Nature and art in capital letters come together in Vizcaya, where you will find Gernika, a historic and symbolic town for the Basques since the famous bombing in the Civil War, which was immortalised by Picasso in one of his canvasses. Nearby you will discover Urdaibai, one of the best-preserved wetlands in the whole of Europe, where you will also have some good excuses for enjoying art.

Visits with a bit of history to the city of Gernika 

Our visit to Gernika begins at the parliament building, the Casa de Juntas, and the Tree of Gernika. Parliamentary representatives of the Juntas Generales de Vizcaya met under it and it was where the king of Castile swore to respect northern privileges. Today the original tree, which survived the bombing of the city, is kept under a pavilion. Next to it is the Casa de Juntas building, which dates from 1826 and is where the Basque Government holds many ceremonial events.

Art walks and traditional sport in the city 

Still in Gernika, and just a few steps from the Casa de Juntas, is the Pueblos de Europa Park, a central, tree-lined garden with ponds and paths and sculptures by Eduardo Chillida and Henry Moore. The most famous are "Gure aitaren etxea" (Our Father's House) and "Large Figure in a Shelter". The park also has a bust of the traveller and writer Alexander von Humboldt. A short distance away stands the Gothic church of Santa María, with its magnificent 1899 Walcker organ. You have to walk a little further to see the Jai Alai fronton, the work of the architect Secundino Zuazo and a Mecca for fans of Jai Alai, a very popular form of pelota in the Basque Country.

A wood taken straight out of a fairy tale 

On the Gernika-Arteaga road, if you take the Santimamiñe Caves turn-off and go past the Lezica country house, you come to the Oma Wood. There, right in the middle of the Urdaibai reserve, the artist Agustín Ibarrola painted and sculpted distinctive figures on the pines, creating a work of art that populates the wood with some magical inhabitants. This was the spot where the playwright Pedro Villora set the action for his tragedy Electra en Oma.

A haven for migrating birds next to the sea 

As it is so close, it is worth approaching the entrance to the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve. The area has been declared a Special Bird Protection Area (ZEPA) and is therefore very popular with ornithologists. This protected area covers 200 km², takes in 22 coastal and inland towns and has some magnificent landscapes, with valleys and medium-sized mountains. Moreover it offers the possibility of doing various sports in natural surroundings. And, on the Sukarrieta estate in the centre of the reserve, there is a plan to build an extension to Bilbao's Guggenheim museum.

Beaches to remember in the surroundings of the reserve 

Just beyond Urdaibai, next to the cape of Ogoño and the town of Ibarrangelu, the Laga beach dune encloses one of the most beautiful beaches on the Vizcaya coast. Almost six hundred metres of fine sand with all the services and water for enjoying water sports like surfing. From the beach it is sometimes possible to see the bravest jumping from the nearby Ogoño crag with their paragliders.

Gastronomic suggestion 

That the Basque Country has good food is a cliché but still true. In the case of Gernika, you should pay particular attention to the local beans which taste really good. Txakolí, a white wine made from a green grape with a high acidity level, is never missing from Vizcaya tables, like those at Zallo Barri (Calle Juan Calzada 79, tel.: 946 251 800). Another interesting place is Remenetxe (Barrio Ugarte 5, tel.: 946 253 520), which is in a country house restored in 1986. It has its own fish farm and the fish arrives every day from the port of Bermeo. Its cellar has over six hundred wines.

Acknowledgements: © Ayuntamiento de Gernika-Lumo. Turismo de Euskadi.