Getaways from Burgos: day trips and destinations close by.

The N-120 towards Atapuerca and San Millán

Each road leads to a different plan. The N-120 leaves for Logroño: half an hour away are the Atapuerca sites, at Ibeas de Juarros, and beyond, past Santo Domingo de la Calzada, the Nájera turn-off for San Millán de la Cogolla. The N-I and the AP-1, on the way to Vitoria, pass beside the Olmos mine and the CAREX, and via Miranda de Ebro lead to Haro and to Laguardia and the Rioja Alavesa. Continuing along the AP-1 and the AP-68 you reach Bilbao, the Urdaibai estuary and, for two nights, the French Basque Coast.

To the south-east, the N-234, the Soria road, leads to Covarrubias and Silos, 40 minutes away, and then to Ucero and the Río Lobos canyon and the pine forests of the Laguna Negra. To the south, the A-1 drops to Aranda: from there, the N-122 follows the Duero to Peñafiel, and the motorway continues towards the Duratón and Pedraza. To the north, the N-627 climbs to Aguilar de Campoo and the A-67 drops to Cantabria: Alto Campoo, Cabárceno, Liencres and Santoña.

For almost everything you need a car. The train serves other cities, Valladolid, Palencia or Madrid, but none of the plans on this page starts at a station.

Atapuerca 37 minutes away, with children or without

Under an hour are the plans that leave plenty of time: the two at Atapuerca, 37 minutes away, one with the Olmos mine and the CAREX for going with children, and Covarrubias and Silos, at 40. They are the only ones where the journey weighs less than the meal.

La Rioja and northern Palencia are between one and one and a half hours away: Haro, its Barrio de la Estación and a grill house from 1877, at 60 minutes; Aguilar de Campoo, with Romanesque art or the bison, and San Millán, Yuso and Cañas, at 75; Peñafiel, castle, roast lamb and winery, at 80, and Laguardia, at 90.

Between an hour and a half and two hours the Sunday starts early: canoeing the Duratón and San Frutos, at 96 minutes; Río Lobos, at 99; Alto Campoo, at 110; Liencres and Santillana, at 115, and Cabárceno, Santoña and Pedraza, at two hours.

From two hours onwards it is best to sleep away: Santillana and Comillas, at 125 minutes; Mundaka and Urdaibai, at 135; the Laguna Negra, at 139; San Vicente and Comillas, at 145; Segovia with a balloon at dawn, at 155; Llanes, at 160, and Liébana and Fuente Dé, a little over three hours.

In January there are no visits to Atapuerca

In winter, the nearest snow is at Alto Campoo, 110 minutes away, best from January to March and with chains. Cabárceno with children is open all year and from November to March admission is cheaper. In January there are no visits to the Atapuerca sites.

In spring, the Río Lobos has water: the walk to the San Bartolomé hermitage is flat, along the canyon floor, with lunch in El Burgo de Osma. It is also the season for paddling the Duratón and for Covarrubias and Silos, with the monks' vespers before heading back.

The summer plan is on the coast: Santoña, its anchovies and the boat to Laredo, better on a Saturday because the factories do not show production on Sunday, and canoeing on the Urdaibai estuary. In June, the Laguna Negra.

In autumn, the September and October grape harvest fills Haro, San Millán and Laguardia with its cellars, 90 minutes away, and in October the poplars of Río Lobos turn yellow.

The Trinchera at 10:00, booked by phone

• A short Sunday: Atapuerca with a guide. 37 minutes along the N-120: the first visit to the Trinchera, at 10:00 and booked by phone, and the museum before it closes at 15:00.
• With one night: Laguardia and the Rioja Alavesa. An hour and a half away, to sleep inside the walls, go down to the cellars and taste at Marqués de Riscal without worrying about who is driving.
• With two nights: the French Basque Coast. Almost three hours away, to Saint-Jean-de-Luz, to climb La Rhune by rack railway, see the corniche from the boat and try surfing in Biarritz.