Northern Spain
San Sebastián & Rioja
Pintxos & Belle Époque · The Guggenheim · Rioja Wine Country · 7 Days
Mosaico Travels
Curated Luxury · Exceptional Destinations
Where the world
learned to eat
On a shell-shaped bay between green hills and the Cantabrian Sea sits San Sebastián — a Belle Époque resort city that has quietly become the gastronomic capital of the world, with more Michelin stars per square metre than almost anywhere on earth. Its true genius, though, lives at the bar: the pintxo, a bite-sized work of art passed across marble counters in the lamplit lanes of the Parte Vieja.
This Mosaic Journey pairs four nights in San Sebastián with a day in Bilbao at Frank Gehry's Guggenheim, a slow afternoon in medieval Hondarribia, and two nights in the heart of Rioja Alavesa — at the only hotel Gehry ever designed, where the vineyards run to the horizon and the wine has been made for nearly two centuries.
- Four nights at the Belle Époque Hotel Maria Cristina, on the Urumea
- Guided pintxos crawls through San Sebastián's Old Town
- A private day in Bilbao at the Guggenheim Museum
- A tasting menu at one of the city's three-Michelin-star tables
- Two nights at Frank Gehry's Hotel Marqués de Riscal in Rioja
- Private winery tours and Caudalie Vinothérapie spa
From the marble bar
to the City of Wine
This is a journey told in flavours — anchovies and txakoli on a crowded counter at dusk; foie and Idiazábal on a white tablecloth at a Michelin table; a glass of Reserva poured beneath Gehry's ribbons of titanium as the Rioja sun drops behind the Sierra de Cantabria. San Sebastián and Rioja are barely two hours apart, yet each is a complete world. We give you both, unhurried.
Your Detailed Mosaic
Seven days balancing the Basque coast, its food culture, and the wine country of Rioja Alavesa.
San Sebastián, Basque Country
Arrival — Welcome to Donostia
Your Mosaico concierge meets you on arrival and transfers you privately to the Hotel Maria Cristina, the Belle Époque grande dame on the banks of the Urumea where the stars of the September film festival have stayed since 1912. Settle into your suite, then take a first stroll along the Paseo to the shell-curve of La Concha as the evening light turns gold. Tonight the group gathers for a welcome dinner in the heart of the Old Town.
San Sebastián — Parte Vieja
La Concha, the Old Town & the Pintxo Crawl
A leisurely morning along La Concha and up Monte Urgull for the panorama over the bay, then a private guided visit to the Mercado de la Bretxa to understand where the city's extraordinary produce begins — with tastings as you go. The afternoon is yours to wander the Parte Vieja. As evening falls, your guide leads the first pintxos crawl: counter to counter through Calle 31 de Agosto and Fermín Calbetón, glass of txakoli in hand, the best bite at each bar.
Bilbao, Biscay
Bilbao & the Guggenheim
A private transfer west to Bilbao for a guided, skip-the-line day at the Guggenheim — Frank Gehry's shimmering titanium masterpiece that single-handedly reinvented the city. Time with the collection and the great outdoor works (Koons's Puppy, Bourgeois's Maman), then lunch in the revived Ensanche and a walk through the Casco Viejo before returning to San Sebastián. The evening is free for a second, unhurried pintxos wander at your own pace.
Hondarribia & the Coast
Medieval Walls & a Michelin Table
A morning in Hondarribia, the walled medieval town at the mouth of the Bidasoa — cobbled lanes, flower-hung balconies, and the colourful fishermen's quarter of La Marina. The centrepiece of the day is a long tasting-menu lunch at one of San Sebastián's three-Michelin-star houses set in the hills above the sea, a definitive expression of New Basque cuisine. The evening is at leisure to rest before the journey south.
Elciego, Rioja Alavesa
Into the City of Wine
A scenic private transfer south over the Sierra de Cantabria into Rioja Alavesa, the vineyards opening out around the medieval village of Elciego. You arrive at the Hotel Marqués de Riscal — the only hotel Frank Gehry ever designed, its cascade of pink-and-gold titanium rising above one of the oldest wineries in Rioja. After settling in, a private tour of the historic Riscal cellars and a tasting, followed by dinner at the hotel's Michelin-starred restaurant overseen by chef Francis Paniego.
