The Basque Country in the north of the Iberian Peninsula consists of four Spanish and three French provinces and stretches from the Bay of Biscay (Basque: Bizkaia) to the western foothills of the Pyrenees. There is no common Basque state; the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country (Basque: Euskadi, Spanish: País Vasco), which belongs to Spain, is made up of three provinces: Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa and Araba.
Green, rugged mountains, rough sea, mild climate - these are the essence of the Basque province of Bizkaia. Close to the coast between two mountain ranges lies the provincial capital of Bilbao, the largest city in the Basque Country with 350,000 inhabitants. It is located on the Ría de Bilbao, which flows into the Gulf of Bizkaia 15 kilometres further on at Portugalete. Together with the towns to the left and right of the estuary, it is home to almost one million inhabitants - around half of the population of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country. Bilbao, once a grey industrial city, is now a trendy cultural and service metropolis and is regarded worldwide as an example of a successful post-industrial transformation. The pretty Casco Viejo, the historic centre, is home to more than 200 bars and over 500 small shops - and the largest market hall for fresh food in Europe, the Mercado de la Ribera. Bilbao is surrounded by natural paradises within sight of the city centre. And some of the most beautiful and best surfing beaches in Europe can be reached from the city centre in half an hour by metro.
You can download the entire travel article and the GPS data for these tours below:
- Tour 1: To Cantabria (92 kilometres, 1,400 metres in altitude, max. 12 percent gradient)
- Tour 2: An illo Verde - Green Ring (84 kilometres, 1,700 metres in altitude, max. 18 percent gradient)
- Tour 3: Basque Coast (94 kilometres, 2,090 metres in altitude, maximum gradient of 19 percent)
- Tour 4: Urkiola Pass (135 kilometres, 2,300 metres in altitude, maximum gradient of 19 percent)
