Squeezed into the coastline between the Cantabrian mountains and the French border in Spain, the three provinces of the Basque country conceal stunning scenery: mountains, rivers, sandy beaches and rolling plains of luscious green pasture to the south, dotted with vines. Bilbao's glittering Guggenheim museum has become the new symbol of the Basque country. But the best reason for travelling to this part of the world is the gastronomía. In the universe of Spanish regional cuisine, the cooking of the Basques is commonly agreed to reign supreme, with an abundance of fresh, seasonal produce. And you can eat as well in its simple bars as in its Michelin-starred restaurants.

HOTEL CARLTON
Plaza de Federico Moyúa 2, Bilbao (00 34 94 416 2200; fax: 416 4628). One of Bilbao's classic old hotels, in the city's commercial and financial district. The famous oval entrance hall with its domed skylight is almost worth the price of a room alone. £

HOTEL ITURRIENEA OSTATUA
Calle Santa María 14, Bilbao (00 34 94 416 1500; fax: 415 8929). Pleasingly decorated family-run pensione, one of the few hotels in the heart of the Old Town, and reasonably priced. £

HOTEL MARIA CRISTINA
Calle Oquendo 1, San Sebastián (00 34 94 343 7600; fax: 343 7676). Legendary, 'wedding-cake' grand hotel, dating from 1912, overlooking the Urumea River. £

HOTEL NIZA
Zubieta 56, San Sebastián (00 34 94 342 6663; fax: 344 1251). Comfortable, old-fashioned hotel on the sea front; the best rooms have views over the promenade and Concha beach. £

The Basque region also has an impressive network of agriturismo networks offering accommodation on working farms. Prices are comparable with those of simple hostales or pensiones in the city centres and many farms offer breakfast. Consult the Spanish National Tourist Office (020 7486 8077; brochure-request line 09063 640630, calls charged at premium rate) or contact the Asociacíon Nekazal (00 34 902 130031; which offers advice in Spanish and English on selecting and booking agriturismo properties.

NB During the San Sebastián International Film Festival in September prices rocket and the hotels get fully booked, so book well in advance.

The buzzwords here in terms of food are variety, authenticity and availability. Basque cuisine is most often praised for its excellence at the top-end. Chef-patrons of the calibre of Juan Mari Arzak, Pedro Subijana and Martín Berasategui (who have nine Michelin stars between them) are culinary wizards who compare easily with those in the highest echelons of French haute cuisine. But Basque gastronomy is also highly democratic. There is good food across all levels of society. Apart from the gastro-temples run by the above-mentioned chefs, there are bars where the art of the tapa - or pintxo as it's known here - is taken to exalted heights, and there are the simple eating houses where you can enjoy a three-course meal of plain, proper, freshly made local dishes such as zurrukutuna (cod with garlic and peppers), porrusalda (leek and potato stew) and piperrada (peppers and eggs).

IN SAN SEBASTIAN
This city is the heart of the Basque culinary world, a city that Bryan Miller, former food critic of The New York Times, says only Manhattan can top for great restaurants per head of population. This is where nouvelle cuisine first disembarked from France in the 1970s, transforming the hearty simplicities of Spanish eating into something eclectic and rich.

THE OLD TOWN
Known as the Parte Vieja, this area constitutes the narrow streets around the Plaza de la Constitución, where every other doorway seems to lead to a pintxo bar, a restaurant, a food shop or the headquarters of some gastronomic society. You can buy a guide to the pintxo bars of San Sebastián. Failing that, the best thing to do in the Parte Vieja is simply to wander between the Calle Fermín Calbetón and the Calle 31 de Agosto and see what's on offer.

AKELARRE
Paseo Padre Orcolaga 56, Igueldo (00 34 94 321 2052; fax: 321 9268). Pedro Subijana's restaurant is dramatically positioned high on a clifftop with a panoramic view of the Atlantic Ocean. Choose from dishes including morcilla stuffed with cabbage and wrapped in leeks, oysters with artichokes and parsley juice, and continue with sautéed sea bass with a vinaigrette of garlic soup, poached hake in salsa verde with green beans and black olives, or grilled beef with sweet red peppers. This is expansive and expensive food.

MARTIN BERASATEGUI
Calle Loidi 4, 20160. Martín Berasategui worked with chef Alain Ducasse in Monaco and seven years ago decided to open his own restaurant on the outskirts of Lasarte, near San Sebastián. Since then he has garnered three Michelin stars and a reputation as the most brilliant Spanish culinary talent of his generation. He nurtures an organic kitchen garden and likes to boast that no less than 95 per cent of all his raw materials come from the Basque country. The restaurant offers a brilliant eating experience, which is consistently imaginative and exciting.
The menu degustacíon is comprised of a series of visually stunning dishes, including oysters with cauliflower cream, fennel jus and seawater jelly, a 'liquid croquette' that bursts in the mouth and an intensely flavoured green soup made from tiny sweet peas - a combination made in heaven. It comes as no surprise to learn of Berasategui's great love of patisserie, with all its emphasis on precision and control of texture. You can see this dedication in the lamb chops roasted with a little 'cake' of foie gras, bacon and wild mushroom served with a crunchy trail of walnut and orange sauce. And the caramelised millefeuille of smoked eel, foie gras, spring onion and green apple is simply out of this world.

OTHER GOOD RESTAURANTS IN SAN SEBASTIAN

RESTAURANTE ARZAK
Alto de Miracruz 21 (00 34 94 327 8465; fax: 327 2753).

RESTAURANTE REKONDO
Paseo de Igueldo 57 (00 34 94 321 2907).

