Cheese travel
Cheese Travel in Spain
Spain's best cheese trips are in the north and in La Mancha. In Asturias you can walk into the caves where Cabrales ripens; in the Basque Country, Idiazábal shepherds sell at the Wednesday market in Ordizia and several dairies take visitors. La Mancha has Manchego sheep farms with tastings from €14, Extremadura has the Trujillo cheese fair every May, and Menorca and the Canary Islands have dairies and festivals of their own.
Coming Up
- 23 Dec 2026 Ordizia Market, Christmas fair
- 29 Aug 2027 Cabrales Cheese Festival, Last Sunday of August (expected, not yet confirmed)
Cheese Markets
See all worldwide
Cheese Museums
See all worldwide
Cabrales Cheese Cave
Arenas de Cabrales, Spain
A 45-minute guided visit to a natural ageing cave, with a tasting.
Torta del Casar Cheese Museum and Dairies
Casar de Cáceres, Spain
The cheese museum, dairy tours and October cheese week in Casar de Cáceres.
Majorero Cheese Museum
Antigua, Fuerteventura, Spain
Fuerteventura's goat cheese museum, with a windmill, garden and €4 tasting.
Festivals
See all worldwide
Cabrales Cheese Festival
Arenas de Cabrales, Spain
The Cabrales cheese contest and auction, last Sunday of August.
Next: 29 Aug 2027 (expected)
Gamonéu Cheese Festival
Benia de Onís, Spain
A weekend for the smoked blue cheese of the Picos de Europa, late October.
Arzúa Cheese Festival
Arzúa, Spain
Galicia's big cheese fair, on the Camino de Santiago, late winter.
Feria Nacional del Queso
Trujillo, Spain
About 80 cheesemakers in Trujillo's Plaza Mayor, first week of May.
Fiesta del Queso de Guía
Santa María de Guía, Gran Canaria, Spain
Two Sundays for the flower-rennet cheese of Gran Canaria, late April and early May.
Andalusian Artisan Cheese Fair
Villaluenga del Rosario, Spain
Andalusia's artisan cheese fair in a white village of the Sierra de Cádiz, each spring.
Cheese Tours
See all worldwide
Cheese Trails
See all worldwide
The Cheese Regions
Asturias and the Picos de Europa
Asturias has four DOP cheeses (Cabrales, Gamonéu, Casín and Afuega'l Pitu) and the Beyos IGP, from about 60 dairies. The blue cheeses of the Picos de Europa are the draw: start at the Cabrales cheese cave in Arenas, then visit a dairy cave in Sotres or Asiegu. See Asturias cheese dairies for times and prices, the Cabrales cheese contest in August and the Gamonéu contest in October.
Basque Country and Navarre
Idiazábal is a raw-milk sheep's cheese, sometimes smoked, made by shepherds with latxa and carranzana flocks. The village of Idiazabal has a cheese centre and two dairies that take visitors, and Ordizia next door has held a Wednesday market since 1512. See the Idiazábal cheese route and the Ordizia market.
Galicia
Galicia's soft cow's milk cheeses (Arzúa-Ulloa, Tetilla, San Simón da Costa and Cebreiro) are best met at the Festa do Queixo in Arzúa, a three-day fair on the Camino de Santiago in late February or early March.
La Mancha
Manchego is made only from the milk of Manchega sheep across Castilla-La Mancha. Farm visits, cave-aged cheeses and two free museums are on the Manchego cheese tours page.
Extremadura
Extremadura has four DOP cheeses: Torta del Casar, Queso de La Serena, Queso Ibores and Queso de Acehúche. The regional Ruta del Queso links more than 140 dairies, farms, restaurants and guides. Go for the Feria Nacional del Queso in Trujillo in early May, or to Casar de Cáceres for the cheese museum, dairy visits and the October cheese week.
Andalusia
The Sierra de Cádiz is goat cheese country. The village of Villaluenga del Rosario holds the Andalusian artisan cheese fair each spring.
The Islands
On Menorca, the Mahón-Menorca DOP has dozens of farm dairies, and several give guided visits; see Mahón cheese dairies. In the Canaries, Fuerteventura has the Majorero cheese museum in Antigua, and Gran Canaria celebrates its flower-rennet cheese at the Fiesta del Queso in Guía.
