Villas in Northern Spain

• Stone houses, not beach villas: Most of the stock here is casonas, casas rurales and converted stone farmhouses with gardens and mountain views, rather than the pool villas of the southern costas.
• Green, Atlantic and cool: This is the España Verde of Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, the Basque Country, Navarre and La Rioja, where summers stay mild and rain keeps the hills green.
• Best bases for touring: Inland Asturias suits walkers, the Rías Baixas suit seafood lovers, and San Sebastián and Bilbao suit food and city breaks.
• Guests rate the hosts: Our top-rated homes sit around 9.8+, with guests praising Star Hosts, quiet valleys and gardens made for slow mornings.
• Go late spring to early autumn: June and September bring the best walking weather, while winter suits La Rioja cellars and long lunches.

Northern Spain is not villa country in the Mediterranean sense. What you will find across the green north are casonas, casas rurales, converted hórreos and thick-walled stone farmhouses, alongside a handful of larger detached houses marketed as villas. Many sit in hamlets or on their own land, so a self-catering stay here feels rural rather than resort-like. Families who want more room outdoors also look at campsites and cabins or the wider choice of villas across Spain.

• Private gardens and yards, often with a grill for long evenings outside
• Mountain or valley views, especially inland from the Cantabrian coast
• Wood-burning stoves and chimeneas for cool mornings and autumn nights
• Wi-Fi and off-street parking, which matter on winding rural roads
• Traditional stone and timber interiors, much like a country cottage

Book early for August, when local families take the coast and inland valleys.

What are the best areas to stay in Northern Spain?

For a first visit, inland Asturias puts the Picos de Europa, the cider houses and the coast all within an hour's drive. The table below details regions for specific interests:

What do our guests say?

Guests staying in the north tend to review the setting as much as the house itself, and the scores show it. Homes across Asturias and Galicia regularly sit above 9.5+, with reviewers singling out attentive Star Hosts, gardens that back onto open countryside and the quiet that comes with a hamlet address. Note that most of these are stone country houses and cabins rather than villas in the poolside sense.

Here are our top-rated places to stay in northern Spain from the past year:

1. Cabañas Huma, Vegadeo - 10.0+: An eco-certified log cabin for three in western Asturias, praised for its views, its Star Host and its quiet setting near the Galician border.
2. La Casa De La Torre - 9.8+: A six-person house with a garden and grill at Santo Adriano in inland Asturias, rated 10.0 by visiting families for its mountain views.
3. La Colmena - 9.8+: A country house for two at Tineo with a balcony, a yard and a Star Host, ideal for couples touring the Asturian interior.

Northern Spain runs along the Atlantic and Cantabrian coasts, from Galicia through Asturias and Cantabria to the Basque Country, Navarre and La Rioja.

🥗Where to eat in Northern Spain?

According to Google Maps data and reviews, A Noiesa Casa de Comidas is the best rated restaurant in Northern Spain. Below is a table showing the top 5 highly-rated restaurants hand-picked by our travel experts.

⭐Our guests' recommendation: Our guest traveller Charlotte Wilson recommends the Casa Marcelo in Northern Spain: a single long table, one short menu and Galician seafood crossed with Japanese technique made it the highlight of our week away.

1. Walk a stage of the Camino
2. Hike the Picos de Europa
3. Eat your way through San Sebastián
4. Taste Albariño in the Rías Baixas
5. See Bilbao's Guggenheim
6. Surf the Cantabrian coast
7. Tour a Rioja cellar

1. Walk a stage of the Camino

   The Camino de Santiago ends at the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, and you do not need weeks to take part. Pick up the Camino Francés at Sarria and you can cover the final hundred kilometres in about five days, or walk the coastal Camino del Norte in day-long stages from your own base. Pilgrims collecting the Compostela certificate need at least the last 100 kilometres on foot, so plan your stamps carefully. Even a single morning's walk through eucalyptus woods gives you the atmosphere.

2. Hike the Picos de Europa

   Straddling Asturias, Cantabria and León, the Picos de Europa were Spain's first national park. The classic outing is the Ruta del Cares, a twelve-kilometre gorge path carved into the rock between Poncebos and Caín, with drops that concentrate the mind. Gentler options include the glacial Lagos de Covadonga above Cangas de Onís and the Fuente Dé cable car, which lifts you 750 metres in four minutes. Bring layers, because cloud rolls in fast even in August.

3. Eat your way through San Sebastián

   The old town of San Sebastián packs more celebrated kitchens into a few streets than almost anywhere in Europe. The local way is a pintxos crawl: one bite and one small glass per bar, then move on. Start on Calle 31 de Agosto, order a gilda of anchovy, olive and guindilla pepper, and finish with a slice of burnt Basque cheesecake. Walk it off along La Concha bay, or climb Monte Urgull for the view back over the beach.

4. Taste Albariño in the Rías Baixas

   Galicia's flooded river valleys, the Rías Baixas, produce Spain's finest white wine and much of its shellfish. Vines are trained overhead on granite posts to catch the breeze, and cellars around Cambados run tastings that pair Albariño with scallops and razor clams. Time a visit for the Albariño festival at the start of August. Out on the water, mussel rafts called bateas float in long lines, and boat trips will take you between them before lunch.

5. See Bilbao's Guggenheim

   Frank Gehry's titanium Guggenheim Museum turned Bilbao from a shipbuilding city into a weekend destination, and the building is worth the trip on its own. Jeff Koons's flower-covered Puppy guards the entrance and Louise Bourgeois's giant spider crouches by the river. Afterwards, cross into the Casco Viejo for the Siete Calles, the covered Ribera market and a plate of bacalao. The metro and the tram make it easy to leave the car behind for a day.

6. Surf the Cantabrian coast

   The Atlantic swell that keeps this coast green also makes it Spain's best surfing shore. Beginners head for the long sandy break at Somo across the bay from Santander, or the sheltered bay at Zarautz, where surf schools hire boards by the hour. More experienced surfers make for Mundaka in Biscay, a river-mouth left that draws a crowd every autumn. Wetsuits are needed year-round here, but the water is quieter than on the southern costas.

7. Tour a Rioja cellar

   An hour inland from Bilbao, La Rioja trades green hills for vineyards and hilltop villages. Haro's Barrio de la Estación holds a cluster of historic bodegas within walking distance of one another, while Laguardia sits above a warren of medieval cellars cut into the rock. Book tastings ahead, especially at harvest in late September. Pair the tempranillo with grilled lamb chops cooked over vine cuttings, a house speciality across the region's simple asadores.