From the farm to the table
Appetisers and main courses alike hide locally grown treasures, well-known for their top quality
One of the characteristics that make Basque food so special is the way ingredients are handled. Farms in Bizkaia tend to be small, and most products are artfully and lovingly processed by hand.
Peppers from Gernika, mushrooms, Idiazabal cheese, red onions from Zalla, honey, tomato and lettuce grown in the Basque Country will be your favourites on your trip across Bizkaia.
You will find them at any time of year at farmers’ markets and specialty stores in every town in Bizkaia. Treat yourself to our delicacies!
A taste of Basque cuisine
Culinary Nation's heart
Hand-harvested foods are part of the Basque identity and enduring traditions. They are used to make age-old dishes that will make your mouth water: red beans with chorizo, ribs and vegetables, vegetable stew, porrusalda (vegetable soup), pisto (ratatouille)…
Euskadi has been known for its acclaimed gastronomy for years now. It offers world-class food experiences, courtesy of renowned chefs who use locally grown produce sourced by baserritarras (owners of small, family-run farms), gardeners and cattle breeders. Their good work ensures superior quality products.
Blessed with a temperate climate and a rich soil, Bizkaia grows or processes products identified with the Eusko Label as high-quality foods. Eusko Label products include beans and peppers from Gernika; tomato and lettuce from the Basque Country; legumes, chard, leek, apples, pears and red onions from Zalla; and mushrooms, the seasonal fruit of the land that grows throughout Bizkaia.
In addition to fruit and vegetables, livestock products are also great in Bizkaia, most of them identified with the Eusko Label quality seal. DO Idiazabal cheese made from Latxa and Carranzana sheep milk, beef, suckling lamb, pork and chicken, eggs and milk from the baserris (family-owned farms)… They are all excellent.
Suppliers of the very best produce are not far from towns and cities in the region. As a result, you can buy the freshest products in specialty stores, as well as in agri-food and cattle fairs held throughout the year and drawing crowds from all over Bizkaia.
Routes
Lunes Gernikes (Monday in Gernika) is a market that opens every Monday in Gernika-Lumo. The town is particularly attractive on market days, since vendors sell the finest foods Bizkaia has to offer. Come on the Last Monday of October to visit the great fair of the year, with nearly 900 stalls.
The festival known as Last Monday in Gernika (October) is a great opportunity to buy locally grown produce from the farm as you enjoy the festive atmosphere
The chief attraction of the annual fair is the fruit, vegetable, flower, artisan cheese, honey and txakoli wine expo and competition. You will bring something back home for sure, but to pick from the wide array of products on display is no easy task. At this big fair, you will also peep into the essence of Basque rural life.
If you are coming for the market, you should not miss a tour of the town, a symbol for peace and freedom. You can start at Plaza de los Fueros, the beating heart of town, with the Town Hall and the seat of the former courthouse, converted to Museo de la Paz – a museum commemorating the tragic bombing of Gernika by the Condor Legion on 26 April 1937. The museum’s mission is to inspire people for peace.
At the square, climb the stairs to get to the upper part of town. You will find the Church of Santa María, built in the Gothic style. Then head for Parque de los Pueblos de Europa, a green area with trees and bushes, featuring sculptures by Eduardo Chillida and Henry Moore. From the park you can see the Casa de Juntas (Assembly Hall) and the nearby Tree of Gernika, an oak that stands for the ancient roots of the Basque people.
How to get there
Gernika-Lumo lies in the area of Busturialdea, in the heart of the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve. Relevant to the history of the Basque people, the town is well connected, with excellent links to Bilbao and other towns in Bizkaia by road or rail, both by public and private transport.
-
Train
The Atxuri-Gernika-Bermeo train, run by Euskotren, departs from Atxuri station in Bilbao and gets to Geltoki central station in Gernika.
-
Bus
Bizkaibus has several bus lines that reach Gernika from Bilbao and the other towns in Bizkaia. Check bus lines and timetables at the Bizkaibus website.
-
Car
Gernika is 36 kilometres away from Bilbao, so it takes half an hour or so to get there. Take the AP-8 to Amorebieta-Etxano and from there road BI-635, which leads to the centre of town.
Gastronomy
Where to eat
Before leaving Gernika, taste a good plate of beans, especially in winter, or fried Gernika peppers – they are delicious! Talo (corn tortilla) and chorizo or Idiazabal cheese pintxos are traditional artisan foods they sell at bars, markets and fairs.
