Euskadi for gourmets: how to discover the most exclusive side of the Basque Country this summer

A cathedral open for works.

The

where

spent five days without leaving.

An award-winning wine born of love between a girl from Ohio and a boy from Bilar.

"Visiting a destination is not the same as feeling it", sums up

, Minister of Tourism, Commerce and Consumption of the Basque Country, to highlight why visiting the region enriches the visitor, who leaves with more than he expected to find.

brand

, presented by Turismo de Euskadi at the Marqués de Riscal winery (Elciego, Rioja Alavesa), aims to internationalise.

"We have one goal: to differentiate ourselves from other premium destinations, positioning ourselves as a unique place to live unique experiences", says

, director of Basquetour. "That is why we have created a name that evokes a privileged possibility: the one that is yet to be discovered which few people will have access".

There are already

that have signed up to the proposal with the idea that the traveler is a prescriber of a destination that brings together cities such as

in 7,234 square kilometers , a thriving rural world, beaches, mountains and gastronomy with 34 Michelin stars.

The Marques de Riscal Hotel.

In order to better deliver the information to the potential visitor, the Basque Government has drawn up a luxurious guide where the options are accumulated.

The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao appears dazzling on its cover, a world cultural reference that modified the physiognomy of a port and industrial city.

Designed by the Canadian

and opened in 1997, it has a large collection of modern and contemporary art combined with an ambitious exhibition program.

Inside its imposing titanium-clad structure - reminiscent of the fish scales that Gehry bought with his grandmother - it currently houses

, the exhibition commissioned by

-who contributes several of his cars- that celebrates the artistic dimension of the automobile, linking it to painting, sculpture, architecture and cinema, as indicated by the presence of the legendary Aston Martin DB5 driven by

in

.

A few meters away, the Gran Hotel Domine stands like the mirror of the Guggenheim.

The famous flower sculpture Puppy by

- which in its beginnings was liked by many more than the museum, which they called

- seems to observe the luxurious establishment, with suites with butlers and two restaurants.

gastro temples

Bilbao is not short of gastronomic temples, but it is worth making a 30-minute journey to reach the impressive views offered by the Gorbea and Urkiola mountains, among which is the Garena Jatetxea restaurant (Lamindao, Bizkaia).

" has taken place there ,

carried out by the young chef

, with a Michelin star thanks to the project carried out together with

, a poet, a graduate in Business Administration and the most successful

of his generation -he was five times consecutive the absolute champion.

A gastronomic proposal that drinks from the

(hamlets) of the past, where the

(housewife) carried the weight of the house and the family.

Its traditional recipes are those that Baz maintains and promotes: stews and flavors of yesteryear made with local products and a modern touch: a gastronomic journey that

.

Crest of old chicken, cylinder of vizcaína with grilled river crab,

with acorn and chorizo ​​or seasonal mushrooms with Etxauri egg are some of its most praised dishes.

Geroa, its tasting menu, is accompanied by wines such as the txakoli Geroa 2016 -there are barely 30 bottles left-, the Basondoa Brut Nature or the Aseginolaza & Leunda.

Ysios Winery (Laguardia), designed by Calatrava.

Changing provinces, in the heart of Rioja Alavesa emerges the surprising silhouette of Ysios (Laguardia, Álava), an avant-garde boutique winery, in harmony with the Sierra de Cantabria and the singularity of the landscape that surrounds it.

Designed by

in 2001, it has an avant-garde vision in which respect for the tradition that emerges from the production of wines in unique plots is mixed with premium visits and a

where you can enjoy wines and aperitifs.

Clara Canals

is the winemaker who has brought her personal "terroir approach" to take the brand to new horizons.

Their

wine , the fruit of a 1.1-hectare vineyard planted in Elvillar before 1902 at 560 meters above sea level, is the jewel in the crown.

Deep purple-red in color, it is intense and attractive on the nose, dense and aromatic on the palate and with a long finish -the unit costs 150 euros-.

Closely followed in terms of consumer taste is its Ysios Finca El Nogal, complex and intense, with memories of forest fruits, coffee beans and spices.

A bottle costs 60 euros.

To eat, it is worth visiting the Arrea restaurant!

(Kanpezu, Álava), where the chef

gets rid of a thorn stuck: he finally returns home.

