Northern Spain in Seven Days
Plaza de la Constitución, SanSebastián
Northern Spain had long been on our bucket list, and this road trip was the perfect opportunity to explore the majestic Pyrenees, hike some scenic trails, and drive through picturesque villages and stunning landscapes. Of course, no trip to Northern Spain is complete without a big focus on the incredible local cuisine—considered some of the best in the world.
Our trip began in Barcelona, where we picked up our rental car and set off. First stop: Jaca, a charming town in the foothills of the Pyrenees. From there, we continued to Pamplona for lunch, before making our way to San Sebastián, where we indulged in the city’s famous food scene. It did not disappoint! Our final stop was Bilbao, before returning to Barcelona for one last full day before heading home.
Great for kids 5+ years
Great for mid-winter (mid-February) and Spring break (mid-March) as well as Thanksgiving
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After arriving early in the morning on our overnight flight, we went straight to our hotel to sleep. Booking the room for the night before meant no waiting for check-in. The Hyatt Regency Barcelona Tower is a roughly 10-minutes drive from the airport and has a metro stop nearby for easy access to the city. A cab or Uber to the city center cost about €20.
A 4-5 hour long nap helped us adjust to the local time, and by the evening, we were ready to go. We met up with friends in the city center to walk around and ended the evening at Casa Amàlia, a trendy spot known for its Catalan dishes.
Aínsa, Spain
Overlook to a lake near Jaca, Spanish Pyrennes
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We hit the road around 10 a.m., heading toward Aínsa, a charming medieval town about three hours from Barcelona. The drive was smooth and scenic, with great roads the entire way. Being a Sunday in the off-season, many restaurants were closed for lunch, but we found a spot at Restaurante Dos Ríos Aínsa (good food and generous portions). After lunch, we continued our drive to Jaca, arriving about an hour later.
We stayed in Hoz de Jaca, a quaint village about 30 minutes drive from the town of Jaca, near the French border. Our home base was Casa Forelsa, a charming lodge perfectly situated for hiking, with trails starting right behind the house.
For dinner, we headed to La Cadiera, a cozy, low-key spot serving typical Pyrennes food, which was highly recommended by a local. Two thumbs up!
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Day 3 was a bit of a washout due to rain, but we made the best of it with a late breakfast in Biescas, a charming town full of cozy cafés. While there, we stocked up on essentials and snacks at the local Carrefour. Thankfully, our Airbnb was incredibly comfortable, so we spent the rainy afternoon indoors. When the skies finally cleared, we squeezed in a short hike before heading to dinner at Casa Martón—a fantastic spot with beautiful ambiance, attentive service, and excellent steak. It’s an absolute must if you’re in the area and if you’re there during high season, make reservations.
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We woke up to clear blue skies and hit the trails to enjoy a lovely 2-hour hike in the Pyrennes. Around noon, we headed to Pamplona, a two-hour drive, and arrived just in time for lunch. We spent the afternoon walking around the city, stopping at a few pintxos bars—Bar Cerveceria La Estafeta (it was ok) and Adokin Gastrobar (very good), and later visiting the fantastic local bakery, Pastas Beatriz. It was the perfect amount of time to get a feel for the town and sample its food. In the evening, we continued our drive to San Sebastián, just an hour away.
Things to know when you get to San Sebastián:
1) Get rid of your car as soon as possible. The city is made for walking, and driving around is a headache. Find a parking garage and leave your car there.
2) You're probably already aware of its incredible food scene. With the highest number of Michelin-starred restaurants per capita in the world, it's a food lover’s paradise. We skipped the fine dining spots and went pintxos bar hopping instead—and we’re so glad we did! It was way more fun with the kids, plus we got to try all kinds of pintxos along the way.
3) We also recommend staying in the city center so you can fully enjoy San Sebastián on foot.
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No visit to San Sebastián is complete without a list of the excellent pintxos bars you can find around the city. These are some that we ate at and highly recommend.
- Bar Desy: The best burger you will ever eat!
- Bar Zabaleta: Fantastic tortilla!
- Bar Pagadi: This was good but didn’t measure up to the other incredible places at which we ate.
- La Taska de Gros
- La Kaba Taberna: Incredible seafood pintxos.
- Marruma Taberna: Everything was delicious.
- Restaurante Gandarias: the lamb and steak pintxos were extraordinary.
Casa Alcalde: Another excellent spot!
In between lots of food stops, we also walked around. A full day was a good amount of time in the city, though I would consider returning for the food.
Outside the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao
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We left early for the short drive (1 hour 15 mins) to Bilbao. The first thing we did was find a garage so we could explore the city by foot.
Bilbao is a small bustling city, known for the iconic Guggenheim Museum and a thriving food scene. We spent the day walking around the city taking in the architectural sites including the Sene de Sanidad, Puente Zubizuri and of course, the Guggenheim Museum.
Our lunch stop was the Amaren. It was excellent, but in hindsight, given that we only had the day in Bilbao, I would recommend stops at pintxos bars rather than a long sit-down lunch.
We flew back to Barcelona that evening.
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We wanted to make the most of our day in Barcelona, so we started early. Our first stop was the MOCO Museum of Modern Art, which we highly recommend—be sure you book your tickets online in advance.
Next on our itinerary was the iconic Sagrada Família, a must-see in Barcelona. With about 2.5 hours to spare before our entry time, we strolled through the Barri Gòtic, stopping for some delicious pizza at Fella Pizza before making our way to the Sagrada Família. If you’re planning to visit, book your tickets ahead of time (we did ours a week in advance) and set aside at least two hours to explore. We timed our visit for the afternoon, when sunlight streams through the stained glass, transforming the interior into a breathtaking kaleidoscope of color.
We walked around the city the whole day and ended up at Devoto. The food was excellent and the octopus dish a must try!
We returned to the Hyatt Regency Barcelona Tower in the evening to catch our early morning flight the next day. -
What would we do differently? Honestly, not much—the pace felt just right. A sunny day in the Pyrenees instead of rain would have been amazing, but we made the best of it. And while a single day in Barcelona is never enough, being out and about all day gave us a good sense of the city, and we left feeling satisfied with our visit.
November Travel Tips: Traveling in November meant thinner crowds, though Barcelona still felt pretty busy. The Pyrenees were cold but manageable with a jacket and some layers, and off-season hotel prices were much more budget-friendly. Honestly, we can’t imagine how packed and overwhelming it must be in the summer!
When to Visit: Though skipping school and leaving for Thanksgiving is hard, it was worth it. The weather was perfect and the crowds were manageable. If you can plan a trip during this season, we highly recommend it.
Restaurants: Northern Spain is a food lover's paradise, and it’s hard to go wrong when dining out. For each city, we’ve included a list of the fantastic restaurants we visited.