This area is known as País Vasco in Spanish and Euskadi in Basque. The Basque people have preserved unique culture, the jewel of which is its language, Euskera, a pre-Indoeuropean tongue whose mysterious origin has never been established.

The Atlantic Ocean meets the green slopes of the Pyrenees, making a rugged coastline and mountainous hinterland.

San Sebastián (Donostia in Basque was, in the last century, one of the summer places most frequented by the Spanish aristocracy. It is a beautiful resort and cultural center which has preserved a rare cosmopolitan and distinguished air.

Bilbao (Bilbo), founded in the 14th century, is the Basque Country's largest city. It houses the Guggenheim Museum of modern art, which has achieved international renown. It also has a beautiful Old Quarter that boasts a Gothic cathedral and its City Hall building.