Map
7 ideas, picked for these days
Saint-Jean-de-Luz: harbour and a fish restaurant
Saint-Jean-de-Luz lights up Christmas at the end of November, and the Place Foch market opens every day of the long weekend. In France the 6th and 8th are working days: shops and market on normal hours, without the closing of a Spanish holiday.
Lapurdi villages and a castle above the sea
In winter the Abbadia castle opens Tuesday to Sunday from 14:00 to 18:00, with compulsory booking, and closes on Mondays. The La Rhune train is stopped from November to spring: this is the plan for the French Basque interior for those days.
A night in the bubble at Hotel Aire de Bardenas, with the Bardena Blanca by 4x4 and Tudela
In December the Bardenas are toured from 8:00 to an hour before dusk, and it gets dark before six: the 4x4 and Castildetierra, in the morning. The night in the bubble is one of the longest of the year; if it has rained a lot, some tracks close.
Astún: three hours of lessons, all included
Astún sells an Immaculate Conception long-weekend package with hotel and Astún-Candanchú lift pass, but opening depends on the snow: check the report the night before. Parking is booked from €5 a day, and the school combines lesson, lift pass and equipment.
Formigal: a day on the slopes and a grill at Sarrios
Formigal-Panticosa sells stays for Constitution Day and the Immaculate Conception, although its pistes open when the snow allows. If it opens, it is the resort with the most kilometres two and a quarter hours from Pamplona; buy the lift pass online.
Jebulon · CC0A weekend in Burgos and Atapuerca, an hour and a half from Valladolid
The Museum of Human Evolution has special Constitution long-weekend hours, with morning trips to the Atapuerca sites booked by phone (947 421 000). It is cold on the Trinchera in December: coat and field footwear.
A weekend in the Rioja Alavesa, 45 minutes from Vitoria
On the night of 7 December, the eve of the Immaculate Conception, Lanciego, a quarter of an hour from Laguardia, lights the Marchos: bonfires in the streets, young wine and chestnuts. Sleep inside the wall that night and book the tastings beforehand.