Map
6 ideas, picked for these days
Coastal path and boat along the corniche
The GR 8 ends in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, which lights up Christmas at the end of November and has the Place Foch market open every day of the long weekend. In December it gets dark before six: start walking first thing to arrive in daylight.
Gaztelugatxe, Mundaka and the Casa de Juntas
On the December long weekend Bizkaia puts Gaztelugatxe under controlled access: you need a free ticket booked online, with a daily limit. In winter there is no direct bus from Bilbao, and with an orange storm alert you should not go up.
An oyster weekend on the Arcachon bay, 2 h 30 from San Sebastián
December is the main month for the Bassin oysters: a good part of the year's sales is made ahead of Christmas, and the huts work flat out. Before going, check that the prefecture has not suspended sales over a health alert, as has happened some winters.
Jebulon · CC0A weekend in Burgos and Atapuerca, an hour and a half from Valladolid
On the Constitution long weekend the Museum of Human Evolution opens with special hours and organises morning trips to the Atapuerca sites, booked by phone (947 421 000). The Trinchera in December is cold: a proper coat.
Laguardia: tower, calado and Riscal
If you do the plan on 7 December, stay for dinner: that night, the eve of the Immaculate Conception, Lanciego, a quarter of an hour from Laguardia, lights the Marchos, bonfires in the streets with young wine. The Riscal tastings are booked beforehand.
Lapurdi villages and a castle above the sea
The La Rhune train is stopped from November to spring, and this plan replaces it. The Abbadia castle opens in winter Tuesday to Sunday from 14:00 to 18:00, with compulsory booking, and closes on Mondays: fit the day around that.