San Sebastián
& the Rioja
Six Nights · Hotel Maria Cristina · Pintxos & Michelin · A Frank Gehry Wine-Country Finale
Mosaico Travels
Curated Luxury · Exceptional Destinations
Four nights of pintxos,
two of Frank Gehry & wine
San Sebastián is the world capital of small plates. Three of the world's top fifty restaurants sit within a thirty-minute drive, but the real food story is in the bars of the old town — the Parte Vieja — where pintxos culture was invented and where every counter is a daily-changing exhibition of what the Atlantic and the Basque hills are sending to the city. Four nights at the Hotel Maria Cristina put you a five-minute walk from all of it.
Then we head south. Two nights at the Hotel Marqués de Riscal — Frank Gehry's only hotel commission, set in Spain's oldest Rioja winery — close the trip with a different kind of luxury: vineyards instead of waves, the Caudalie Vinothérapie spa, a Michelin-starred dining room, and the architectural through-line that connects a day-trip to the Bilbao Guggenheim with the titanium ribbons of the hotel itself.
- Hotel Maria Cristina — 1912 Belle Époque, Charles Mewes design
- Pintxos crawls in the Parte Vieja with Mosaico-curated guide
- One Michelin tasting menu (Akelarre, Arzak, or Berasategui)
- Day-trip to Bilbao for the Guggenheim — Gehry's titanium icon
- Hondarribia day — medieval Basque coast, French border
- Hotel Marqués de Riscal — Frank Gehry's only hotel design
- Caudalie Vinothérapie Spa & a Michelin-starred Rioja dinner
This is not a golf trip.
This is a journey of food and architecture.
The Basque Country isn't a golf destination — and we don't pretend otherwise. The closest world-class course is over an hour away, and the region's real gravitational pull is its food culture. So we leaned in. If golf is essential, we offer a Mosaico Concierge upgrade: a half-day pilgrimage round at Real Club de Golf de Pedreña, the Cantabrian links where Seve Ballesteros first picked up a club. Otherwise — pintxos, Gehry, and Rioja.
Your Six Nights
Four in the food capital of the world, two in Spain's oldest Rioja winery — under Frank Gehry's titanium ribbons.
Bilbao or San Seb → Donostia
Welcome to Donostia
Private chauffeured transfer from Bilbao airport (75 min) or San Sebastián airport (20 min) to the Hotel Maria Cristina. Settle into your suite. A late-afternoon walk along La Concha — Europe's most famous urban beach, the shell-shaped bay framed by Monte Igueldo and Monte Urgull. Aperitivo on the hotel's private gallery terrace. First evening pintxos crawl through the Parte Vieja with a Mosaico-curated local guide — Ganbara for wild mushrooms, Bar Sport for jamón, Borda Berri for slow-cooked beef cheek and the famous risotto.
Hondarribia & Monte Igueldo
The Basque Coast — and a Michelin lunch
Morning private excursion east to Hondarribia — a medieval walled fishing town on the French border, thirty minutes from San Sebastián, with cobbled streets and brightly painted balconies. Lunch at Akelarre, Pedro Subijana's three-Michelin-starred restaurant on the cliffs of Monte Igueldo with the entire Bay of Biscay below — the trip's one big-name tasting menu. An unhurried afternoon at the hotel; evening at leisure, perhaps a quiet dinner at the Maria Cristina's own Amelia by Paulo Airaudo.
Bilbao & the Guggenheim
A Day for Gehry
Private chauffeured transfer to Bilbao (75 min) for a private guided morning at Frank Gehry's 1997 Guggenheim Museum — the building credited with reinventing the entire city. The titanium curves, the Jeff Koons puppy, Richard Serra's Matter of Time installation. Lunch in the Casco Viejo (Bilbao's old town). An afternoon walk along the Nervión riverfront before returning to San Sebastián for the evening — a quieter dinner reservation in Gros, the surf-and-design neighbourhood across the Urumea.
San Sebastián at Leisure
Market & Comb of the Wind
A morning private guided visit to the Mercado de la Bretxa, San Sebastián's covered market — txangurro spider crab, salt-cod, the Idiazábal cheese counter, Iberian charcuterie, market tastings throughout. An unhurried afternoon: walk west along La Concha promenade to the Comb of the Wind — Eduardo Chillida's monumental iron sculptures embedded in the rocks where the Bay meets the Atlantic — then a treatment circuit at La Perla, the Belle Époque seawater spa on the beach itself. Second pintxos crawl in the evening — Atari, La Cuchara de San Telmo, Txepetx.
