Day by Day

Fly into Porto, up the Douro and back, across to the Basque country, then south to Rioja and a last stretch in Bilbao before flying home via Madrid on Mon Aug 17. Fifteen nights, five bases, no driving — and San Sebastián falls right on the opening of Semana Grande. The days are a spine, not a schedule; tap a base to open its full guide. Each day notes where you're sleeping and what's booked, requested, or still open.

🍽 meal◈ activity🚆 transit🎆 festival night ●booked / reserved ●requested, unconfirmed ●still to book

Semana Grande. San Sebastián's festival runs Aug 8–15, with the 60th international fireworks competition over La Concha every night at 22:45. You arrive calm on Aug 7, catch the txupinazo opening on Sat Aug 8, and get four fireworks nights before heading on. The free festival concerts are at Sagüés esplanade — the far end of Zurriola, 5 minutes from your hotel. Busiest nights are the weekends (Aug 8–9); fireworks happen nightly regardless. Full option deck per leg: the Playbook.

Sat

Aug 1

Departure

Day

Fly SFO → Porto, TAP via Lisbon booked. Sleep on the long leg.

Sun

Aug 2

Porto arrive

🏨 Cénica Porto (Curio/Hilton)·booked, 3 nights

Land, taxi in, drop bags. Walk down to the Ribeira at golden hour — the river, the bridge, the lodges glowing across the water.

~8:30pm

Taberna dos Mercadores book NOW — 8 tables, reserves out weeks ahead — candlelit seafood rice at the end of the golden-hour walk. (Adega São Nicolau is closed Sundays — it moves to Monday.) Early night after.

Mon

Aug 3

Porto

🏨 Cénica Porto (Curio/Hilton)·booked

Morning

The Worst Tours email to book — architects walking you through Fontainhas and the unglamorous city: housing, industrial collapse, gentrification. ~3h, deliberately outside the tourist core. São Bento's tile hall on the way back (free, 5 min).

Lunch

Mercado do Bolhão, or the pernil sandwich at Casa Guedes.

4:30pm

Walk the Dom Luís bridge to Gaia, up to Graham's 1890 Lodge — Port Essentials tour, 2h booked. Blend Nº5 White → Six Grapes → Malvedos Vintage → 30yr Tawny, with the tasting landing in the long light over the Porto skyline.

~7pm

Down the hill to Jardim do Morro — the garden at the bridge's upper deck where Porto sits on the grass with a beer as the light goes (sunset ~8:55). Free, and where people actually go.

~9pm

Adega São Nicolau (open Mon 12:00–22:30) — octopus and salt cod at the Ribeira's western end: cross the bridge's lower deck from Jardim do Morro and it's right there. Reserve by phone (+351 22 200 8232) or arrive by 8.

Tue

Aug 4

Porto

🏨 Cénica Porto (Curio/Hilton)·booked

Morning

Serralves — the Siza museum and its gardens. A fitting lead-in for the day ahead.

~12:15

Uber north to Leça da Palmeira (~25 min, ~€12).

1:00pm

Casa de Chá da Boa Nova, Leça da Palmeira booked — Siza's oceanfront dining room; the Atlantic at your table. 2★ Michelin.

~3:30pm

Uber back to Porto. Walk the Foz seafront, or the Cénica's pool and hammam — built for exactly this gap.

Evening

Free — and deliberately so. Euskalduna moved to Thu Aug 6, so this day is one tasting menu, not two. Matosinhos fish grills (pick your fish off the ice, street table), or stay central: Aduela vermouth → Galerias bar strip if you want people around.

Wed

Aug 5

Porto → The Douro 🚆 train

🏨 The Vintage House — Douro, Pinhão (river view)·booked, free cancel until Jul 20

09:25

Scenic train São Bento → Pinhão (sit on the right), arriving ~11:50. One of the world's great rail rides.

Afternoon

Check into The Vintage House; 5-min walk to Quinta do Bomfim.

2:30pm

Quinta do Bomfim — Tour & DOC Douro Tasting booked. Covers the dry reds (you'll have done port in Gaia already). If Quinta do Crasto replied to your email, add them by taxi (~20 min) after.

Evening

Dinner back at The Vintage House (Rabelo Restaurant) — Douro reds, river views. One night only — make it count.

Thu

Aug 6

The Douro → Porto 🚆 train

🏨 Moov Hotel Porto Centro, Praça da Batalha·booked

Morning

A last quiet hour on the terrace, then the scenic train back to Porto (~2h20) — aim to be in the city by early afternoon. Drop bags at the return hotel.

Afternoon

Tram 1 to Foz or the Casa da Música guided tour, then Bombarda/Cedofeita shopping — finish with a beer at Catraio, Porto's first craft beer bar, right there on Cedofeita.

18:00

Euskalduna Studio, Chef's Table booked — Japanese-Portuguese omakase counter, 2–2.5 hours. Moved off Tuesday, which is now a single-tasting-menu day.

