Across the Pyrenees: Basque Country to Catalonia

Start in Sare, whose whitewashed houses set the pattern for the classic Basque home. Take the little cog railway up La Rhune for the view, or visit the Musée du Gâteau Basque and watch the baking. Then it is on to Ainhoa.

Ainhoa is one long street of white houses, and a pleasant place to stretch your legs. Step into the church to see its wooden galleries, and glance at the Basque cemetery beside the road. Look for Piment d'Espelette on the lunch menu, then drive on to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.

Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port is where pilgrims gather before Roncevaux, so you will be in good company tonight. Walk the cobbled Rue de la Citadelle, visit Notre-Dame-du-Bout-du-Pont and look up to the citadel. Stay the night here, and order the piperade for supper.

The second day crosses into Spain and the Roncal valley. In Roncal, visit the museum in the home of Julián Gayarre, step into the church of San Esteban to see its star vaults, and look at the carved mansions. At lunch, ask for Roncal cheese, then drive on to Ansó.

Ansó is where you spend the night, a stone village with mountain views where older people still speak Ansotano. Visit the church of San Pedro and its museums, or follow the valley up towards the glacial lake of Ibón de Estanés. At dinner, try the region's ternasco de Aragón.

Aínsa fills the whole day, so take it slowly. Climb to the castle esplanade, visit the church of Santa María with its arrow-slit bell tower, then drift between the two streets to the Plaza Mayor. Stay the night here, and try the region's Jamón de Teruel at dinner.

Alquézar sits above the Río Vero canyon. Join a guided visit of Santa María la Mayor, the collegiate church, then walk along the canyon and keep an eye out for vultures nesting along it. Pour a glass of Somontano wine with lunch before you drive on to Roda de Isábena.

Roda de Isábena is tiny, with a cathedral far larger than the village seems to need. Step inside the cathedral of San Vicente, then walk round the fortified Prior's Palace and the Plaza Mayor. Settle in for a quiet evening and stay the night here.

The fifth day opens in the valley of Boí, at Durro, a village of slate roofs around the church of the Nativitat. Stretch your legs in its lanes; in June the villagers carry blazing torches down from the hermitage above in a fire festival. From here the road leads on to Arties.

Arties lies between two streams in the Val d'Aran. Look into Santa María d'Arties, then Sant Joan and its eight-sided bell tower, and afterwards soak in the thermal pools beside the old baths. Settle in for the evening and stay the night here.

Beget, your last stop, is a small cluster of stone houses by the stream, joined by little bridges. Cross the old bridge, find San Cristóbal church and the clock tower, and let the day slow right down. Stay the night here.