Map
14 plans, by travel time
30 min to 45 min
1 plan
Olite: palace, grill and Ujué
Royal Palace 1 h 30+Navarrese grill house €€€+Ujué and its sentry walk
You climb the Royal Palace towers, walk the medieval rúas, eat chargrilled food on the Rúa Mayor and finish at Ujué, on top of its hill. 40 minutes from Pamplona.
1 h to 1 h 30
13 plans
The Bardenas by 4x4 and lunch in Tudela
Guided 4x4 3 h+Ribera vegetables €€€
You tour the Bardena Blanca by 4x4 with a guide, stop at Castildetierra and the Cortinas ravine, and eat Ribera vegetables in Tudela. An hour from Pamplona and Logroño.
Getaria: museum, the Ratón and grill
Balenciaga Museum 1 h 30+The Ratón and walk to Zarautz+Harbour grill €€€€
You see the Balenciaga museum, climb the Ratón of Getaria, eat grilled fish above the harbour and walk to Zarautz beach. Half an hour from San Sebastián and an hour from Bilbao.
Hondarribia: old town, the Marina and Jaizkibel
Old town and the Marina 2 h 30+Ferry and boat along Jaizkibel+Grill house €€€
You stroll round the walled old town and the Marina, cross to Hendaye by small ferry, eat at a grill house on the outskirts and in the afternoon see Jaizkibel from the sea. Half an hour from San Sebastián.
Biarritz with children: seals and a calm beach
Aquarium and calm beach+Market and tapas bars €€
The seals and sharks of the Biarritz aquarium, a bar lunch at the market and an afternoon in the bay of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, where hardly any swell enters. Less than an hour from San Sebastián.
Coastal path and boat along the corniche
Coastal path 3 h 30+Fish restaurant €€
You walk the first stage of the GR 8 along the cliffs from Bidart to Saint-Jean-de-Luz, eat chipirones behind the market and see from the boat the coast you have walked. Half an hour from San Sebastián.
Saint-Jean-de-Luz: harbour and a fish restaurant
Old town and harbour 2 h+Fish restaurant €€
The old town and harbour of Saint-Jean-de-Luz in the morning, chipirones at a restaurant behind the market and a return along the cliff road. Half an hour from San Sebastián.
Biarritz: surf at the Côte des Basques and the market
Surf lesson 1 h 30+Market and tapas bars €€
An hour-and-a-half surf lesson at Biarritz's learner beach, tapas and produce at the covered market and, in the afternoon, the Atalaye aquarium. Less than an hour from San Sebastián.
La Rhune: rack railway and Espelette
Rack railway 2 h 30+Inland Basque cooking €€
You go up La Rhune on a 1924 wooden train, eat inland Basque cooking in Espelette and finish on the main street of Ainhoa. Less than an hour from San Sebastián.
Lapurdi villages and a castle above the sea
Two villages and a castle+Inland Basque cooking €€
Ainhoa and Espelette without crowds in the morning, inland Basque cooking beside the pelota court and, in the afternoon, the neo-Gothic Abbadia castle on the Hendaye cliff. For when the La Rhune train is not running.
Laguardia, Baigorri and a night at Viura
Cellar and glass winery+Signature cooking €€€+A night among wineries
You arrive by bus in Laguardia, go down into its underground cellars, have lunch in Páganos, taste at the winery under Samaniego's glass cube and sleep in Villabuena. Wednesday or Thursday.
Laguardia: tower, calado and Riscal
Walled old town 1 h 30+Visit and tasting 90 min+Rioja cooking €€€
You walk Laguardia inside the wall, climb the Abbey Tower, go down into a winery dug beneath the streets, eat with a view of the vineyard and taste at Marqués de Riscal. 20 minutes from Logroño.
Tarazona: cathedral and beech forest
Cathedral and Kiborion 1 h 30+Weekend menu €€€+Beech forest 7.8 km
The cathedral with a guide and its climb to the Kiborion, a stroll round the Jewish quarter, lunch at Saboya 21 and the Peña Roya beech forest on the Moncayo before heading home. An hour from Zaragoza.
Haro: winery, grill house and Briñas
Visit and tasting 90 min+Grill house from 1877 €€€+Old town and Briñas
You stroll round the Barrio de la Estación, visit Muga with a tasting, eat lamb at a grill house from 1877 and finish at La Herradura and in Briñas, beside the Ebro. 40 minutes from Logroño and Vitoria.
Driving time from central Pamplona on a Sunday morning, with no stops, to Saint-Jean-de-Luz. Via the Baztán and Dantxarinea, Ainhoa and Espelette come sooner; Biarritz a quarter of an hour later.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Which way do we go?
By the N-121-A and the Baztán to Dantxarinea, where the villages of Lapurdi begin. You can also reach the coast by the San Sebastián and Irun motorway.
Which plan is best with children?
The Biarritz aquarium and the wave-free beach at Saint-Jean-de-Luz, or the La Rhune rack railway from late March to early November.
What time do people eat in France?
Early: many restaurants serve from 12:00 to 14:00. Leave before nine and book for one o'clock.
What is there to do in winter?
From November to March the La Rhune train and the coastal cliff boat do not run. Ainhoa, Espelette and the Abbadia castle are the plan for those months.
Do we need a car?
Yes, unless you go to San Sebastián and carry on by Topo and train. The inland villages have no train.