~20:30

Walk it down. Dinner ends around 20:00–20:30; fado is at 21:15 and it's ~15–20 min on foot. Go down through Batalha to the Sé and out onto the Dom Luís I bridge upper deck — Porto lit, the Gaia lodges glowing across the water. The night version of your first evening's golden-hour walk, and Casa da Guitarra is right at the end of it.

21:15

Fado at Casa da Guitarra booked — one hour, twelve songs, a glass of port at the interval.

22:30

Apotecário Speakeasy booked — 10 min walk from fado. The last Porto night, and the sharpest break from two weeks of wine on the trip.

A late finish is free of consequence — Friday's only fixed point is the 4:25pm flight, so the morning is yours.

A return night by design: splits the Douro-to-San-Sebastián trip into two calm days. Moov sits on Batalha — the square the whole evening happens on.

Fri

Aug 7

Porto → San Sebastián 🚆 fly + bus

🏨 Hotel Arrizul Congress, Gros·booked, 5 nights

4:25pm

Vueling OPO → BIO, nonstop 1h15m booked.

7:15pm

PESA coach, Bilbao airport → San Sebastián (backup 7:45pm), 1h15m, ~€13.65, pay on board. Lands ~8:30–9pm, right at pintxos prime time. Settle into Gros; a first, calm pintxos crawl in the Parte Vieja. Cheesecake at La Viña.

Your one calm San Sebastián evening — enjoy the city as itself before the crowds arrive.

Sat

Aug 8

San Sebastián 🎆 festival opens

🏨 Hotel Arrizul Congress·booked

Morning

Monte Igueldo for the bay view + the Peine del Viento — or Chillida Leku (sculpture park, timed ticket, direct bus ~25 min) if you book it; see Playbook.

~7pm

La Concha; find your spot. The txupinazo kicks off Semana Grande from Alderdi Eder.

~7:30pm

The txupinazo crawl — Ganbara (mushroom plancha) → La Cuchara (veal cheek) → Borda Berri (Idiazabal risotto) → Txepetxa (anchovy) → Zeruko → La Viña cheesecake to finish. One bite, one glass per bar. No bookings; opening night on the street is the point.

22:45

First fireworks over La Concha; txosnas and the buzzing old town after.

Sun

Aug 9

San Sebastián 🎆 festival

🏨 Hotel Arrizul Congress·booked

Morning

San Telmo Museum, or a stroll before lunch. (The Pasai Donibane coastal walk — 7km from Zurriola over Monte Ulía, ~2.5h — is the best half-day near the city, but it needs a morning with no 1:30 lunch after it. Tue is its natural slot.)

1:30pm

Martín Berasategui, Lasarte-Oria booked — the trip's grand tasting menu.

Evening

The Gros quality lap — Bergara's txalupa, Hidalgo 56's foie, Ramuntxo Berri — a different register from lunch, three of the city's best counters. Sagüés concert, then fireworks.

Mon

Aug 10

San Sebastián 🎆 festival

🏨 Hotel Arrizul Congress·booked

Morning

Coastal bus west to Getaria (~45 min from the Parte Vieja).

13:30

Kaia-Kaipe, Getaria booked — terraza table on the harbour; grilled fish and txuleta, Txakoli poured from height. If Elkano confirms for Aug 11, cancel this and shift the Getaria day to Tuesday.

Afternoon

Balenciaga Museum; walk to a Txakoli winery. Bus back to San Sebastián.

~8pm

Dinner in the Parte Vieja: Bar Néstor list attempt (name down when the shutter opens ~7:30 — tomato salad + txuleta) or Bodegón Alejandro 8:30 book as the sure thing. Fireworks after.

Tue

Aug 11

Getaria day trip 🎆 night

🏨 Hotel Arrizul Congress·booked

Morning

Coastal bus west to Getaria; harbor and old town.

Lunch

Walk-in attempt at Elkano on waitlist — if confirmed, cancel Kaia-Kaipe (Aug 10) and this becomes the Getaria day instead. Balenciaga Museum + Txakoli winery after either way.

8:45pm

Narru booked (free cancel until Mon 8:45pm, then €50) — à la carte grill by the cathedral; the last-night dinner, whatever lunch was. Final fireworks at 22:45.

Wed

Aug 12

San Sebastián → Logroño · Rioja 🚌 bus or driver

🏨 Eurostars Fuerte Ruavieja, Logroño·booked, 2 nights

11:00am

Jiménez Movilidad bus SS → Logroño, arrives 13:15 book ASAP — eclipse tourism will fill this.

13:15

Arrive Logroño. Drop bags at hotel; short walk to lunch.

14:30

La Cocina de Ramón, Logroño booked — serious Riojan cooking in the city center.

~18:00

Calle Laurel — Bar Soriano (champis), Bar Ángel (grilled prawn), one bite and one glass per bar. Start early: eclipse night, the bars will be slammed — and when Laurel jams, cut to Calle San Juan one street over, where the Riojanos go.

