Top Day Trips in Spain

Axpe (Asador Etxebarri) ★ 4.9

Axpe in the Atxondo valley 50 minutes from Bilbao is home to Asador Etxebarri, the one-Michelin-star wood-fire grill run by Bittor Arginzoniz since 1990.

Larrabetzu (Azurmendi and Eneko) ★ 4.9

Larrabetzu in the Txorierri valley 20 minutes from Bilbao is home to Eneko Atxa's three-star Azurmendi and one-star Eneko, plus txakoli vineyards.

Girona (El Celler de Can Roca) ★ 4.8

Girona is a 40-minute AVE ride north of Barcelona: the Roca brothers' three-star El Celler de Can Roca runs the country fine-dining benchmark in a converted.

San Sebastian ★ 4.8

San Sebastian, 100 km east of Bilbao on the bay, is the Basque country's other food capital with the Parte Vieja pintxo crawl and three Michelin stars.

Lasarte-Oria (Martin Berasategui) ★ 4.8

Lasarte-Oria, 9 km south of San Sebastian, is the village home of Martin Berasategui's flagship restaurant, three Michelin stars since 2001.

TipBook 8 weeks ahead through the restaurant website. The Berasategui tasting is the canonical Basque haute cuisine experience.

El Palmar (La Albufera) ★ 4.8

El Palmar is the fishing village in the middle of La Albufera, the freshwater lagoon where paella was born. Arroceria Maribel (Bib Gourmand.

TipReserve lunch at Arroceria Maribel or Bon Aire 2 weeks ahead. Combine with a sunset boat tour on the lagoon.

Getaria (txakoli and turbot) ★ 4.7

Getaria, a Gipuzkoa fishing village 1 hour east of Bilbao, is home to the whole-grilled turbot tradition at Asador Elkano and the txakoli wine zone.

Rioja Alavesa (Laguardia) ★ 4.7

Rioja Alavesa, 1.5 hours south of Bilbao on the Ebro, holds the Basque-administered Rioja DO, with Bodegas Ysios and Marques de Riscal as anchors.

Montilla (Montilla-Moriles) ★ 4.7

Montilla is the capital of the Montilla-Moriles denomination, where Alvear, Pérez Barquero, Lagar Blanco and the Cooperativa La Aurora all run tasting rooms.

TipAsk for the fino and the Pedro Ximénez side by side; the same grape produces both.

Las Alpujarras (Trevelez) ★ 4.7

Trevelez in Las Alpujarras is the high-altitude village famous for its PGI cured ham, 90 minutes from Granada on the A-348 through the Sierra Nevada.

TipCombine Trevelez with Pampaneira and Capileira for a full Alpujarras circuit; allow a full day.

Segovia (cochinillo asado) ★ 4.7

Segovia, 30 minutes from Madrid by AVE, is the Castilian wood-oven capital, with Meson de Candido at the foot of the Roman aqueduct serving cochinillo asado.

TipBook Candido or Jose Maria three days ahead for cochinillo. AVE 14 euros each way; 30 minutes. Cochinillo lunch 38 to 45 euros.

Cambrils and its fishing harbour ★ 4.7

Cambrils, the next town west of Salou, calls itself the gastronomic capital of the Costa Daurada, with a fishing port, two Michelin stars and 150 restaurants.

TipLunch at Can Bosch or Rincón de Diego needs booking; the fish auction at the llotja runs twice a day, blue fish in the morning and white fish in the afternoon.

Priorat and Montsant wine country ★ 4.7

The Priorat, inland from Salou, is Catalonia's only DOQ wine area on steep slate terraces, while the modernist cooperative at Falset pours DO Montsant.

TipThe Falset Marçà cooperative runs booked 90-minute guided visits of its modernist cellar for €14; the Cornudella cooperative opens its own on Saturdays.

Jerez de la Frontera ★ 4.7

Jerez de la Frontera is the heart of the sherry triangle and an easy hour-and-fifteen-minute train south of Seville, with Tio Pepe (since 1835).

TipTio Pepe runs the canonical bodega tour; book online a week ahead. The cellars are partly Gustave Eiffel design.

Valls (calçotada) ★ 4.6

Valls in Tarragona province is the Catalan calçot capital: the Festa del Calçot runs late January, and the Masies country-bistros serve calcotada lunches.

