Northern Spain (Basque Country & Cantabria)

San Sebastián (Donostia) is the culinary capital: more Michelin stars per head than almost anywhere on earth, and a pintxos culture that means you don't need a reservation to eat brilliantly. The move is the txikiteo, a bar crawl through the Parte Vieja with one pintxo and one small glass of txakoli wine per stop. Order the hot specials from the kitchen, not just what's on the counter.

La Concha beach curves through the middle of town, which makes San Sebastián that rare thing: a serious food city where you can also swim between meals. Bilbao, an hour west, has the Guggenheim (still spectacular, inside and out) and its own excellent, less touristed old town.

West of Bilbao the coast gets wilder: San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, the hermitage on a rocky islet reached by a zigzag stone bridge (Game of Thrones fans know it as Dragonstone), Zumaia's flysch cliffs, and a string of surf towns like Zarautz and Mundaka, home to one of the best left-hand waves in Europe.

Cantabria continues the theme: Santander for its bayside elegance, Comillas for Gaudí's El Capricho, and Santillana del Mar, a medieval village so preserved it feels staged (it isn't; people live there). The Altamira cave replica nearby holds the story of Europe's most famous prehistoric art.

Half an hour inland, the Picos de Europa rise abruptly to 2,600 metres. Base yourself in Potes or Cangas de Onís, ride the Fuente Dé cable car straight into the high karst, and walk the Cares Gorge, a path cut into the side of a ravine that's among the great easy hikes of Europe.

The region between mountains and sea is dairy country: cabrales blue cheese matured in caves, fabada bean stew, and sidra, natural cider poured from a height to aerate it. Asturias in particular takes its cider houses seriously.

With a week or more, continue into Galicia: Santiago de Compostela, where the cathedral square fills with elated, exhausted pilgrims finishing the Camino, and the rías (drowned river valleys) of the coast, which produce Spain's best seafood. Pulpo a la gallega, octopus with paprika and olive oil, is the signature plate.

Walking a final stage of the Camino (Sarria to Santiago is the popular five-day version) is a trip in itself and qualifies you for the compostela certificate, if that appeals.

This is a road-trip region. Trains along the coast are scenic but slow and narrow-gauge; a car turns the whole strip from Bilbao to Santiago into one of Europe's great drives. Fly into Bilbao (BIO) or Santander (SDR); San Sebastián's tiny airport mostly connects via Madrid.

Weather is Atlantic: green because it rains. May, June, September and October offer the best odds of sun without peak crowds; July and August are reliably warm but this coast is where Spaniards holiday, so book ahead. Pack a light rain layer whatever the forecast says.