San Sebastián → Elciego, La Rioja
South to the Rioja
Mid-morning private transfer south through the Basque mountain villages — two hours and a coffee stop in the medieval town of Vitoria-Gasteiz — to the Hotel Marqués de Riscal in Elciego. Frank Gehry's titanium ribbons rise from the medieval village like a sister-piece to the Bilbao Guggenheim. Check-in with a complimentary bottle of Rioja. Afternoon private tour and tasting at the Marqués de Riscal Bodega — Spain's oldest Rioja winery, founded 1858. Dinner at the Marqués de Riscal Restaurant — chef Francis Paniego's Michelin-starred dining room overseeing the vineyards.
Rioja Alavesa
Caudalie Spa & a second bodega
A slow morning at the Vinothérapie Spa Caudalie — grape-based treatments, the indoor pool, hammam, sauna. Light lunch at the rooftop Library Lounge with vineyard views. Afternoon private excursion to a second Rioja bodega — Bodegas Ysios (Santiago Calatrava's wave-roofed cellar), Bodegas López de Heredia (1877, the region's most traditional house), or the Vivanco Wine Museum (Europe's largest, with thousands of corkscrews dating to the 3rd century BC). Farewell dinner at the hotel's 1860 Tradición.
Elciego → Bilbao
Farewell to Northern Spain
A leisurely breakfast tasting menu — yes, breakfast as a tasting menu — and a final walk through the medieval town of Elciego. Private chauffeured transfer to Bilbao airport (90 min) for onward flights. Coast, Gehry, and Rioja. The full Northern Spain arc.
Hotel Maria Cristina —
the 1912 grande dame
The Belle Époque address of San Sebastián, opened in 1912 and designed by Charles Mewes — the same architect responsible for the Ritz hotels in Paris and Madrid. One hundred and thirty-nine rooms set on the Urumea river, five minutes' walk from both La Concha bay and the pintxos lanes of the Parte Vieja. The hotel built San Sebastián's reputation as a cosmopolitan resort destination; it has hosted royalty, Hemingway, Bette Davis, and is the official hotel of the San Sebastián International Film Festival.
Three restaurants on site — The Gallery for Basque-international with a private terrace, Café Saigon's Asian dining overlooking the Victoria Eugenia Theatre, and the new Amelia by Paulo Airaudo, an omakase-style room blending Italian heritage with Japanese precision. The Dry Martini bar by Javier de las Muelas serves cocktails and traditional Basque pintxos in the elegant gallery. A note: the Maria Cristina is a heritage building and does not have a spa or pool — appropriate for the Belle Époque listing, but the trip programme includes treatments at La Perla seawater spa instead.
- 139 rooms · Belle Époque · Charles Mewes design 1912
- Five-minute walk to Parte Vieja pintxos quarter
- Steps from La Concha bay & promenade
- Amelia by Paulo Airaudo · omakase fine dining
- Dry Martini bar by Javier de las Muelas
- Official hotel · San Sebastián Film Festival
Two Frank Gehrys —
nine years apart
The architectural arc of this trip is a quiet one: in 1997, Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum opens in Bilbao and is credited with reinventing not only the city but the entire concept of what a museum can be — the so-called "Bilbao effect." Nine years later, in 2006, Gehry completes the only hotel he will ever design — Marqués de Riscal — eighty miles south in Rioja wine country. Same titanium-ribbon vocabulary, two entirely different commissions.
You spend a day inside the first on Day 3, then sleep beneath the second on Days 5 and 6. The closest thing to bracketing a trip with the same architect's first and only commissions of a kind. It is also, as it happens, why Northern Spain works so well as a single arc — coast and wine country bound together by titanium curves.
Hotel Marqués de Riscal —
Gehry's only hotel
Opened on October 10th, 2006, this is Frank Gehry's only hotel commission anywhere in the world — a modernist statement set inside the medieval village of Elciego, woven into the Marqués de Riscal Bodega: Spain's oldest Rioja winery, founded 1858. The titanium ribbons cascade in shades of pink, silver, and gold — the colours of the Marqués de Riscal label, the foil of the bottle, and the dark glass.
Forty-three rooms in two wings — the Gehry Building, with its zigzag windows and floor-to-ceiling vineyard views, and the Spa Wing, connected by a glass bridge. The Vinothérapie Caudalie spa pioneered grape-based treatments. Five dining rooms include the Michelin-starred Marqués de Riscal Restaurant under chef Francis Paniego, the more relaxed 1860 Tradición with panoramic vineyard windows, and the rooftop Library Lounge for late-evening wines.