Gernika lies in the heart of the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve, a natural area surrounded by small vineyards. We recommend a tour of a DO Bizkaiko Txakolina winery to sip txakoli, the typical Basque wine made mostly in coastal areas. On a winery tour you will learn the basics of wine tasting and food-wine pairing.
Accommodation
Where to sleep
If you are planning to spend the night in Gernika-Lumo, you will need to book a hotel, country house or apartment in advance, since there is not a wide choice of places to stay.
If you are driving a car, the nearby lovely towns in the area are only a short drive away from Gernika-Lumo.
-
Last Monday in Gernika (October Fair) is one of the main farmers’ markets in Euskadi. It draws thousands of people every year. Baserritarras (farmers) show their products in more than 900 stalls set up along San Juan Ibarra, Artekale, Picasso and Juan Calzada streets. They sell high-quality products from Bizkaia. If you happen to visit Gernika in October, do not miss the fair.
-
Location
Gernika
-
-
Bring cash with you in case you want to buy something from our baserritarras, as not all of them accept credit cards. Taste our locally grown produce and bring tasteful souvenirs from our land back home.
Eusko LabelTo identify quality products from the land, there are Protected Designations of Origin (PDO) that promote and protect the names of quality agricultural products and foodstuffs through compliance with specific regulations covering the entire production and distribution chain.
Learn more about superior quality with Eusko Label status granted by Fundación Hazi and Euskal Baserri products made in Bizkaia: http://www.hazi.es
-
Flower and plant market
- 21 january · 31 december
- Bilbao
Cookies
We use proprietary and third-party cookies for technical, analytical and customisation purposes, such as choosing the language in which to display the website. For more information, please consult our cookies policy (Opens modal window).
Cookies policy
What is a cookie?
A cookie is a file that is downloaded to your device when accessing certain websites. Among other features, cookies allow a website to store and recover information about the browser habits of a user or of its equipment and, depending on the information contained and the way in which you use your equipment, they can be used to recognise the user.
When browsing visitbiscay.eus, you will be consenting to the use of the cookies as per the terms contained herein.
Types of cookies
- Technical cookies: These cookies allow the user to browse a website, platform or application and use the different web options and services, such as controlling traffic and data communication, identifying the sessions, accessing parts with restricted access, recalling aspects of an order, performing the process to purchase an order, processing the application to register or take part in an event, using security features while browsing, storing content for the purpose of broadcasting videos or sound, or sharing content via social networks.
- Analysis cookies: these cookies allow the number of users to be quantified and are used to measure and analyse the browsing in order to improve the services made available. They can be own or third-party cookies.
- Customisation cookies: these cookies allow the user to access the service with some general predefined characteristics according to a series of criteria in the device of the user, such as the language, type of browser used to access the service, the regional configuration from where the service is accessed, etc.
- Advertising and marketing cookies: store information on user conduct obtained through continuous observation of their browser habits, which allows Facebook/Twitter (or wherever we us this) to create a specific profile when making adverts according to said profile.
Duration of the cookies
Session cookies: They collect and store data while the user accesses a website. They are usually used to store information that only needs to be kept to provide the service requested on a single occasion (for example: list of products in a shopping trolley).
Persistent cookies: The data continues to be stored in the device and can be accessed and processed during a period defined by the cookie manager. That period can range from a few minutes to several years.
Types of cookies according to the manager
Depending on who manages the equipment or domain from where the cookies are sent and who processes the data obtained, cookies can be divided into:
- Own cookies: they are managed by the Provincial Council of Biscay
- Third-party cookies: these are managed by another entity, which processes the data obtained through cookies. Google Analytics cookies are used on this web page – a web analytics service developed by Google, which allows web page browsing to be measured and analysed and Facebook cookies to store information to measure and optimise advertising campaigns. You will be able to see cookies from both services on your web browser.
How can I disable or delete the cookies?
You can allow, block or delete the cookies installed on your equipment by configuring the browser options installed on your device. You should check the configuration options of your web browser for further information.
- Deactivate Cookies in Chrome
- Deactivate Cookies in Explorer
- Deactivate Cookies in Firefox
- Deactivate Cookies in Safari
- Deactivate Cookies in Edge
If you disable or delete the cookies, some features of visitbiscay.eus may not operate correctly.
