Overall assessment of Spain’s Northern Coast -

The towns on the northern coast of Spain are definitely worth visiting. The food is amazing, everything is super cheap (especially wine!), and there is a lot to see. We would probably recommend Bilbao as a base. Just be aware that there is not a lot of English spoken and public transportation can be challenging as it isn’t always well marked. The weather is also kind of hit or miss. The cooler temperatures were definitely a welcome relief from Segovia and Madrid where it felt like we were sitting in a brick pizza oven, but it is cloudy and drizzly a lot (San Sebastian actually has almost as many rain days per year as London).

I wouldn’t necessarily say that the people were rude, but Spain definitely isn’t a place that welcomes tourists. So while some were pretty nice, there were also banners hanging from windows telling tourists to go home!