Villajoyosa (La Vila Joiosa) ★ 4.6

Villajoyosa, Benidorm's southern neighbour, has made chocolate since the 19th century: the Valor museum runs tours, and boats land fish at the port lonja.

TipValor museum tours run on weekday and Saturday mornings and weekday afternoons, in English and Spanish; boats return to port around 16:00.

Medina Azahara ★ 4.6

Medina Azahara is the tenth-century palace city outside Córdoba, UNESCO-listed in 2018 and the direct ancestor of the city's Andalusi cooking.

TipPlan lunch back in Córdoba before or after the visit; the ruins and museum make a half day at most.

Binissalem (DO wine country) ★ 4.6

Binissalem is Mallorca's DO wine town, half an hour inland from Palma, where family bodegas work the native Manto Negro grape into island reds.

Valls and the calçotada ★ 4.6

Valls is where the calçotada began, the winter feast of charred calçot onions dipped in sauce; its Gran Festa de la Calçotada falls on a late January Sunday.

TipThe 2026 festa sold a €15 tasting lot of 12 IGP calçots with sauce, bread and wine; the online lots sold out, so buy early.

Getaria (Grilled Turbot) ★ 4.6

Getaria, a fishing village 25 km west of San Sebastian, is the canonical Basque grilled-fish destination, anchored by Elkano (one Michelin star).

TipBook Elkano 6 weeks ahead; Astillero is the dockside walk-in alternative. Lunch service is the main meal.

Cordoba ★ 4.6

Cordoba is 40 minutes north of Seville by AVE, with the Mosque-Cathedral as the Islamic-Christian architectural anchor and salmorejo cordobes (a thicker.

TipVisit the Mezquita before 10:00 to skip the crowds, then lunch at Bodegas Mezquita for salmorejo and flamenquin. AVE trains run hourly.

Priorat ★ 4.5

Priorat in Tarragona's interior is the second of Spain's two DOQ wine appellations: schist-soil garnacha and carinyena reds, with cellar tastings at Mas Doix.

Xixona (Jijona) ★ 4.5

Xixona is the inland town that makes Spain's turrón, soft Xixona and hard Alicante almond nougat, and its Museo del Turrón stands beside a working factory.

TipFrom June to November the museum adds weekday-morning walks over the factory floor; the town long made ice cream in summer and turrón in winter.

Priego de Córdoba ★ 4.5

Priego de Córdoba anchors an olive oil denomination with more than 3,300 international awards, its mills open for tastings and molinero breakfasts.

TipBook a molinero breakfast at a mill rather than a plain tasting; it is the local way to drink the oil.

Toledo (marzipan tradition) ★ 4.5

Toledo, 33 minutes from Madrid by AVE, is the marzipan capital of Spain with Santo Tome and Casa Telesforo making the canonical almond-and-honey treats.

TipAVE 14 euros each way. Buy marzipan whole boxes from Santo Tome (24 euros per kilo). Lunch at Adolfo for the venison.

Ronda (Serranía de Ronda) ★ 4.5

Ronda sits above a gorge in wine country, with more than twenty small wineries pouring serious high-altitude reds alongside jamón and mountain cheeses.

Sóller (orange valley) ★ 4.5

Sóller sits in an orange valley behind the Tramuntana, an hour from Palma by wooden train, with a Saturday market of citrus, pastries and cheese.

Reus and its vermouth ★ 4.5

Reus, inland from Salou, had more than 30 cellars and 50 vermouth brands in the late 19th century, and its Museu del Vermut serves lunch among the bottles.

TipThe Museu del Vermut is a restaurant and bar as well as a collection of bottles, so make it your vermouth hour before lunch in the centre of Reus.

Errenteria (Mugaritz) ★ 4.5

Errenteria, 10 km east of San Sebastian between Astigarraga and the border, is the home of Mugaritz, Andoni Aduriz's two-Michelin-star room and one.

TipBook 2 to 3 months ahead via mugaritz.com. The 250-euro tasting menu is the canonical avant-garde Basque meal.

Sanlucar de Barrameda ★ 4.5

Sanlucar de Barrameda at the mouth of the Guadalquivir is the manzanilla capital of Spain since 1821, with Bodegas Barbadillo's cathedral-like cellars.

TipLunch at Casa Bigote for the langostinos de Sanlucar; tasting at Barbadillo runs 90 minutes with five sherry pours.