The Basques love to eat and some of the best restaurants in Spain can be found in this province. You have to try the local cheese made from ewe's milk. The Basques also have a taste for baby eels. They are also well known for their love of music and dancing and the festival in August is a prime time to sample both.

Unique to the Basque Country are cider bars where local cider is served from open barrels. Farmers here have brewed cider for centuries.

Here is an ideal escape from the summer sun and take heed that the green valleys can herald rain and often snow on the mountain tops.