Tolosaldea

Located just 20 minutes from San Sebastián, Tolosaldea is one of the most interesting and visited regions of the Basque Country. Culture and cuisine are the main pillars that attract visitors to this region which many tourists visit for at least two days while on their trip to the Basque Country. Although much of its cultural heritage is intangible and can only be enjoyed by participating in the many events, feasts, and festivals of its 28 municipalities, it is worth mentioning two of the region’s most important museums: the Topic and Ur Mara. The first is the International Puppet Center of Tolosa, the only comprehensive center in Europe dedicated to the art of puppetry. Ur Mara, on the other hand, is an experimental space located in natural surroundings, designed by the multifaceted artist Koldobika Jauregi. In addition to exhibiting a collection of sculptures by Jauregi, Ur Mara is a place of reflection in which themes such as ecology, ethnography, nature, philosophy, and poetry are dealt with. In terms of its cuisine, this region is home to some of the most important products and ingredients used in Basque cooking, such as chilies from Ibarra, beans from Tolosa, cheese with the Idiazabal Designation of Origin, cider with the Euskal Sagardoa Designation of Origin, txakoli with the Getariako Txakolina Designation of Origin, and the famous array of local pastries, with ‘Tejas’ and ‘Cigarrillos’ (two traditional, cookie-like pastries) from Eceiza, and ‘Gorrotxas’ (a round, flaky pastry) by Rafa Gorrotxategi standing out. Retail shops which sell these delicacies are of great importance in this region.

In addition to the essential visit to the rotisseries, restaurants, cider houses, patisseries, and bars with pintxos, in Tolosaldea you can enjoy numerous other gastronomic experiences: learn how txakoli is made at the Hika and Inazio Urruzola wineries, make sweets at the Rafa Gorrotxategi artisanal shop and visit his museum, spend a whole day herding sheep and making cheese, or visit the Damasoro and Urdapilleta pig farms to learn about how the local Euskal Txerria breed lives (which was at one time about to become extinct).

A cultural and culinary route like the one mentioned above must end with a break on the same level. To that end, and although the range of accommodation options in the region is quite varied, the luxury hotel par excellence is Iriarte Jauregia, an elegant seventeenth-century palace that has been meticulously restored and converted into a gastronomic hotel. Its Bailara restaurant –run by Enrique Fleischmann– highlights the importance of all the regional ingredients that make Tolosaldea a unique destination.