La Cornice Cantabrica incontra il Camino de Santiago

Bold architecture and age-old Basque traditions come together in Bilbao, the liveliest city of the Basque Country, once an industrial heartland and today a symbol of urban rebirth and creativity. Its transformation wears the gleaming face of the Guggenheim Museum, Frank Gehry's titanium-clad masterpiece reflected in the river's waters and now an icon of contemporary art worldwide. Along the banks unwinds an elegant promenade dotted with landmark bridges and signature architecture. On the other side beats the Casco Viejo, the historic centre of the "seven streets", a weave of lanes guarding the Catedral de Santiago, the Ribera market and historic shops. Bilbao is above all a gastronomic capital, home of the pintxos served in lively bars and of a Basque cuisine among the most celebrated in Spain. A short distance away await the beaches and villages of the coast, and the Vizcaya transporter bridge, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Among bold art, authentic flavours and Basque spirit, Bilbao invites you to be surprised.

Golden light and the scent of sea salt greet you in Santander, an elegant seaside city set on a broad Cantabrian bay and reborn after the great fire of 1941 that reshaped its face. Along the waterfront stands the Centro Botín, an art museum designed by Renzo Piano, facing the Pereda gardens. To the east stretches the Sardinero beach, the city's seaside heart, while the Magdalena peninsula, with its royal palace and park, offers views over the ocean. Between seafood cuisine, a refined atmosphere and the Atlantic breeze, Santander invites you to experience the northern coast with elegance.

Cangas de Onís is a small town in Asturias set among the mountains of the Picos de Europa, Spain's first national park. Regarded as the first capital of the Asturian kingdom after the Battle of Covadonga, it is famous for its Roman Bridge, whose elegant arch hangs the Cross of Victory. From here you can reach the sanctuary of Covadonga and the striking glacial lakes of Enol and Ercina, nestled among peaks and pastures. A gateway to trails, mountain cuisine and local cheeses, it is the ideal destination for those seeking nature and history in the green heart of Asturias. Capital of Asturias, in Spain's green north, Oviedo is an elegant and intimate city where pre-Romanesque history coexists with a lively, refined centre. Its jewel is the 9th-century Asturian architecture, a UNESCO World Heritage Site: on the nearby Monte Naranco rise the churches of Santa María del Naranco and San Miguel de Lillo, while in the city stand San Julián de los Prados and the Cámara Santa housed within the majestic Gothic Catedral de San Salvador, the city's spiritual heart. The historic centre is a weave of pedestrian streets, squares and mansions, enlivened by sidrerías where you can taste the famous Asturian cider poured from a great height. Oviedo is also the starting point of the Camino Primitivo to Santiago and a gateway to the mountain and coastal landscapes of Asturias. Between ancient art, gastronomy and a genteel atmosphere, Oviedo invites you to discover the authentic soul of the Spanish north.

A lively seaside resort on the north-western tip of Galicia, where the Atlantic shapes a wind-swept peninsula, La Coruña is a port city famous for the Tower of Hercules, the only Roman-era lighthouse still in operation in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its most distinctive feature is the glassed-in galleries of the buildings facing the harbour, which have earned it the nickname "city of glass". The Ciudad Vieja, the old town, holds intimate squares and Romanesque churches such as Santiago and Santa María del Campo. Along the shore stretch the broad urban beaches of Riazor and Orzán, the heart of city life. Renowned for its seafood cuisine and Atlantic atmosphere, La Coruña invites you to wander between ocean, history and light.

Capital of Galicia, Santiago de Compostela is one of the most important sacred cities in Europe, the final destination of the Camino de Santiago walked for centuries by pilgrims from every corner of the world. Its magnificent historic centre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a weave of paved streets, arcades and granite squares, often gleaming with rain. Its beating heart is the majestic Cathedral, a Romanesque masterpiece with its sumptuous baroque Obradoiro façade, which by tradition holds the relics of the apostle James. Around it open solemn squares such as the Praza do Obradoiro and the Praza da Quintana, amid convents, palaces and the ancient university. Its lively streets invite you to discover Galician cuisine, from octopus "a feira" to Albariño wines, set against the vibrant atmosphere of a young, cosmopolitan city. Between spirituality, history and Galician warmth, Santiago welcomes all who arrive as if at the end of a journey.

León rises along the Camino de Santiago, in the heart of Castile and León, an elegant city that guards one of Spain's most extraordinary Gothic legacies. Its emblem is the majestic Catedral de Santa María, a Gothic masterpiece celebrated for its medieval stained-glass windows, a sweep of light and colour among the most admired in Europe. Nearby stands the Real Colegiata de San Isidoro, with its frescoed Panteón Real, hailed as the "Sistine Chapel of the Romanesque". Among the city's modernist gems is the Casa Botines, the work of Antoni Gaudí. The streets of the Barrio Húmedo come alive at dusk, amid tapas bars and a lively atmosphere. A precious stop along the Camino, León blends art, history and warmth into an authentic experience.

Gothic spires and ancient Castilian stone mirror themselves in the Arlanzón at Burgos, a noble city of Castile and León, a former capital and a key stage on the Camino de Santiago. Its emblem is the magnificent Catedral de Santa María, a masterpiece of Spanish Gothic and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which guards the tomb of the national hero El Cid Campeador. From the monumental centre, passing beneath the Arco de Santa María, one reaches the Plaza Mayor and the tree-lined avenues along the river. Just outside town stand the Monastery of Las Huelgas and the Cartuja de Miraflores, treasures of Gothic art. Renowned for its gastronomy, from morcilla to roast lamb, Burgos invites you to discover authentic Spain, amid history, faith and flavours.

Capital of Navarre, Pamplona is a lively and welcoming city, famed worldwide for the Festival of San Fermín, when each July the encierro, the running of the bulls through the streets of the old town, turns the city into a burst of colour and emotion, immortalised in the pages of Ernest Hemingway. Beyond the festival, Pamplona has an intimate charm: its medieval core guards the Catedral de Santa María la Real, with its elegant Gothic cloister, and the mighty walls that encircle the city. The Plaza del Castillo, ringed by historic cafés, is the city's living room. A stage on the Camino de Santiago, Pamplona blends tradition, fine Basque-Navarrese cuisine and human warmth, inviting you to discover the authentic heart of northern Spain.