"Old fashioned" northern Spain

[AuntOlive]

I would love to visit the less developed parts of Spain. The parts where old people still dress in Sunday best / it's like going back to the 50s... (apparently).

Does anyone know which parts are like that and how to travel there?

I would be travelling by train (probably via Paris) as I don't like flying.

I would need to be based somewhere where you can 'walk' around (longish walking distance ok) as I can't cope with hiring a car abroad (whenever I've tried in the past I always end up driving on the left and I'd rather not kill DC)

Girona? Get the train to FIGUERES VILAFANT - its a long journey though!

Not sure it's northern enough for you, but my mum lives in teruel and it's lovely there with good walks around the place and lots of history too. Definitely not northern but we loved Valencia

I think you mean Cantabria, Asturias, Galicia regions. We had a lovely holiday near Comillas (Santillana del Mar, actually). Flew into Santander. Not sure how accessible it would be by train.

You could get a ferry to Santander (assuming you're UK based?)

We spent some time in national parks in Cantabria last summer and it was extremely rural and very pretty. Good for enjoying nature and wildlife.

Bilbao is good for getting buses/metro around, and walking up and down avenues with well dressed people, though they are mainly wearing Zara.

Thanks all, yes I am UK based. What is train travel like in that part of Spain. I've travelled around Europe extensively but never been to Spain ever! i.e. are the trains as extensive as France/ Germany?

Bonsoir and Honey - the places you describe sound lovely. I was told that Northern Spain is really quite quaint and that people still dress like it's the 1950s - the men in suits and trilby hats and the ladies in dresses with pinafores/ aprons (maybe from Zara ;-) .... It sounded quite different and charming.

Drspouse - is it possible to get out into more rural areas from Bilbao via train?

We stayed at Casona de Quintana (google it). Not sure how you would get there without a car, however.

Portugal is great for rural and old-fashioned charm.

Bonsoir that hotel looks absolutely beautiful - and bargainous too (unless 'rates from £61.13' is a mis-print?!

Aunt, I don't know who told you that story about men dressing in suits and ladies in pinafores, but I think you are going to be disappointed

Dragon, I imagine not everyone dressed that way! just perhaps the odd older person..?

ok. I was just trying to warn you so that you have a realistic expectation. Maybe if you drive quite into the mountain villages near Leon or Burgos you will find the odd very old person dressed like that. My mum is 75 and lives in a Spanish village in the East coast. You would not find anyone dressed like that there

I have been to Gerona and that part of Spain regularly and all along that coastline. I've also been to Santiago de Compostela, Pontevedra, Bayona and other places in that part of Northern Spain and also Northern Portugal. I never saw anybody dressed as you describe - I'm not sure you will nowadays and can go back about twenty years.

It is very very beautiful and charming but it isn't like turning back the clock.

Railways are pretty good I recall although we always drove/drive.

Zamora is good for the kind of time travel I think you're seeking!

Would you consider walking part of the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain?

We have been to the Atlantic side of Spain many times and not come across that. It's still an interesting place to visit with great beaches and scenery. We have been through remote and traditional vilages in the middle of nowhere but you would realy need a car. Then theres not much to do once there, think church and a couple of houses.

You could have a great break if you went as a foot passenger to Bilbao or Santander, you could go on one route and back by the other. Both are lovely cities and worth visiting, personally I prefer Bilbao. Then research places that you would like to visitin the area, there did seem to be good bus routes around the place.

I do remember Rick Stein doing a series on the Atlantic coast and he did find a small traditional place in the Picos, baking something in the old way. He had a team of researchers and invites into homes ;) The picos are beautiful though.

You can still (I believe, though it's years since I did it) the train from Paris straight through to Lisbon which stops off at some lovely places, San Sebastian etc before dropping down to Salamanca and heading into Portugal.

I lived and worked in Asturias in the 80s and there were some "traditional" little villages but I can't say I saw anyone dressed like a costume doll with Rick Stein type sleb chef doing things to local produce in the background.

PS It's terribly untrendy of me to say so, but I fecking hated Asturias. The most boring place on the planet (and I say that as someone who has also lived in Brussels)

Into Castilla-Leon and down to Salamanca and the small towns around there are much more interesting. Asturias reminded me of Britain tbh. Including the weather. And the cabbage and potatoes.

I have been thinking that maybe the person who told you was in Madrid during the San Isidro festival and saw the "chulapas" all dressed up

www.spain.info/en_GB/reportajes/fiestas_de_san_isidro_en_madrid.html

I remember that the children and babies looked old fashioned. Very matchy- matchy, boys in shorts and knee socks a la Prince George if you know what I mean.

When we first went to live in Spain I saw lots of shops selling beautiful children's clothes and assumed these were for special occasions only. Not so - in our local town of Antequera in Andalucia the children were all dressed up to the nines every Sunday, and for summer evenings walking around the town streets, not just at fiesta time!
I also spent a few days in Seville where I felt distinctly under-dressed - the Spanish (particularly older ladies!) do take a lot of trouble with their appearance!

Another heathen here, we didn't like the north of Spain very much. It was cold and very misty/cloudy in the mountains (August). I know the cities and coast are supposed to have amazing food but in the mountains we found it was very basic, and not in a romantically rustic kind of way, mostly pork steaks with chips (nice chips mind!).

Wouldn't return.

I would second San Sebastián. I think you can still get the train destined for Lisbon as mentioned above. You can also then get local trains and buses to other nearby towns and Bilbao where the Guggenheim is worth a visit.

Would agree with Chewbecca about the climate in northern Spain. You may get rained on even in August - that's why it's so green. If guaranteed sun is important then rural Andalucia is a great choice. The inland white villages are as authentic as any in the North!