When to Go
| Month | Where | What |
|---|---|---|
| Late February or early March | Arzúa, Galicia | Festa do Queixo |
| April | Villaluenga del Rosario, Cádiz | Andalusian artisan cheese fair (17 to 19 April in 2026) |
| Late April and early May | Santa María de Guía, Gran Canaria | Fiesta del Queso, two Sundays |
| Early May | Trujillo and Idiazabal | Feria Nacional del Queso; Gazta Eguna |
| Last weekend of August | Caso and Arenas de Cabrales, Asturias | Casín contest (Saturday), Cabrales contest (Sunday) |
| Early September | Ordizia | Idiazábal shepherd cheese contest and auction |
| Early October | Casar de Cáceres | Semana de la Torta del Casar and European cheese fair |
| Late October | Benia de Onís, Asturias | Gamonéu contest |
Outside the festivals, spring and autumn suit dairy visits best. Many Basque and Asturian shepherds take their flocks to mountain pastures in summer, and some dairies make cheese only part of the year, so book ahead.
A Northern Cheese Route
A week from Bilbao or San Sebastián covers most of it. Spend a day in Idiazabal and Ordizia (on a Wednesday for the market), drive west along the coast to the Picos de Europa for two or three days around Arenas de Cabrales and Onís, then cut inland to Grado for Afuega'l Pitu. In late February, add Arzúa on the way to Santiago de Compostela. A car is close to essential: the dairies are in small villages with little public transport.
Getting Around
Fly into Bilbao, Santander, Asturias or Santiago for the north, Madrid for La Mancha and Extremadura, and Jerez or Seville for the Sierra de Cádiz. Trujillo and Casar de Cáceres are under an hour apart by road. Menorca and the Canary Islands need a flight or ferry, and a hire car helps on all three islands.
More Places to Taste Cheese
| Place | Town | What you can do | When | Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaztañaditxulo | Idiazabal, Gipuzkoa | Shepherd dairy visit | By phone | idiazabalturismo.com |
| Quesería Maín | Sotres, Asturias | Dairy and cave visit with tasting, €11.50 | 12:00 and 16:00, plus 18:00 in high season | turismoasturias.es |
| Quesería Ca Sanchu | Ambás, Grado, Asturias | Afuega'l Pitu visit and tasting, €10 | Wed to Fri 11:00 to 14:00 | turismoasturias.es |
| Finca Valdivieso | Alcázar de San Juan, Ciudad Real | Manchego farm visit and tasting | Mon to Fri 10:00 to 14:00, 17:00 to 20:00 | quesovaldivieso.com |
| Quesería Doña Francisca | Casar de Cáceres | Factory tour, tasting of ten cheeses | By booking | queseriadonafrancisca.com |
| Subaida | Es Mercadal, Menorca | Guided farm visits from €14 | Mon to Sat, all year | subaida.com |
| Hort Sant Patrici | Ferreries, Menorca | Guided visit with cheese and wine, €35 | Fri to Tue 11:30 and 17:30, March to December | santpatrici.es |
| Casa del Queso | Montaña Alta, Gran Canaria | Tastings and cheesemaking workshops | Tue to Fri 10:00 to 16:00, Sat 10:00 to 14:00 | santamariadeguia.es |
| Quesería Cultivo | Madrid (Conde Duque 15) | Cheese shop; private tastings on request | Shop hours | queseriacultivo.com |
Know your cheeses before you go. Every cheese from Spain, what it tastes like and how it's made.
Cheeses of SpainWhere to Stay in Spain
We may earn a commission when you book through this map, at no extra cost to you.
Questions People Ask
Where is the best cheese region to visit in Spain?
Asturias, for the Cabrales caves and dairy visits in the Picos de Europa, closely followed by the Basque Country for Idiazábal. For Manchego, base yourself around Ciudad Real or Valdepeñas.
What is the biggest cheese fair in Spain?
The Feria Nacional del Queso in Trujillo, held in the Plaza Mayor in early May, with about 80 cheesemakers and more than 100,000 visitors.
Can you visit a cheese cave in Spain?
Yes. The Cabrales show cave in Arenas de Cabrales is open all year, and dairies in Sotres and Asiegu take visitors into their own ripening caves.
When are cheese festivals in Spain?
Arzúa in late February or early March, Villaluenga in April, Trujillo and Guía around the start of May, Cabrales on the last Sunday of August, Ordizia in early September, Casar de Cáceres in October and Gamonéu in late October.