CASA URBANO
Calle 31 de Agosto 17 (00 34 94 342 0434).

PINTXO BARS IN SAN SEBASTIAN

GAMBARA
Calle San Jeronimo 21. This is a particularly good choice. The French influence is evident in the hot crab tartlets, the deep-fried asparagus, and the melting little croissant halves that replace the usual pintxo bread.

TXEPETXA
Calle Pescaderia 5. This pintxo bar is one of the best-kept secrets. Known as the 'temple of the anchovy', these little fish are sensationally good, cured in vinegar with everything from sea urchin eggs to olive paté, crabmeat and papaya.

OTHER GOOD CHOICES

ALONA-BERRI
Calle Berminghan 24.

ASELENA
Calle Inigo 1.

ASELENA
Calle Inigo 1.

BERGARA
Calle General Artexte 8.

IN BILBAO
See our guide to Bilbao. Among the ranks of fine Basque eating places, there are a few that stand out for sheer creative flair. In Bilbao these are the three 'Gs': Goizeko-Kabi, Guría and Gorrotxa, as well as Zortziko and the more modestly priced Perrotxiko. Bilbao is also strong on cider houses where meat, mushrooms and fish are cooked over coals.

RESTAURANTE PERROTXIKO
Calle Marzana/Calle Conde Miraflor (00 34 94 415 0519). This is opposite the market looking down onto the River Nervión and you can enjoy a magnificent dinner of grilled clams in garlic sauce, followed by bacalao with leeks, aubergine and tomato

OTHER GOOD CHOICES IN BILBAO

RESTAURANTE GOIZEKO-KABI
Calle Particular de Estraunza 4-6 (00 34 94 442 1129).

RESTAURANTE GORROTXA
Alameda de Urquijo 30 (00 34 94 443 4937).

RESTAURANTE GURIA
Gran Vía 66 (00 34 94 441 5780).

RESTAURANTE ZORTZIKO
Alameda Mazarredo 17 (00 34 94 423 9743).

PINTXO BARS IN BILBAO

FERNANDO
Plaza Nueva 12.

LEKEITIO
Calle Diputación 1.

RIO OJA
Calle del Perro 6.

VICTOR MONTES
Plaza Nueva 8.

XUKELA
Calle del Perro 2.

OTHER GOOD RESTAURANTS IN THE BASQUE COUNTRY

You can meander along the coast through the string of pretty ports: Mundaka, Lekeitio, Ondarroa, Zumaia and Getaria, sampling the food at each of their harbourside restaurants.

RESTAURANTE KAIA-KAIPE
General Arnao 4, Getaria (00 34 94 314 0500).

RESTAURANTE EL PORTALON
Calle Correria 151, Vitoria (00 34 94 514 4201).

RESTAURANTE RAMON ROTETA
Villa Ainara, Calle Irún 1, Hondarribia (00 34 94 364 1693).

SAN SEBASTIAN

From the view-point of the western end of the Concha, one of Europe's loveliest city beach, San Sebastián stretches out before you in a graceful arc. Behind the sand lies a strip of creamy whiteness: the grand hotels and apartment blocks, which eventually give way to the Old Town, theParte Vieja. Explore the narrow streets around the Plaza de la Constitución, where every other doorway seems to lead to a pintxo bar, a restaurant, a food shop or the headquarters of some gastronomic society. There are in fact more than 60 such societies in the Old Town alone, many of them historical foundations dating back to the early 1900s and some of them obstinately resisting the election of women.

MARKETS

The Basque country is famed for its dazzling markets. Don't miss the Mercado de la Ribera in Bilbao and La Brecha in San Sebastían.

THE MERCADO DE LA RIBERA, BILBAO
This is housed in the great golden building looming up beside the river, where a wall plaque announces this to be the largest covered food market in the world. Whatever the size, there's no mistaking the quality of the produce. In late spring you may find bags of hand-shelled baby peas and thick asparagus wrapped in cabbage leaves in little square baskets. Upstairs, in a vast hall flooded with light from the stained-glass windows, there are more sights for sore eyes and hungry mouths: heaps of crumbly white sheep's cheese made that morning, racks of dried peppers hanging in crimson curtains, fat snails as big as walnuts and thin green peppers in vinegar - a Basque speciality - put up in pickling jars.

LA BRECHA, SAN SEBASTIAN
The fish market in San Sebastían, is, if anything, even more impressive than the one in Bilbao, because the fish here are laid out on white marble slabs and lit theatrically from above, while the fishwives stand proudly behind on raised platforms. This is a society that takes its seafood with the greatest seriousness. Distinctions are made in the market, for example, between fish from the various Basque ports (Ondárroa is known for hake, Bermeo for sea bream) and the various methods of catching: hook or net. Depending on the time of year, you might find river crayfish, baby eels and that suggestive-looking and expensive delicacy, the barnacle. Seasonality and freshness are always cardinal rules.

AIRPORT
Bilbao has its own airport.

AIRLINES FROM THE UK
easyJet (0870 600 0000; www.easyjet.com) flies daily fromLondon Stansted to Bilbao. Iberia (0845 601 2854; www.iberiaairlines.co.uk) flies daily from Heathrow to Bilbao.

The rich green fields are no accident as it rains frequently here. Early summer is a good compromise and the best month is probably June.

BILBAO
The Iniciativas Turisticas office (00 34 94 416 0022). Situated in the Teatro Arriaga.

SAN SEBASTIAN
The municipal tourist office (00 34 94 348 1166), Calle de la Reina Regente, is open in summer from Monday to Saturday from 8am to 8pm and 9am to 2pm on Sunday.