Fall in love with the beauty of the villages of the French Basque Pyrenees by booking this day trip from Bilbao. We’ll visit Espelette, Ainhoa, and Sare, three of the most beautiful villages.
Day Trip Details
At the scheduled time, we’ll meet at 66 Mazarredo Zumarkalea. Would you like to discover three of the most beautiful villages in the French Basque Pyrenees? We’ll leave Bilbao behind and make a brief stop in San Sebastián to pick up more passengers. Once everyone is on board, we’ll head toward a region that perfectly blends the traditions, culture, and gastronomy of both countries.
First, we’ll make our way to Espelette, famous for the red peppers that hang to dry on the façades of its houses. We’ll spend 30 minutes exploring the charms of this village, where we’ll see the 16th-century Church of Saint Étienne, the Castle of the Barons of Espelette, and of course the typical white houses with timber frames.
We’ll then continue traveling through the French Basque Pyrenees to Ainhoa, just 15 minutes from Espelette. Here, we’ll enjoy a 30-minute guided tour of this village located right on the border with France. We’ll stroll through this small town to see its highlights, such as the Church of the Assumption and the old washhouse. Afterwards, you’ll have free time to keep exploring this beautiful village.
Finally, we’ll stop in Sare. When we arrive in this little mountain village at the foot of the La Rhune massif, you’ll have 2.5 hours of free time to try the delicious local cuisine in one of its restaurants and go for a walk. Don’t miss the Ortillopitz House, the Church of Saint Martin, or the Sare Caves. And if you’d like, you can go up La Rhune by tourist train or hike along its trails.
We’ll meet up again and leave the French Basque Pyrenees behind as we return to Bilbao. On the way, we’ll pass through the Navarrese village of Bera, where we’ll enjoy a beautiful panoramic view from the bus.
We’ll stop in San Sebastián to drop off the passengers who started there and finally arrive back at the starting point in Bilbao 10.5 hours later.