And he does so by honoring the Montaña Alavesa, one of the most uninhabited lands in the region.

In the past, only 25% of the land could be cultivated, forcing many families to

.

Charcoal, boxwood spoons or almost extinct native fruits are present in dishes that have won two Repsol Suns and a Michelin Guide recommendation.

Cellar of the Rekondo restaurant (San Sebastián).

Lamo says that it is

among the diners.

If they don't make a strange face when seeing the result of one of the hobbies most practiced by children in the area -they caught the little birds with garters that they extracted from the bark of the holly- the chef is free to show a repertoire of dishes such as the

, frozen rennet with bread and weeds,

Navarra-style truxita,

seso and patxarán or wild boar tongue and chard.

To pair with, Vino de Trueke, produced by Tentenublo Wines for Arrea!;

Marko Skin 2019 or Phinca Abejera from Bodegas Bhilar.

To rest in the area, the Palacio de Samaniego offers all kinds of luxuries.

Built in the 18th century, it is one of the prides of the town, with 600 inhabitants.

When she discovered

in 2016, she fell in love with this historical monument, to which she dedicated a year and a half to reform.

With seven suites and two double rooms, it is decorated with pieces of Amazonian and Indonesian art and a collection of ceramics and Murano glass.

between vineyards

The gastronomic pleasures continue in Hika, an integrating space in which oenology and gastronomy coexist in Villabona.

"We make daily purchases in the markets. We have been doing it for 30 years. When everyone made spherifications,

. I say it with pride. We look out of date, but now everyone comes to our speech", says

, renowned chef who, after a quarter of a century at the Frontón de Tolosa restaurant, now commands the kitchen of a modern txakoli winery, surrounded by seven hectares of vineyards in a rural enclave.

His concept of classic restoration is developed with farmhouse egg creams with spring

, boneless and roasted chicken with vegetables or seasonal peas with new potatoes and broad beans.

These are their star dishes, in fierce competition with classics such as duck with orange or, of course, beans.

But not everything is food, as they say at Izki Golf, in the Izki Natural Park.

Designed by

, it has 18 holes and a seven kilometer course spread over 98 hectares.

"We welcome about 20,000 golf players a year," explains

, director of the facilities.

From the area there are also 500 kilometers of off-road bicycle routes through the natural park and two bird-watching areas have been set up, such as the bullfinch and the medium bill.

Chillida Leku.

Exercise and nature are also enjoyed at Chillida Leku, a "signature" museum.

"Here you can step on and touch. We maintain the will of my

, grandson of the universal Gipuzkoan sculptor,

proudly declares .

Located on the outskirts of Hernani, it contains the largest and most representative corpus of the artist's work, which merges with oaks, beeches and magnolias.

The museum also has the Zabalaga farmhouse, a traditional Basque construction from the 16th century that serves as an exhibition space after being lovingly restored and conditioned by Chillida, his wife

and the architect

In Zarautz, the versatile painter and sculptor

opened his workshop, inaugurated three years ago, where his art can be fully observed.

"I am in favor of the fact that, if you want to show off your work technically, you should start by showing the blank page," he says.

Access stairs to Hotel Akelarre.

Not far away, in Akelarre,

achieves the culmination of a dream that was born in 1975, when he started his restaurant on the mythical Mount Igeldo in San Sebastián, next to the now defunct Ku nightclub.

In 1978 he got his first Michelin star.

In 1982, the second.

And in 2007, the third, to which he added three Repsol Soles.

Since 2017, he has added a five-star hotel, where the

has been in charge of its construction and interior design, selecting elements that coexist in harmony with the environment that surrounds the area.

All the rooms are diaphanous, with a private terrace and facing the Bay of Biscay, with impressive views of the Basque-French coast, the ports of Orio and Getaria and the cliffs of the Biscay coast.

The establishment also has a

area and a heliport.

It is not the only luxury accommodation in San Sebastián, which counts among its jewels the mythical Hotel María Cristina or the Lasala Plaza, with a privileged location at the confluence of the port, the bay and the Old Town of San Sebastian, with a

of dreams .

And to toast the end (or the beginning) of the trip, the Rekondo restaurant offers itself as the ideal place.

Holder of several national and international gastronomic awards, it has one of the largest private wineries in the world, with wines from more than 20 countries.

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