- 43 rooms · Gehry Wing & Spa Wing connected by glass bridge
- Marqués de Riscal Restaurant · Michelin star · Francis Paniego
- Caudalie Vinothérapie Spa · indoor pool · hammam
- Rooftop Library Lounge with vineyard panorama
- Welcome bottle of Marqués de Riscal Rioja on arrival
- 76 miles from Bilbao · 199 miles from Madrid
Four Northern Spains
The food capital of San Sebastián. The Gehry-rebuilt city of Bilbao. The medieval coast at Hondarribia. And the vineyards of La Rioja Alavesa — Spain's most storied wine country.
La Concha
San Sebastián · The Shell-Shaped Bay
Bilbao Guggenheim
Frank Gehry · 1997
Hondarribia
Medieval Coast · French Border
Rioja Alavesa
Spain's Oldest Wine CountryEvery Detail, Considered
Four Nights · Hotel Maria Cristina
Four nights in a Deluxe Room category at the 1912 Belle Époque flagship of San Sebastián. Daily breakfast in the Gallery, gallery terrace access, Film Festival heritage briefing.
Two Nights · Marqués de Riscal
Two nights in the Gehry Building or Spa Wing of the Hotel Marqués de Riscal, Frank Gehry's only hotel design. Full Caudalie Vinothérapie Spa access, complimentary welcome bottle of Rioja.
Two Curated Pintxos Crawls
Two evenings in the Parte Vieja with a Mosaico-curated local guide — five to seven bars per crawl, drinks at each, dietary tailoring throughout. The food story of San Sebastián.
Three Signature Dining Experiences
Akelarre tasting lunch (3 Michelin stars, Pedro Subijana). Marqués de Riscal Restaurant dinner (Michelin star, Francis Paniego). 1860 Tradición farewell dinner.
Three Cultural Days
Bilbao Guggenheim with private guide and skip-the-line entry. Hondarribia day with private guide. Mercado de la Bretxa private morning with tastings throughout.
Two Bodega Experiences
Private tour and tasting at Marqués de Riscal Bodega (Spain's oldest Rioja, 1858). Second bodega private visit — choice of Bodegas Ysios (Calatrava architecture), López de Heredia (traditionalist), or Vivanco Wine Museum (Europe's largest).
All Private Transfers
Arrival from Bilbao or San Sebastián airport, the Hondarribia day, the Bilbao day, the San Sebastián → Elciego transfer through the Basque mountain villages, second-bodega excursion, and final Bilbao airport departure.
La Perla Spa Half-Day
A treatment circuit at the historic Belle Époque seawater spa on La Concha beach itself — replacing what the Maria Cristina, as a heritage building, does not provide on-site.
Optional Upgrade · Pedreña Round
Mosaico Concierge upgrade — a half-day side trip to Real Club de Golf de Pedreña, where Seve Ballesteros learnt the game as a caddie at age eight. Cantabrian links pilgrimage round.
Package Pricing
Per person starting from rate. Includes four nights at Hotel Maria Cristina and two at Hotel Marqués de Riscal, all signature dinners, the Akelarre Michelin lunch, two pintxos crawls, the Bilbao Guggenheim day, the Hondarribia day, two bodega experiences, daily private transfers, La Perla spa, and Mosaico concierge throughout.
Starting From
per person · USD · double occupancy
4 nights Hotel Maria Cristina · 2 nights Hotel Marqués de Riscal · Akelarre tasting lunch (3 Michelin stars) · Marqués de Riscal Restaurant dinner (Michelin) · 2 pintxos crawls in Parte Vieja with curated guide · Bilbao Guggenheim day · Hondarribia day · La Bretxa market morning · 2 bodega tours (Marqués de Riscal + 2nd of choice) · La Perla seawater spa · All private transfers · Caudalie Vinothérapie Spa access · Mosaico concierge
"In San Sebastián, the bars don't have menus. They have the day's catch on the counter, in front of you, and you eat with your eyes first."— Anthony Bourdain · Parts Unknown · The Basque Country
Begin Your
Northern Spain Mosaic
To check availability at the Hotel Maria Cristina and the Hotel Marqués de Riscal, and to lock in tasting menus at Akelarre and the Riscal Restaurant, contact your Mosaico advisor.
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