Basque Country in the northeast of Spain, is a strikingly beautiful region, where green, thickly wooded mountains and hills dominate the landscape. A mostly rocky and wild coastline shelters the land from the Atlantic Ocean. The hillsides close to the sea are famous for the Txacoli vineyards, producing a fresh, lightly sparkling white wine low in alcohol but with good acidity. But perhaps the most renowned aspect of Basque Country is its cuisine: a plethora of innovative chefs have been creating innovative dishes of local ingredients for decades. The high quality of the frequently Michelin starred fine restaurants of this region is one of the pillars of the current international prestige of Spanish cuisine. Basque Country is well-known too for its elegant and historic cities like Bilbao and San Sebastian. There are also notable lesser known historic towns like Victoria, Hondariba and Tolosa. With a superb natural setting around a beautiful semicircular bay, San Sebastian may be one of Spain most appealing cities. The charming old town core and the Beaux-Arts quarters around it are awash with pinxtos (Basque-style tapas) bars serving creative and delectable finger food. Here traditional bar food is often elevated to a fine art. Then there is a constellation of classy one, two and three Michelin-starred restaurants, located in and around the city. San Sebastian is a delight for anyone who loves to eat. The region’s biggest city, Bilbao, is real urban success story. Here one encounters striking contemporary, neo-classical, Beaux-Arts and medieval architecture, agreeably blended. It is also a serious food town with Michelin stars as well as a large number of pinxtos bars serving often extraordinarily innovative finger food.