Rioja Alavesa
Wine Country & Vinothérapie
A morning at a second landmark estate — the dramatic Santiago Calatrava-designed Bodegas Ysios, or the Vivanco wine museum, by preference — for a private tour and tasting among the vines. The afternoon belongs to the Caudalie Vinothérapie Spa at Riscal, where the treatments are built on the grape itself: a barrel bath, a Pulp Friction massage, the indoor pool. A farewell dinner closes the journey beneath the Gehry canopy.
Rioja — Departure
Departure Day
A final slow breakfast with a last look across the vineyards before your Mosaico concierge arranges a private transfer to Bilbao Airport, about an hour away. You leave with the Basque coast and the wine country of Rioja behind you — two of Spain's most extraordinary tables, experienced exactly as they should be.
Coast, City & Cellar
La Concha Bay
The shell-shaped beach that gave the bay its name — the elegant heart of Donostia.
The Pintxos Bar
Marble counters piled with bite-sized masterpieces — the city's great nightly ritual.
The Guggenheim
Gehry's titanium icon — the building that turned a port city into a pilgrimage.
The City of Wine
Gehry's hotel rising above the Marqués de Riscal estate, vines to the horizon.
Two Defining Addresses
Hotel Maria
Cristina
San Sebastián's most storied address — a Belle Époque grande dame opened in 1912 to the design of Charles Mewes, architect of the Ritz in Paris and Madrid. On the bank of the Urumea, a few steps from the Old Town and La Concha, it pairs marble columns, crystal chandeliers and carved-stone splendour with a contemporary spa and the two-Michelin-star Amelia by Paulo Airaudo. Every September it hosts the great names of the film festival.
The Luxury Collection · Belle Époque · est. 1912
Hotel Marqués
de Riscal
The only hotel Frank Gehry ever designed: a sculpture of pink, gold and silver titanium ribbons floating above one of the oldest wineries in Rioja. Within the 100,000 sqm City of Wine sit the Michelin-starred Marqués de Riscal Restaurant under chef Francis Paniego, the Caudalie Vinothérapie Spa with its indoor pool, a rooftop lounge, and rooms with zig-zag windows framing the medieval village of Elciego and the vines beyond.
The Luxury Collection · Frank Gehry · est. 2006
Architecture you
can sleep inside
Gehry's interiors carry the exterior's drama indoors — tilted planes, cathedral-height ceilings, and the signature zig-zag windows that frame the vineyards like changing canvases through the day.
A complimentary tour of the Marqués de Riscal cellars is included with your stay, and the rooftop lounge is the place to watch the Rioja sun set behind the Sierra de Cantabria, glass in hand.
Everything Taken Care Of
Two Luxury Collection Hotels
Four nights at the Belle Époque Hotel Maria Cristina in San Sebastián and two nights at Frank Gehry's Hotel Marqués de Riscal in Rioja, with breakfast daily.
Guided Pintxos Crawls
Two curated evenings through the Old Town with a local guide — the best bite at each bar, txakoli and Basque cider included.
A Michelin Tasting Menu
A full tasting-menu lunch at one of San Sebastián's three-Michelin-star tables — the defining experience of New Basque cuisine.
Bilbao & Guggenheim Day
A privately guided, skip-the-line day at the Guggenheim, plus the great outdoor works and the revived heart of the city.
Rioja Wine Country
A private cellar tour and tasting at Marqués de Riscal, a second landmark-estate visit, and the Caudalie Vinothérapie Spa.
Private Transfers & Concierge
All private transfers — airport, Bilbao, Hondarribia, and the drive into Rioja — with your dedicated Mosaico concierge throughout.
Package Pricing
Per person starting-from rates. Includes six nights across two Luxury Collection hotels, all curated dining and tastings, the Guggenheim and wine-country experiences, and private transfers throughout.
Starting From
per person · USD · double occupancy
4 nights Hotel Maria Cristina · 2 nights Hotel Marqués de Riscal · Two pintxos crawls · One Michelin tasting menu · Guggenheim day · Rioja tastings & spa · All private transfers
Starting From
per person · USD · single occupancy
The complete itinerary above with sole occupancy of a guest room at both hotels throughout — for guests travelling solo or preferring private rooms.
"In San Sebastián the day is measured not in hours but in bars — and the finest hour is always the next one."— The Basque Country
Begin Your
Northern Spain Journey
We would be delighted to tailor every detail — dates, dining, the second winery, a longer stay in Rioja — and to walk you through the itinerary in person.