RESTAURANTE ELKANO    One Michelin Star Getaria is the picture-postcard Basque Country fishing village that produced designer Cristóbal Balenciaga, Plácido Domingo's mother, and Juan Sebastián Elcano (the first mariner to circumnavigate the globe). You can wander down the old streets to the harbour, where you will see the fishing fleet, walking past various shops selling their wares. There are stunning little beaches on either side of town. Set on a crossroads above the harbo

RESTAURANTE ARTEAGA LANDETXEA     Michelin Bib Gourmand During our three-night stay in the Basque Country town of Elorrio, the friendly duo of Niko Moreno and Maider Ugarriza of Hotela M&UGA organised a seven-seater taxi to take us to Restaurante Arteaga Landetxea for lunch. The Restaurant was a twenty-minute drive away from Elorrio to Arrasate (Gipuzkoa). It is a restored historic farmhouse in the heart of the stunning Basque Countryside.  Maider Larrañaga and Igor Ezpeleta

HOTELA M&UGA We stayed for three nights in the Basque Country town of Elorrio. The Town stands out for its unique medieval and modern heritage. In 1964, it was declared a Medieval Heritage Site. It is set in a green valley with the river Zumelegi running down its centre. It is a delightful walk through the streets of palaces and ancestral houses, built of stone and carved masonry from the 17th and 18th centuries. We chose to stay in the M&UGA Hotela. The hotel is a minute's w

AZURMENDI Three Michelin Stars Chef Eneko Atxa Azurmendi was the youngest Spanish chef to obtain 3 Michelin stars in 2012. You will discover why when you arrive at this subtropical glasshouse, which overlooks the stunning Basque countryside 25 minutes outside Bilbao. Azurmendi is an ecosystem by itself, based on sustainability. It is environmentally friendly, uses renewable energies, recycles any generated waste, harvests rainfall, and heats and cools the facilities using

CASA JULIAN In March 2025, we returned to this remarkable, easy-to-miss little Restaurant, now famous on TV, in the Basque countryside town of Tolosa, 28 km inland from San Sebastián. Tolosa is a town and municipality in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa in northern Spain . It is located in the valley of the Oria River , and Casa Julian is directly across from the river. Once you find the Restaurant and walk in, you might think you are in the wrong place. You will see an are

I RESTAURANTE KAIA-KAIPE Michelin Plate IIO We returned to the fishing port of Getaria on the Basque Coast and revisited an old favourite, the excellent Restaurante Kaia-Kaipe. Getaria is the picture-postcard image of a Basque Country fishing village. Walking up from the car park, we approached the village. When you reach the Restaurant, you can see the famous outdoor grill, where the fish is cooked over hot coals on open wire-mesh grills. The Restaurant is divided into

Vitoria-Gasteiz is the capital of the Basque Autonomous Community in northern Spain. The Gothic-style Santa María Inmaculada Cathedral features a sculpted facade and towering columns in the medieval quarter. The 17th-century Plaza de la Virgen Blanca features a monument to the 1813 Battle of Vitoria. The Church of San Miguel has a sizeable baroque altarpiece and a statue of the White Virgin, the city's patron saint. Beethoven dedicated his Opus 91, often called the " Battle

ASADOR BEDUA On the banks of the Urola River, just outside the village of Zumaia, you will find Asador Bedua, a restaurant with generations of family history, based on fresh produce from its own garden. It all started four generations ago, when their ancestors offered potato omelettes with green peppers to the residents of Zumaia who came to the grill by rowing upriver in their boats. The Bedua grill is a benchmark of Basque gastronomy. Over its embers, you will see roast be

ASADOR ETXEBARRI One Michelin Star Although not the easiest place to find, this beautiful, rustic, restored stone house is a couple of kilometres out of town. It has a bar at the ground-floor entrance and a couple of stunning dining rooms on the first floor. The renowned chef Victor Arguinzoniz, who deserves his one Michelin star, cooks all the high-quality produce on various charcoal grills. There is no molecular stuff here; it is just fresh, quality food with unique fla

RESTAURANTE ELKANO One Michelin Star Getaria is the picture-postcard Basque Country fishing village that produced designer Cristóbal Balenciaga, Plácido Domingo's mother, and Juan Sebastián Elcano, the first mariner to circumnavigate the globe. Getaria is a fishing port. You can wander down the old streets to the harbour. Walking past various shops selling their wares. There are a couple of lovely beaches in and around the town. Set on a crossroads above the harbour of G