Cookies on visitbiscay.eus
The type of cookies used on visitbiscay.eus is set out below, according to their purpose:
In each row you can find data relating to Technical cookies
Name | Purpose | Duration | Owner |
---|---|---|---|
JSESSIONID | Session identifier | Session | Bizkaia Provincial Council |
LFR_SESSION_STATE | Session identifier | Session | Bizkaia Provincial Council |
COOKIE_SUPPORT | Indicate whether the user has the cookie support activated | 1 year | Bizkaia Provincial Council |
pc_tecnicas_visitbiscay | Choose your preferences for acceptance of the block of technical cookies | 1 year | Bizkaia Provincial Council |
pc_analitica_visitbiscay | Choose your preferences for acceptance of the block of technical cookies | 1 year | Bizkaia Provincial Council |
pc_preferencias_visitbiscay | Choose your preferences for acceptance/rejection of the block of preferential cookies | 1 year | Bizkaia Provincial Council |
pc_publicidad_visitbiscay | Choose your preferences for acceptance/rejection of the block of advertising and marketing cookies | 1 year | Provincial Council of Biscay |
pc_terceros_visitbiscay | Choose your preferences for acceptance/rejection of the block of Third-party cookies | 1 year | Bizkaia Provincial Council |
_GRECAPTCHA | Protects the website from spam and brute-force attacks | 5 months |
In each row you can find data relating to Analysis cookies
Name | Purpose | Duration | Owner |
---|---|---|---|
_ga | To distinguish users | 2 years | Google Analytics |
_gat | To limit the percentage of requests | 1 minute | Google Analytics |
_gid | To distinguish users | 1 day | Google Analytics |
MUID | To distinguish user | 1 year | Microsoft Clarity |
_clck | Assign preferences to the same user | 1 year | Microsoft Clarity |
_clsk | Connecting multiple page views in one session | 1 year | Microsoft Clarity |
CLID | Identify a user’s first visit | 1 year | Microsoft Clarity |
ANONCHK | To distinguish user | 1 day | Microsoft Clarity |
MR | Indicating when MUID is refreshed | 6 months | Microsoft Clarity |
SM | Synchronise MUID in the Microsoft environment | 1 year | Microsoft Clarity |
In each row you can find data relating to Customisation cookies
Name | Purpose | Duration | Owner |
---|---|---|---|
Idioma | Select the language preferred by the user | 1 year | Bizkaia Provincial Council |
In each row you can find data relating to Third-party cookies
Name | Purpose | Duration | Owner |
---|---|---|---|
APISID | Store user preferences and information during page views with Google maps in them. | 2 years | |
CLID | Identify a user’s first visit | 1 year | Microsoft Clarity |
HSID | Store user preferences and information during page views with Google maps in them. | 2 years | |
MUID | Store user preferences and information during page views with Google maps in them. | 1 year | Microsoft Clarity |
NID | Remember their preferences and other information | 6 months | |
SAPISID | Show personalised advertisements on Google sites | 2 years | |
SID | Provide advertisement delivery or retargeting, provide fraud prevention. | 2 years | |
SSID | Provide advertisement delivery or retargeting, provide fraud prevention. | 2 years | |
__Secure-1PAPISID | Create a website visitor interest profile to show relevant and personalised Google advertising. | 2 years | |
__Secure-1PSID | Create a website visitor interest profile to show relevant and personalised Google advertising. | 2 years | |
__Secure-3PAPISID | Create a website visitor interest profile to show relevant and personalised Google advertising. | 2 years | |
__Secure-3PSID | Create a website visitor interest profile to show relevant and personalised Google advertising. | 2 years | |
__Secure-ENID | Necessary cookies to use website services and options. | 1 year | |
__Secure-3PSIDCC | Create a website visitor interest profile to show relevant and personalised advertising through retargeting. | 1 year | |
_fbp | Store and track website visits | 1 year | |
personalization_id | Personalise your Twitter experience | 1 year | |
SOCS | Store user cookies preferences | 13 months | |
ARRAffinitySameSite | Used to balance the load and guarantee that visitor page requests are routed to the same server in any browsing session. | Session | Microsoft |
WFESessionId | Enable a Power BI session, a Microsoft tool that helps visualise data. | Session | Microsoft |
ai_session | Detect how many user activity sessions have included certain application functions and pages. | 30 minutes | Microsoft |
ai_user | Detect how many individuals used the application and its functions. Users are counted using anonymous identifiers. . | 1 year | Microsoft |
Configure cookies
We show you hereinbelow the different categories of cookies that our web page uses. You can personalise your choice by accepting or rejecting these categories through the buttons enabled to that end. For more information, consult our cookies policy (Opens modal window).
-
These are needed to allow browsing on our website and for basic tasks related to correct website operation.