10 places to see in Lanestosa

What to see in Lanestosa, the smallest town in Bizkaia.

If you are looking for what to see in Lanestosa, you have come to the right place. This urban center located on the border with Cantabria, offers a perfect destination for nature and history lovers. Aspects that are evident just by visiting the town center and its surroundings. This medieval village seems to have stopped in time, offering us a walk among palaces and emblazoned houses. Lanestosa is one of the first villages of Bizkaia, also one of the smallest. Would you like to visit Lanestosa with us?

What to see in Lanestosa.

This small and charming village located at the western end of the region of Enkarterri has a beautiful medieval old town. An urban center full of narrow cobbled streets that together with the palaces and houses of indianos offer us a perfect destination to rest and enjoy.

Old Bridge: Lanestosa is located in a strategic location on the old road that linked Castilla y León with the Cantabrian Sea. An urban center, which for centuries had a large number of visitors. However, it had natural impediments that had to be overcome. An example of this is the Calera River. In this sense, the Old Bridge was fundamental for the social and economic development of Lanestosa. A single-arched structure over 11 meters high, it linked Laredo and Burgos since 1760.

Houses of Indianos: The Indiano movement is very present in Lanestosa. In fact, we find more than 5 mansions of this type throughout its territory. Many of the inhabitants of Lanestosa emigrated to destinations in America such as Cuba, Mexico or Argentina. Upon their return, they invested their wealth in their native Lanestosa. Great example of them is the house of Pedro Martinez Gonzalez (emigrated to Cuba), the house of Antonio Echevarria Ortiz (emigrated to Cuba), the house of José María Valerdi Murua (emigrated to Guatemala), the house of Juan José Sainz (son of Indianos), or the house of Ramón Gallo Gutierrez.

New Plaza: With the increase of traffic on the road that divided the old square in two, in 1964 it was decided to create what is now the Plaza Nueva. A central space located next to the church, which allowed the celebration of events without having to worry about traffic. Today it is still a meeting point.

San Pedro Church: The temple that we currently find in the Plaza Vieja dates back to the XVI century. Previously, the parish of Lanestosa was located on the other side of the Calera River. We encourage you to enter the interior of the church to see the main altarpiece.

Old square: The Plaza Balcón de Bizkaia, also known as the Plaza Vieja, has been a meeting place for centuries. Although it does not have the typical structure of a square, although the national road divides it down the center, its location next to the church and its distribution were essential to become one of the most important spaces in Lanestosa.

Viewpoint: The viewpoint of Lanestosa is located at the top of the valley, next to the cave of the Jews. A space near the historic center, which offers beautiful views of the town. Remember that access to the viewpoint is not accessible for people with reduced mobility, and is that we must climb 176 steps to reach this place.

Kobenkoba: The cave of Los Judíos was converted many years ago into the Kobenkoba cave art interpretation center. It shows photos, videos and audios that explain the different figures inside the cave. We can also find samples of the caves of Ekain or Altamira among others. The route to the viewpoint and Kobenkoba is within the route that the emperor Carlos V made in his trip to the monastery of Yuste and has 176 stairs that we must overcome.

Calera River: The fluvial path of the Calera River offers us corners full of charm, especially in spring. Remember that in summer, the Calera River loses much of its flow leaving sections with very little water. We encourage you to take a look at the video that you will find in this article to see firsthand the beauty of the upper section where we find small rapids and waterfalls next to a barbecue area.

Mirabueno Street: Mirabueno street and square are another of the spaces to be taken into account in Lanestosa. A narrow street, cobbled and flanked by stone walls and turrets, which makes us travel back in time. Finally, the small square located next to the national road houses one of the largest residential buildings in the town.

Palacio Colina: This 18th century palace located on Calle Real represents one of the most important architectural structures in Lanestosa. In this case, its owner was not an indiano, but a businessman from Lanestosa living in Madrid, Juan Antonio Escudero. At that time it was one of the few buildings in the area that had a nice collection of books and paintings. We should also point out that Charles V spent the night there during his trip to the monastery of Yuste.

Calle Real: The name of this street is due to the passage and stay of Charles V during his trip to Yuste. It is a cobblestone street that starts from the side of the church of San Pedro. In addition to the already known Palacio Colina, this street houses the house of the abacería and other mansions.

