Day: April 11, 2026

Bilbao to Santo Domingo Bernardo de Fresneda

This morning in Bilbao we found a place for croissants and coffee then went out for a walk to explore Bilbao.

The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, designed by Frank Gehry, is one of my favorite buildings in Spain.
Last time we were in Bilbao I thought the dog in front of the Guggenheim was looking rather sad. Lots of the mesh covering was bare and had no flowers, tohis time it looked wonderful.

We had fun exploring the back roads again today. We stopped at Orbaneja del Castillo. It’s a little village where a stream comes out of a cave and creates a beautiful waterfall. The cliffs above the canyon that surrounds the town have incredible formations that look like castles.

Some of the formations
The waterfall from below the town.

We went into the cave to see the stream.

Going into the cave
The stream inside the cave.

As we continued down the back roads again we came across this fortress. we could have climbed to the top but it was cold, windy and raining so we just enjoyed it from the car.

Castillo de Los Rojas

Santo Domingo where we are tonight was an important stop on the Camino de Santiago. It has two Paradors. the one we’ve stayed in before, Parador de Santo Domingo de la Calzada, is a former hospital for pilgrims in the Middle Ages. The one we’ve stayed are at tonight, Parador de Santo Domingo Bernardo de Fresneda, is a former Convent.

Our room at the Parador tonight

We went to any excellent Italian Restaurant, La Strada, across the street for dinner.

Salad to start
Pizza