Studying Abroad in the Basque Country Was the Best Decision I Ever Made

I’m so glad I was fortunate enough to discover the two cities known locally as Bilbo and Donosti through my university (Deusto Business School has a campus in both cities.) It’s impossible to lay your eyes on Bilbao and San Sebastian and not find them magnificent.   Bilbao is staggeringly beautiful. It offers breathtaking landscapes just minutes from the city center, a world-renowned food scene and truly remarkable architecture. Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum, for instance, is one of the most iconic buildings in the region and an architectural gem. If you’re not familiar with it, it has got really sharp edges and a modernist shape (it looks a tiny bit like the Sydney Opera House.) Inside, you’ll find challenging modern art, incredible retrospectives and magnificent permanent exhibitions like Jenny Holzer's LED columns of text phrases in different languages.

I’ve spent a lot of time in the coastal city of San Sebastian and it’s become a bit of a second home to me because I have a few friends based there. I love its beaches and gorgeous hillsides overlooking the sea - not to mention the city’s cool bars and lunch spots. I was so glad to learn that San Sebastian won the European City of the Year award and the European Capital of Culture in 2016 because it totally deserved its moment in the limelight.

No matter where you look here, you will find gorgeous scenery, from forests to snow-capped mountaintops and a beautiful extending coastline with a great variety of beaches and cliffs. The cherry on top? San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, where the hit HBO television series Game of Thrones was shot. It’s a beautiful island and a bit of an adventure: you have to climb up 241 steps to get to the top, where you will find a beautiful hermitage.  

With almost 40 Michelin-rated restaurants, the Basque Country is one of the best destinations in the world for gastronomy, especially San Sebastian. Of course, while these restaurants are great spots to celebrate graduating (touch wood), I would suggest you try pintxos if you’re fortunate enough to visit, which are small snacks piled on top of a slice of bread. The affordable snacks are particularly great on nights out and best served with a drink and good company.

While Spain suffered a financial downturn since the 2008 economic crisis, the Basque Country is one of the country’s few areas of prosperity. The Basque Country’s ability to thrive in the face of adversity is truly inspiring, and has even prompted the Harvard economics professor Michael Porter to describe the Basque Country as “one of the great economic success stories in the world”. Indeed, the region has achieved the highest productivity rate in Europe and is now responsible for 23.5 percent of Spain’s GDP.   I moved to the Basque Country with very little idea of what to expect. With hindsight, I now realize I couldn’t have anticipated the many, little ways it changed the way I think and feel about the world. So, if you are shopping around for a university abroad, I would suggest you throw the Basque Country into your shortlist of destinations because it’s full of treasures.