EspañolUpdated 8/17/2026
Burgos, 8/2/2026 - 8/6/2026
Everyone seemed to think the area is oppressively hot in summer. The interwebs disagree - Burgos (the city, at least) is up high enough that if it's hot it's dry heat (and regardless, it doesn't get any hotter than anywhere else in the north of Spain), and at night it really cools off. My first morning here I went out for breakfast in a t-shirt and was almost cold.
First stop after leaving Bilbao: Balmaseda
A small city close-ish to the border with Castilla-León. This part of Vizcaya is amazingly scenic with typically Basque mountains left and right the whole way through. I stopped for a quick lunch and a beer. They have a pretty nice church in the center of town.
Second stop: Medina de Pomár
A small city with a pretty impressive fort (Alcázar de los Velasco o de los Condestables) and views, and a nice spot for your afternoon coffee.
Burgos is about 2800 feet abouve sea level so you have to go up, up, up to get there. The way I came (back roads, highly recommended) you pass through any number of idyllic little towns, before ascending to the mesa. Once you're at the top, look for a pair of antennas. There's a little scnenic overlook, the Merindad de Valdivielso, that has no signage whatsoever, where I was greeted with this:
The city itself is good-sized, with a fair bit of tourism that seems to be mostly national - I heard smatterings of French, English, and German, but mostly Spanish. The old part has great ambiance and is loaded with bars and restaurants
I stayed at Maria Salome Apartahotel, or on Booking.com. The location is fantastic, the room was comfortable enough, but unfortunately like with too many rental owners, it's all good until it's not. One thing I was careful about was making sure all my lodgings had air conditioning, because Spain in August, duh! My room was a fourth floor attic room - no problem, with the AC working of course. But then it died, and the last day was a sweaty mess even with the fan they lent me.
I didn't get what I paid for, so some kind of discount seems appropriate, right? When I made what I thought was a reasonable proposal to the manager via Whatsapp I was ignored. Hours later I happened to bump into her in the lobby, and she absolutely refused to concede anything, nor would she provide the owner's contact info. It's not that hot,
I was told when she came up to the room to check its condition. What difference does her opinion of the temperature make? I paid for air conditioning and didn't get it, so the fair thing is to compensate me somehow.
Apparently there were a few other rooms in the same situation... seems like the owner, whoever s/he is, does a shitty job of maintaining his/her property. Forwarned is forearmed - if you decide to stay here, keep in mind any problems with your stay will be your problems, not theirs.
Catedral de Santa Maria de Burgos
Pretty elaborate and built over centuries, it has architecture and atwork from various eras and styles. One thing that caught my attention were the retablos, kind of illustrated bible stories that are normally sculpted and often painted. The detail and workmanship is typically exquisite even if the figures are sometimes a little odd or poorly rendered (Italy spoiled me, sorry).
I saw similar kinds of work in Italy but nothing quite like these. Yet further evidence that what we call comics nowadays have a much longer history than we typically consider. Kinda cool!
Museo del Retablo Burgos
It was here I learned the word retablos and that they are characteristic of Spain. This is a former church that's been repurposed as a museum primarily dedicated to retablos. At €4 it's totally worth the price of admission!
Frias and Cascada de Tobera
A pair of small towns a little over an hour northeast-ish of Burgos by car. Both were recommended by several people and they were right. Just the scenery on the way is worth the drive!
To get there you have to go over another mountain, which has an area at the top to park and gawk.
Frias itself is set on top of its own mountain with a castle at the very peak, which must have been an excellent defensive position for a war in the middle ages. From there you have epic views of the town itself and the surrounding area.
Right next door is Tobera, which features a waterfall that runs right through the town. There's a bar with a terrace halfway between the two principal falls, because of course there should be.
The scale of the peaks and such remind me a little bit of New Hampshire around Franconia Notch, but drier and with different stone. And I don't think this area was sculpted by glaciers like Franconia Notch was.
Orbaneja de Castillo
Another recommendation from friends that was spot on. Also about an hour pretty much due north by car, and once again the scenery along the way is worth the ride all by itself.
This town is not exactly carved into the mountains but it feels like it. The waterfall running through and down past this town is nicer than Tobera's, I think. I was once again reminded of Franconia Notch, though of course the scale and layout of the towns is typically compact and Spanish versus the always sprawling towns in the US.
Cartuja de Miraflores
A monastery that apprently at least partially supports itself with this museum. It contains a pretty epic retablo, along with a painting by Joaquin Sorolla, a huge surprise.
Apart from Sorolla's, the paintings and murals overall feel about par for the course for Burgos - plenty of ambition but not quite as much talent, similar to my impression of some of the "masterworks" in Mantua in Italy.
