3-Day Private Basque Country Tour: San Sebastián, Bilbao Guggenheim, Biarritz, Hondarribia

Three days with licensed local guides from Basque Guides, a company of native, multilingual guides based in San Sebastián. Three days is enough to cover the region in three directions: the Spanish coast, Bilbao and the French side. The mix is the main sights plus places off the usual track that mostly locals know.

San Sebastián opens the route with the Old Town, La Concha Beach and a famous lookout at the top of a mountain. Bilbao brings a private walk through the city and a stop at Frank Gehry's Guggenheim, the titanium-clad museum that opened in 1997. The French Basque side is on the route too: Biarritz, a coastal town, and Saint-Jean-de-Luz with its market.

Hondarribia sits on the Spanish side of the border, a medieval town ringed by defensive walls that the group walks through. Hotel pickup and drop-off come with the private vehicle, so the days start and end at the traveler's hotel.