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Discover the 20 most popular souvenirs of our land, Euskal Herria.
Euskadi creates addiction, and everyone who visits our land, ends up linked in a very special way with everything that represents our culture, history and way of life. These are sensations that every visitor wants to remember with a physical object, a souvenir, a souvenir.
The word craftsmanship is one of the most demanded words when choosing among all the Basque souvenirs. The most outstanding and demanded are the gastronomic and textile products of our land, cheeses, txapelas… products with great personality that do not go unnoticed by our visitors. All of them achieve great success in the fairs that take place in the squares of each of our towns. The cultural, historical and gastronomic richness of the Basque Country marks with great character our most significant souvenirs, and you, which one do you choose?
The 20 most typical souvenirs of the Basque Country, Euskal Herria.
Although many times people who visit the Basque people keep sentimental memories with greater affection, in this article we will focus on physical souvenirs, leaving the sentimental ones to our mountains, beaches, cliffs, towns and cities. Unfortunately, most of the people who visit us do not invest the necessary time in buying the right souvenirs, and the fact is that there are so many souvenirs to be found in the Basque Country that we can compile them into 3 large groups: gastronomic, cultural and tourist. Basque souvenirs for all tastes!
Gastronomic souvenirs from the Basque Country.
The more than 15 Michelin-starred restaurants that can be found in the Basque Country are no mere coincidence; Basque products are partly responsible for this fact.
Basque cheese: The green pastures of Euskal Herria are a delicacy for the flocks of sheep that produce the milk of our beloved cheeses. Discover the different designations of origin and Idiazabal cheese tasting through our articles: Basque cheeses and Idiazabal cheese tasting.
Gernika peppers: Gernika peppers are an institution in Basque gastronomy. A high quality product that reaches its peak in summer.
Beans from Tolosa: Beans are, together with peppers, another of the great products of our land. Unlike peppers, beans conserve their properties for a longer period of time, allowing them to be preserved during our trip back home.
Sweets from Tolosa: Tolosa The old capital of Gipuzkoa has always been known for its sweets and its rotisseries. We can’t take the rotisseries home but we can take their sweets home with us, get to know this delicacy in detail by visiting the Gorrotxategi museum at Tolosa.
Basque cake: The Basque cake, is the gastronomic king of the fairs that travel through the squares of Euskal Herria. An artisan product very appreciated and valued by the Basques.
Cheesecake: A common dessert in Basque restaurants. A very special cake that we try to taste in each of our trips. The best we have tasted so far is in the Roncal Valley, Navarra, at the Suargi Restaurant.
Txakoli: A unique white wine in the world, neither better nor worse than the rest, different. A must try during any trip to the Basque Country.
Sagardoa: Basque cider, produced almost entirely in the province of Gipuzkoa, is presented as one of the historical drinks of our people. We recommend getting to know the culture of Basque cider by visiting a traditional cider house. It is essential to read our article on the ritual of the Txotx.
Wine from La Rioja Alavesa: La Rioja Alavesa, a land famous for its wines and gastronomy, invites us to discover some of the best wines of the entire peninsula.
PatxaranTraditional, historical and indulgent, there is little more we can say about this drink. A good drink to accompany a better game of mus. A deeply rooted drink of our people, which finds its greatest splendor in Navarra.
These products mentioned above are just a small representation of all the gastronomic products that we can take home as gastronomic souvenirs of the Basque Country. Which one do you choose?
Cultural souvenirs from the Basque Country.
Basque clothing and musical instruments are the best-selling cultural souvenirs in Euskadi. The clothes, with a strong Basque character, are very popular with all those who choose the Basque Country as a holiday destination. Do you want to know them? Attention!
Txapela: The Basque beret. A unique, traditional and historical garment. Undoubtedly the most famous textile souvenir of the Basque Country. If you want to be a “txapeldun” (txapela duena, literally the one who has a txapela in Basque) we recommend reading our article about the Gorostiaga hat shop.
Gerriko: The typical Basque belt, a very popular and well-known accessory thanks to Basque pelota, a sport in which teams (both individuals and couples) are distinguished by the color of their gerriko.
Zapia: The Basque scarf is an emblem in any celebration of our land. An example of this is the great Navarre festival, San Fermin.
Alboka: The alboka is an ancestral instrument in which the horn is the main protagonist. A very special souvenir for lovers of musical instruments.
Guernica: The painting “Guernica”, a striking pictorial work of the brilliant artist Pablo Picasso inspired by the atrocious bombing of the town of Guernica, symbol of the freedom of the Basque people. A mandatory souvenir in this section.
Books and music: Basque culture is notably represented in the works of our most popular authors. Basque books and songs are another cultural item to take into account.
Tourist souvenirs of the Basque Country.
In order to analyze in detail each of the tourist souvenirs that we can find in the Basque Country, we contacted the company Euskal Souvenirs, a small store located in Gernika with more than 15 years of experience in which we find a wide variety of Basque items. Javier, responsible for EuskalSouvenirs, talked to us about the future of tourism in the Basque Country and gave us a breakdown of each of the items we can find in the Basque market.
We reviewed the entire catalog they have, starting with handmade souvenirs, those of small production, Made in Euskal Herria and ending with industrial products, those of large print runs, Made in China. A pleasant and didactic talk in which we verified that both projects, TurismoVasco.com and EuskalSouvenirs.com, have the same objective: to spread the culture, history and traditions of our people. Thanks to the great variety of souvenirs that they have in their store in Gernika and their long trajectory, we have been able to summarize the reality of the tourist souvenirs of Euskadi in the following lines.
Handmade: This section includes handmade tourist souvenirs. There are few artisans who survive the tourist industry, but they exist, they are Basque and they create authentic jewels in wood, stone and other materials. Of course, the price of these items is by far one of the highest, we repeat, you have to pay for the good things.
Records and books: Although these souvenirs should be categorized in the cultural souvenir group, most souvenir stores stock a large collection of these items on their shelves.
Small details: The small details are by far the most demanded, magnets, key chains, thimbles or bracelets with Basque motifs are the Basque souvenirs most purchased by tourists. We must take into account that none of the souvenirs that we present in this category exceeds 5€, an affordable price for all pockets. Products of little weight and size, perfect to carry in your suitcase back home.
These are just a small representation of all the tourist items that we find in the EuskalSouvenirs store, if you want to see the complete catalog of this Basque brand you can do it through its website. Remember that thanks to the collaboration of TurismoVasco.com and EuskalSouvenirs, users of our website can make use of the discount code “TURISMOVASCO”, a promotion with which will be discounted directly 5 € to all purchases over 25 €.
Telamarinera, a unique souvenir collection.
It is always exciting to find original, historical and beautiful souvenirs, and even better if they are at a relatively acceptable price. In our case, we find the Telamarinera collection of SinDesperdicio, a range of products made with reused materials, which in addition to contributing to the environment, are beautiful, handmade and historical. Why? easy. All the products in this collection are made from the fabrics of the famous awnings found on some of the beaches of Gipuzkoa.
These beaches have, among their sandy beaches, some famous structures of white-blue fabric that protect their visitors from the sun, the famous awnings. Well, once this fabric begins to look aged by the sun and saltpeter, the fabrics are removed, cleaned and reused to give them a second life in the form of bags, purses or backpacks. Items that we have found perfect to recommend as souvenirs, as they are products with history, beautiful, at a good price and also reused. Of course, we must say that this souvenir is only from the province of Gipuzkoa, it has nothing to do with the rest of the provinces.
As you can see, each of the categories we show you has its own charm, now it’s your turn, choose your Basque souvenir!
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