The Basque Country in northern Spain is expecting a wave of tourists to its gourmet restaurants, undiscovered vineyards, beautiful countryside, vibrant beaches and spectacular architecture to follow last week’s peace agreement.

After the Basque separatist terrorist group Eta announced a “permanent ceasefire”, tourism officials in the Basque Country — and in the rest of Spain, which has been blighted by Eta terrorism for 40 years — predicted an immediate rise in visitor numbers.

The new Hotel Marqués de Riscal, with its spa and wine cellars, is also expected to put the area in the travel spotlight when it opens in September. The hotel, in the Basque wine region of Rioja Alavesa, is designed by Frank Gehry, whose Guggenheim Museum helped to boost tourism to industrial Bilbao.

Juan Bautista Mendizabal Juaristi, head of the Basque tourist board, said: “This means a big change of perception about the Basque Country, though in reality we didn’t live in a war zone like some pictures on the TV might have made you believe. Now there is a clear image of calm, and for us Basques much hope. This is a new era. We are seeing big confidence in the Basque Country.”

This is the first time Eta has included the word “permanent” in a ceasefire. After a ceasefire in 1998 the region had enjoyed a big jump in tourism from about a million visitors in 1997 to almost one and a half million in 1999.

Last year 1.9 million tourists visited the Basque Country, including 73,000 from the UK. The overall figures will soon top two million.

Budget flights make the Basque Country more accessible from the UK. As well as British Airways and Iberia, easyJet flies to Bilbao and Ryanair flies to Vitoria — the city envied across Spain for having one of the highest standards of living in the country. You can sail to Bilbao by ferry from Portsmouth with P&O.

The area is popular with food lovers and has more Michelin stars per head than anywhere else in the world — with 22 in all, according to Mendizabal Juaristi. The seaside town of San Sebastian is renowned for its bars serving tapas or pintxos.

And don’t forget your Euskara (Basque) phrase book — the challenging language is the oldest in Europe. Or your brolly. The weather in northern Spain is much more unpredictable than in the south.

“The weather in the Basque Country is likely to make you Brits feel very much at home,” said Mendizabal Juaristi.

To see more on the Hotel Marqués de Riscal visit www.starwoodhotels.com

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