On the right track: Express train to Barcelona with Montserrat Massif in the background.
Turn a Spanish city break into an unforgettable train journey by visiting three cities and exploring their unique food, art and culture
European city breaks are back as travel restrictions are easing. But why stop at just one destination when it's been so long for so many of us? Advance multi-city tours: Put three cities together, connect them with easy-to-book train or bus journeys, and you've got a well-rounded adventure.
I decided to do my first post-Covid trip in Spain, planning a route from Bilbao to Barcelona to Madrid . The three cities share a commitment to a perfect combination of food, art and beaches, and an in-depth look at three distinct regions. Rather than wrangling complicated foreign rail websites, I booked my tickets through the Omio app, which pulls up timetables, reserves seats and stores tickets on my phone.
Let it shine: Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum and Louise Bourgeois’s Spiders.
Arriving in Bilbao after being grounded for so long was almost overwhelming. The city has undergone a renaissance over the past two decades, with the banks of the Nervión river dotted with elegant fin-de-siècle buildings and flanked by wide boulevards. I ducked into the city's charming Old Town and found a table in the lively Plaza Nueva, surrounded by cafes. The city is famous for its pintxos: snack-like snacks served on a slice of French baguette. I chose three - mushrooms, blue cheese Serrano ham, soft shell crab and tuna grilled peppers. All lips are very good.
Bilbao certainly fulfills my first holiday wish—delicious food—but it also offers world-class art, thanks to the city’s iconic Guggenheim Museum. Frank Gehry's extraordinary architecture—a sinuous cladding of metal—is home to works by Mark Rothko, Jenny Holzer, Anselm Kieferamong others. The artwork extends outside: Jeff Koons’s 12m tall, flower-draped puppy (currently being refitted under scaffolding) guards the front entrance, while mother – Louise Bourgeois’ giant spider—looming on the riverside walkway behind her. Between the art and all the eating and drinking, I didn't make it to Bilbao's coastline, contenting myself with the sun-soaked beaches of Barcelona as my next stop. It took nearly seven hours to reach the Catalonia capital, but although I bought a lot of books, I spent most of the time looking at the spectacular Spanish scenery. The farther inland we went, the wider the landscape opened up: vast, rust-colored plains that felt like they had come out of the Arizona desert.
After Bilbao, Barcelona feels like a different country. The sky was endless blue, Rambla was full of tourists, and when I arrived at the beach, the sea was full of swimmers. A huge cruise ship slid by, and as I settled in at the bar and ordered a plate of paella and a cold beer, it felt like the pandemic had never happened. The cool beach vibe was the perfect tonic after two years of windswept walks around British waters.
I have long had a desire to travel and it feels as if I have a free pass to be a tourist as much as possible. I hopped on the tour bus and stopped at the Fundació Joan Miró for the chance to revisit a painting by one of my favorite artists. Afterwards, I visited Montjuïc Park and rode the cable car, which offers stunning views of the city skyline from the towering spindles of Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia.
After the long journey from Bilbao, the two-hour journey to Madrid went by at lightning speed.A quick hop on the metro and I was at my hotel in the heart of the historic Habsburg district. Madrid is best visited on foot; I wandered the vast facade of the original Royal Palace, stopped on the steps of the Almudena Cathedral to listen to a street performer playing Spanish guitar, and then tipped at the Mercado de San Miguel, a palace for all A gourmet cast-iron and glass temple dating back to 1916, I settled in the sun to eat crispy empanadas, mozzarella and fried calamari tubes.
Sunset tones: overlooking the rooftops of Madrid's Almudena Cathedral.
The next day I satisfied all my art cravings with a visit to the extraordinary Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. The walls are covered with world-famous works by everyone from Picasso to O'Keeffe, like some of the art world's greatest works. After spending a lovely afternoon exploring Retiro Park and walking through Sol’s maze of bustling streets, I ended my trip on the hotel’s rooftop terrace, watching the sun slowly set behind the city’s rooftops.
The hustle and bustle of Madrid is so different from the laid-back seaside vibe of Barcelona and the bustling port of Bilbao that I felt like I wasn't even on vacation.
