10 things to do in Bilbao

10 things to do in Bilbao

1.  Look at the art outside and the architecture of the Guggenheim museum. (free)

 

2. Visit a winery. The winery Gorka Izagirre is located 20 minutes by car from Bilbao city centre. They offer at tour of the wine production and wine tasting. They produce wine to a restaurant with several Michelin stars. The wine tasting was very nice and costed 25 euro per person. 
https://www.gorkaizagirre.com/en/visits-and-tastings/
If you have more time you can also visit the Rioja district that is about 1,5 hour from the city centre by car. 

3. Visit the Guggenheim museum to see the art inside.

4. Visit the food market in Bilbao by the river. (free entrance)

5. Eat pintxos in the old town of Bilbao. The best place to have pintxos in Bilbao is the old town according to the locals.

6. Stroll by the river in Bilbao city centre. (free)

7. If the weather is nice, you can visit a beach. You can go to the beach by the metro or by taxi. It takes approximately 30 minutes from the city centre. Bring you own towel. (cheap if you go by Metro) 
https://www.bilbaoturismo.net/BilbaoTurismo/en/playas-a-un-metro 

8. Go to the view point by the cable train Funicular to see the city from a hill. The train only takes a few minutes. (It think the price was 4 euros per person for a two-way ticket)

 The surroundings are nice to take a walk in. There is a park, a restaurant etc in the area on the top of the hill.

The name of the bus stop, outside the cable train to the view point on the hill. 

9. Walk around and enjoy the paintings on the bridges and doors in the street. (free). This art was in the area of the ground station for the cable train Funicular and across the river over the bridge from the Guggenheim museum. 

10.  Visit the town San Sebastian by the sea and take a surfing lesson, swim or eat great food. There is a bus from the airport, you can also take a taxi from Bilbao. The train seems to take a very long time. 

Top 10 things to do in Verona Italy

 1. Visit the balcony from the Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet. It is in the city centre of Verona. If the gate is closed. Go in to the shop outside. They have a window on the second floor where you can see the balcony. The picture on the left is from the shop´s window. 

2. Opera in the Verona arena. Book tickets in advance if you would like to see an opera concert. The Verona arena is beautiful both in the day and in the evenemang. It is located on a lovely square in the city centre.

Picture of the Verona Arena Opera in the evening during the Aida opera show. 

3. Visit town Garda by the lake Garda. There is a bus to Garda from Verona. It took 45 minutes. Bring swimwear if you want to swim in the lake. It is a lovely town for shopping, eat lunch/dinner and enjoy the beautiful lake view. 

4. Amarone. Visit the wineries in Amarone. The Amarone district is close to Verona. Wine tasting and visit to the wine production at the small family owned winery Veronese Beatrice in Amarone. The address is Via Fontana Antica 2, Lavagno. Website www.veronesebeatrice.com 

 

5. Soave. Visit the wineries close to Verona. The visit to Soave included wine tasting, to see the fields with grapes and the production on the site. The name of the Soave winery was Cornelia Tessari. Website https://corneliatessari.com/

We booked a tour with Pagus Wine Tours to the districts Soave and Amarone. It was a great half day tour that included wine tasting of 12 different wines at two wineries. 

 

6. The food. Eat pizza, pasta and ice cream in Verona. Try the special Siciliana ice cream in a bun. The best ice cream in town was La Romana. Wow!

7. Visit the beautiful squares of Verona. During the day there is a market in the square. There are also many nice restaurants around the square. 

8. Visit the beautiful bridges of Verona. The sunset from the bridge by the river is beautiful.

9. Visit the fort of Verona.

10. Stroll by the river. 

Top 10 things to do in Champagne France without a car

We visited the Champagne region in France without a car. We flew to Paris and took the train from the airport to the train station in the city Reims. Reims is located in the Champagne district.

Top 10 things to do in the Champagne region, without a car

1. Stroll around in the beautiful city of Reims.
We stayed in the centre of the city at the Best Western Premier Hotel de la Paix. It was an ordinary hotel with a great location.
Make sure you book a hotel with air condition if you travel during the summer.  

2. Visit the Champagne houses in Reims. There are many you can visit for a tasting and or a wine cellar tour. Some also show their production.
I recommend that you reserve the tastings and the wine cellar tours in advance. 

My recommendations are:

• Pommery. They have daily tastings and a nice shop to buy some souvenirs to bring back home. I bought some lovely Champagne glasses.
• Champagne Lanson, https://www.lanson.com/index-en.php 
• Champagne Mumm, https://www.mumm.com/fr-fr/
• Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin - Visitors Center, https://www.veuveclicquot.com/en-au/practical-informations
• Champagne Louis Roederer, https://www.louis-roederer.com/fr
• Champagne Taittinger, https://www.taittinger.com/en
• Champagne Krug, https://www.krug.com/
  

3. Visit the Cathedrals in Reims. There is a free light show in the evenings close to one of the Cathedrals.

4. Visit the wine cellars. Reserve a wine cellar tour or two.
Picture from one of of the wine cellar tours

5. Visit the one of the Champagne production sites and the wine yards. You can book a tour in advance.

6. . Take a taxi and go to the nearby town Epernay. We stayed at a lovely small luxurious hotel that had a wonderful garden. The name of the hotel is Au Jeu de Paume, address; 8 Rue du Paulmier. https://www.aujeudepaume.fr/

This hotel was such a nice place to rest after a day on the Avenue de Champagne (the Champagne street).

Make sure you book a hotel with air condition if you travel during the summer. 

7. Visit the Avenue de Champagne in Epernay. There is a street with a lot of the famous Champagne houses. You can visit them for a tasting. I recommend you to reserve the tastings in advance if you have any favorites you would like to visit.

You can visit for example Moët & Chandon, Pol Roger and Eugène Mercier. 

My favorites after the tastings were 

• Moet et Chandon, https://www.moet.com/en-int
• Mercier, https://www.champagnemercier.com/en/legal
• Champagne Boizel - Atelier 1834, https://www.boizel.com/en/
• Champagne Collard-Picard, https://www.champagnecollardpicard.fr/en
• Paul-Etienne Saint Germain, https://www.pauletiennesaintgermain.fr/en/home-champagne-paul-etienne-saint-germain/

8. Take a taxi from Epernay and make a short trip to HAUTVILLERS - the village of DOM PÉRIGNON. This village is the birthplace of Champagne. It is a beautiful small village. You can take a lovely walk, and eat a nice lunch in one of the restaurants and visit the shops. https://en.reims-tourisme.com/visites-guidees-d-hautvillers-village-de-dom-perignon/hautvillers/fmacha051v50iktc

9. Cheese tasting. Buy french cheeses in the supermarket or a food shop and arrange your own cheese tasting, or go to a restaurant and ask them for a selection of their best cheeses.

10. You are very close to Paris so I suggest you end your trip with a day or two days in Paris. Walk around in the beautiful city, and do not miss the Seine and the Eiffel tower.