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History
& Culture
The Basque Country is historically unique; its
traditions, customs, culture and its language, Euskera, unrelated
to any Indo-European language, are all unlike any other region
of Spain. Euskadi, as the region is called in Basque,
is a friendly land of hardy and independent but hospitable people.
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The region is composed of three provinces. The capital of
the Bizkaia province is Bilbao (Bilbo), a great seaport
and an industrial and financial center. Since 1997 it is the home
of the spectacular Guggenheim Bilbao Museum, "the
building of the century." San Sebastián, called Donostia
in Basque, is the principal city of Gipuzkoa province,
and it extends like a string of pearls around the Bay of Biscay.
It is a sophisticated city of great beauty and elegance with a
cultural, social and gastronomic importance far in excess of its
size. And Vitoria-Gasteiz in Álava is the inland
apex of the Basque triangle, the region's political and administrative
capital and seat of the Basque government.
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Gastronomy
 Great
eating is another important reason to visit the Basque Country.
Basque chefs are held in the highest esteem and the cooking of
the Basque region has ardent admirers. It was here in the Basque
Country that nueva cocina vasca -new Basque cuisine- was
born, based on the creative use of the finest local ingredients.
It exists alongside traditional Basque cooking that revolves around
exquisite seafood -especially hake, salt cod, spider
crab and baby eels (angulas)- all accompanied by the
wonderful local white wine called txakolí. Basques
share their good humor and kitchen wisdom in the region's famous
men-only gastronomic societies.
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Attractions
But the essence of all that is Basque can be better appreciated
outside the cities, in the countless farmhouses, villages
and small towns scattered over the rolling emerald hills
of the countryside, and in the picturesque villages along the
rugged coast, where the Basques' prodigious fishing skills against
formidable climatic odds have historically taken them as far away
as Newfoundland. In rural areas native Basque culture has remained
intact: in the sports and games like jai alai
that highlight the energy and competitive spirit of the Basques,
and in traditional fiestas in which Basque singers and
dancers display great strength and dexterity.
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| For further information please visit Tourspain
pages on: |
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| Related Sites |
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PAIS
VASCO (English, Spanish, Euskara, French, German)
Eudel (Associación de Municipios Vascos) (English, Spanish,
Euskara)
http://www.paisvasco.com
(Spanish) |
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Álava
Vitoria
(Spanish, Euskara)
Diputación
Foral de Álava (English, Spanish, Euskara)
Guipúzcoa
Donostia-San
Sebastián (English, Spanish, Euskara) & htttp://www.paisvasco.com/donostia/
(English, Spanish, Euskara, French)
Diputación
Foral de Gipuzkoa (Spanish, Euskara) - Tourism
Guide (English, Spanish, Euskara, French)
Deba
(English, Spanish, Euskara, French)
Comarca
del Bajo Deba (English, Spanish, Euskara, French)
Getaria
(English, Spanish, Euskara, French)
Pasaia
(Spanish, Euskara)
Urnieta
(Spanish, Euskara, some English)
Zarautz
(Spanish, Euskara, English, French)
Zumaia
(English, Spanish, Euskara)
Zumarraga
(Spanish, Euskara)
Vizcaya
Bilbao
(English, Spanish, Euskara)
Bilbao
Metrópoli 30 (English, Spanish, Euskara, French, German)
Diputación
Foral de Bizkaia (English, Spanish, Euskara)
Bakio
(Spanish, Euskara, some English & French)
Barakaldo
(Spanish, Euskara)
Barrika
(Spanish, Euskara)
Carranza
(Spanish)
Erandio
(Spanish)
Etxebarri
(Spanish, Euskara)
Getxo
(English, Spanish, Eukara)
Gorliz
(English, Spanish, Euskara)
Ondarroa
(Spanish, Euskara)
Portugalete
(Spanish, Euskara)
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