~20:00

In position, glasses on ordered. Paseo del Espolón for the city-center experience, or the official serviced sites at Parque Felipe VI / Las Norias if you want space.

20:29

Total solar eclipse 🌑 — totality for 1m20s, low dramatic sun. Last one visible from Logroño was 1905; next is 2180. The city has built a whole campaign around this night — after totality, it celebrates. Join it.

Thu

Aug 13

Logroño · Rioja

🏨 Eurostars Fuerte Ruavieja, Logroño·booked

07:30

Jiménez Movilidad bus Logroño → Haro, arr 08:30 buy on jimenezmovilidad.com — €4.05, direct, 50 seats free. The 07:30 is the only bus that makes 10:00 CVNE — the next (09:15) arrives 10:10, too late. Leave the Eurostars ~07:10 (bus station is a 12-min walk). Not the train: first departure is 11:57.

10:00

Bus lands 08:30 → walk 15–20 min down to the Barrio de la Estación, coffee. CVNE standard visit in English confirming w/ Ariadna for Thu the 13th — €30, 90 min: the Eiffel-studio barrel room, 3 wines (Monopole, Asúa Crianza & Reserva), Los Cameros cheese. (Imperial visit doesn't fit — 11:30 start clashes with LdH.) Walk-in pours at La Rioja Alta S.A. and RODA need no reservation if you want more.

1:00pm

López de Heredia tour confirmed — the most historic bodega in the Barrio de la Estación; cathedral-like cellar, spider-web-draped bottles.

2:45pm

Nublo, Haro booked — creative Riojan cooking. Barrio de la Estación, steps from López de Heredia.

~5pm

La Herradura — walk 15 min back up into Haro's old town for the horseshoe of bars between Santo Tomás and San Martín (start Plaza de la Paz). Cazuelitas, pepitos, young Rioja. The bodega day finally enters the town — and the bus station is right there for the ride home.

~8:30pm

Laurel round two, done properly — Soriano → Ángel → Tastavin → Blanco y Negro → La Tavina; the street at full attention, unlike eclipse night. Optional sit-down instead: Íkaro (1★) or La Chata (chuletillas al sarmiento) — reserve only if you want the table.

Fri

Aug 14

Logroño → Bilbao 🚆 train

🏨 Hotel Miró, Bilbao·booked, 3 nights

12:55pm

Renfe Alvia Logroño → Bilbao, arrives 15:53 (2h58m) booked — Busbud ref 26642523, Renfe ref S029984084 (PNR K9M7SF). Check out Eurostars, taxi to Logroño station.

~4:15pm

Arrive Bilbao Abando station. Taxi to Hotel Miró (~10 min), check in.

~5:00pm

Guggenheim Bilbao — timed entry reschedule from 2pm. Permanent collection + the titanium building itself; Koons's Puppy at the entrance. Open until 8pm.

~7:30pm

The txikiteo — Ledesma's after-work wave → La Viña del Ensanche (ham, tortilla) → cross to the Casco Viejo and do Calle Somera, the local circuit (Motrikes for champiñones, Baste for stuffed mussels, Gatz) rather than only Plaza Nueva → El Globo's txangurro toast home.

Sat

Aug 15

Bilbao

🏨 Hotel Miró, Bilbao·booked

Morning

Free — coffee, walk the Nervión, or the Mercado de la Ribera.

1:00pm

Azurmendi, Larrabetzu booked — lunch in the greenhouse. Return transit to Bilbao arranged by the restaurant.

Afternoon

Back in the city — Museo de Bellas Artes (new Foster wing unveiled Jun 24; free during transition, enter via Plaza Chillida) or Azkuna Zentroa. Artxanda funicular at dusk.

9:00pm

Kimtxu booked (free cancel until 3pm Sat, €25 after) — Bib Gourmand Asian-Basque on Henao, 5 min from the hotel.

Sun

Aug 16

Bilbao

🏨 Hotel Miró, Bilbao·booked

Choose

Gernika (~40 min Euskotren from Zazpi Kaleak) — Casa de Juntas and the Tree, free; Peace Museum Sun 10:00–14:30. The 1937 bombing, Picasso's painting, six centuries of Basque liberties. Or the light city day below — they're opposite directions, so it's one or the other.

City day

Plaza Nueva Sunday flea (books, coins, birds), the Seven Streets, Sombreros Gorostiaga for a txapela, then the Vizcaya Bridge transporter gondola (metro to Areeta, ~25 min each way).

Evening

Bacalao al pil-pil and a txuleta — Asador Guetaria or similar book now; Sunday is closing night citywide. Pack tonight; the taxi to BIO is early.

Mon

Aug 17

Bilbao → Madrid → home 🚆 fly

~5am

Taxi to BIO.

6:45am

Iberia BIO → Madrid, IB0442 booked.

1:05pm

Iberia Madrid → SFO, IB0355, lands 4:40pm booked. A remote workday from the road — office Tuesday.