and a 14th century old quarter that still serves pintxos for two euros. San Sebastián gave me a perfect crescent beach and the highest Michelin star count per capita on Earth. Santiago de Compostela gave me the end of an 813 CE pilgrimage that still pulls 446,000 walkers a year. Asturias gave me cider poured from above shoulder height, Picos de Europa peaks, and Lakes of Covadonga at 1,100 metres. La Rioja gave me 64,000 hectares of Tempranillo and Haro, where seven historic bodegas share a single railway street. This guide pulls it all togethe...