Getting there

Planes

Seven miles outside the city centre | Bilbao’s architecturally impressive Sondika airport is the largest in the region | with direct flights to a number of European hubs | including London Stansted via EasyJet. A half-hourly bus takes travellers into the city; taxis cost around €20. There are smaller airports at San Sebastián and Vitoria | and | on the French side of the border | Biarritz airport has connections to London Gatwick and other UK cities.

Boats

P&O operates a leisurely paced car ferry between Portsmouth and Bilbao and Brittany Ferries pootle between Plymouth, Portsmouth and Santander.

Trains

Vitoria is on the daily Paris-Madrid sleeper line and Bilbao’s Estación de Abando is connected with larger towns throughout Spain by the Renfe network. The Basque Country is criss-crossed with smaller, more scenic railways, linking Bilbao, San Sebastián, Guernica, and Hendaye on the French side of the border with smaller towns along the coast.

Automobiles

Unless you remain city-bound | hiring a car is ideal for village-hopping through the Basque countryside and motoring through the mountains. Avis (www.avis.com) and Europcar (www.europcar.com) and Hertz (wew.hertz.com) cover the area comprehensively.