Schools: Next to the Old Bridge, we find the building that was erected in 1888 to house the schools of Lanestosa. This building had 2 floors for education, on the first floor were the classrooms separated by sex while on the second floor were the homes of the teachers. Next to the schools we find the washhouses, a structure that today houses the outpatient clinic of Lanestosa.

Video.

As usual in all our publications, we have created a short video so you can see as real as possible what awaits you in your trip to Lanestosa. If you like this kind of videos, we encourage you to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you can discover all the places and experiences that we recommend in Euskal Herria, we are waiting for you!

Guided tours.

We offer guided tours for groups in Lanestosa, Karrantza and the rest of our territory. A great option for groups that want to know this area of Euskadi with a local guide. Do not hesitate to contact us so we can send you a personalized quote for your group. We will try to respond as soon as possible.

Activities in Lanestosa.

The incredible natural environment that surrounds Lanestosa is ideal for the groups that visit us to enjoy the different activities of active tourism that we offer. If you like adventure and you are planning to travel to Lanestosa in group, we encourage you to contact us so that you can evaluate the possibility of canyoning, hiking, via ferrata and the rest of the experiences we offer.

What to see nearby.

The proximity of Lanestosa to the Karrantza valley, makes us recommend you to visit many of its attractions along with the other nearby municipalities. We leave you some examples. We hope you find them helpful.

Lanestosa motorhome area.

Lanestosa has a complete motorhome area of more than 6,000 square meters in the town center itself. A space that has sewage emptying, grey water emptying, water, electricity, bathroom, showers, sink and leisure area. Remember that this area is open all year round and has different rates depending on the length of your stay.

Mountain biking in Lanestosa.

All terrain bicycles (BTT) or Mountain Bikes (MTB) find in Lanestosa a small cycling paradise. And is that the incredible nature that surrounds this urban center offers dozens of routes to enjoy. In fact, at the exit of the village, on the road that connects Karrantza with Lanestosa, we find a point of cleaning and tuning of bicycles. Remember that we offer bicycle tours that go all over the Basque Country, do not hesitate to ask for a quote.

Where to park.

There is a parking lot at the entrance of the town, on the main street, next to the town hall. This is the same parking lot where the Bizkaibus buses park. In high season this parking lot may not have free spaces, in these cases, we recommend you to go to the other end of Lanestosa, next to the swimming pools.

How to get there.

Lanestosa can be reached either from the Basque Country, Cantabria or Castilla y León. If you decide to arrive from Euskadi, we must use some of the local roads that connect the 2 valleys, we recommend you to use the BI-3622 or the BI-3629. If we choose to arrive from Cantabria or Castilla y León we must use the N-629 road.

Parties.

The month of August occupies a great place in the culture of Lanestosa. And in this month is celebrated the feast of Our Lady of the Snows (August 5) and the feast of San Roque (August 16). Among all the acts of these festivities highlights the dance of flowers and sticks that is celebrated on August 5.

History.

Lanestosa received the title of villa from the Lord of Bizkaia, D. Lope de Haro, in 1287 with the intention of creating a stable urban center with strong commercial ties on the road linking Castile with the Bay of Biscay. And he succeeded, as Lanestosa was an obligatory stop for all those who wanted to reach the Cantabrian Sea from the Meseta. An essential fact for the economic development of the town. This urban center, lived a golden age in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries thanks to the return of many Indians. They were the ones who built dozens of palaces. The structure of its historic center has been preserved as it was then, offering us a nice mix of popular architecture and palaces of Indianos. A place that makes us travel back to the Middle Ages.

Route of Charles V.

After 40 years of reign, Charles V set course for what would be his last home, the Monastery of Yuste. On his last journey, he visited and spent the night in Lanestosa, as it was strategically located on the road that linked Laredo with Burgos. Thus, Lanestosa is nowadays part of the first stage of the so-called Route of Charles V. The route completed by the emperor to reach his retirement.

As you have seen the village of Lanestosa is a perfect destination to disconnect from the hustle and bustle and enjoy nature and history. If you have any questions, we encourage you to use the comment system that you will find below these lines to send them to us. We will try to respond as soon as possible. Ondo pasa!