Bilbao
Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the province of Biscay and in the autonomous community of the Basque Country.
Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the province of Biscay and in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 347,342 as of 2024, it is the 11th most populous city in Spain, and the most populous in northern Spain. The Bilbao metropolitan area has 1,037,847 inhabitants, making it the most populous metropolitan area in northern Spain. The comarca of Greater Bilbao is the fifth-largest urban area in Spain. Bilbao is also the main urban area in what is defined as the Greater Basque region.
Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Worth seeing in and around Bilbao
10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.
- 01Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is a museum of modern and contemporary art in Bilbao, Biscay, Spain. It is one of several museums affiliated to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and features permanent and visiting exhibits of works by Spanish and international artists.
1.6 km · Museum of modern and contemporary art in Bilbao, Spain · Wikipedia - 02San Mamés Stadium
The San Mamés Stadium is an all-seater football stadium in Rafael Moreno Pitxitxi Kalea, Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain. Inaugurated on 16 September 2013, the stadium replaced the "old" San Mamés as the home of Athletic Bilbao.
2.2 km · football stadium in Bilbao, Spain that opened in 2013 · Wikipedia - 03University of Deusto
The University of Deusto is a Spanish private university owned by the Society of Jesus, with campuses in Bilbao and San Sebastián, and the Deusto Business School branch in Madrid. The University of Deusto is the oldest private university in Spain.
1.9 km · Spanish private university · Wikipedia - 04Bilbao Fine Arts Museum
The Bilbao Fine Arts Museum is an art museum located in the city of Bilbao, Spain. The building of the museum is located entirely inside the city's Doña Casilda Iturrizar Park.
1.5 km · art museum in Bilbao, Spain · Wikipedia - 05Bilbao Arena
Bilbao Arena is an indoor arena in the neighbourhood of Miribilla in Bilbao, Spain. The central hall can hold up to 10,014 people for basketball games.
600 m · arena in Bilbao, Spain · Wikipedia - 06Iberdrola Tower
The Iberdrola Tower is an office skyscraper in Bilbao, Spain. Its construction started on 19 March 2009 and was officially inaugurated by King Juan Carlos I on 21 February 2012.
1.7 km · building in Biscay, Spain · Wikipedia - 07Pagasarri
Pagasarri is one of the two small mountain ranges that encloses the city of Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain and is part of the Basque Mountains. Its main peak separates the municipality of Bilbao from Arrigorriaga and Alonsotegi, and has an elevation of 673 m.
4.5 km · mountain located in Biscay, Spain · Wikipedia - 08Euskalduna Conference Centre and Concert Hall
The Euskalduna Conference Centre and Concert Hall or Euskalduna Palace or Euskalduna Hall is located in the city of Bilbao, Basque Country, beside the Estuary of Bilbao, built in part of the area that was formerly occupied by the Euskalduna shipyards. The building includes both a Concert Hall and an Opera House and a Conference Centre.
2 km · convention centre and concert hall in Bilbao, Spain · Wikipedia - 09Teatro Arriaga
The Teatro Arriaga, or Arriaga Antzokia in Basque, is an opera house located on the Nervión River in Bilbao, Spain. It was built in Neo-Baroque style by architect Joaquín Rucoba in 1890, the same architect that built the city hall.
300 m · theatre in Bilbao, Spain · Wikipedia - 10Basilica of Begoña
The Basilica of Begoña is a basilica in Bilbao, in Spain, dedicated to the patroness saint of Biscay, the image of Our Lady of Begoña. The current parish priest is Jesús Francisco de Garitaonandia.
800 m · minor basilica in Bilbao, Spain · Wikipedia
Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What Wikivoyage says to see
- 01Guggenheim Museum
Abandoibarra etorbidea, 2 (Tram: Guggenheim).
- 02Puppy
Not a museum, but it is directly in the front of the Guggenheim Museum, created by Jeff Koons.
- 03Museo de Bellas Artes
- 04Basque Museum
Established in 1921 to focus on the prehistory, archaeology, ethnography and history of Euskadi (Basque homeland).
- 05Itsasmuseum
It's in what used to be the Euskalduna shipyard, this maritime museum is next to the current Euskalduna Performing Arts Centre.
- 06Museo Taurino
Martín Agüero, 1, Plaza de Toros de Vista Alegre, (Near Plaza Zabalburu).
From Wikivoyage: Bilbao, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Things to do
In the summer see an open air concert at the Kiosko del Arenal El Arenal Parque (across from Plaza Arriaga). The stage was built in 1923, and renovated in 1985. Beginning the first Saturday after August 15 and lasting for 9 days is Aste Nagusia / Semana Grande, the city's fiesta (holiday).
From Wikivoyage: Bilbao, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Where to eat
The local custom is to call what are known in Spanish as tapas by the Basque name, pintxos, probably much more elaborated than their Spanish cousins due to the Basque love of gastronomy. Friday and Saturday nights are most popular time for eating pintxos - as it is for going to bars. Aritz, Calle Zugastinobia 4.
- 01Malatesta
- 02La Camelia
Villarías Kalea 3 (Abando L1 L2 ),.
From Wikivoyage: Bilbao, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Getting to Bilbao
- Airports
- Bilbao (BIO), 5 km · Zaragoza (ZAZ), 235 km · Bordeaux–Mérignac (BOD), 248 km
- Stations
- Bilbao Airport, 5 km · Bilbao-Abando, 500 m · Lutxana, 5.3 km · Bilbao-Atxuri station, 400 m · Estación de San Ignazio, 4.1 km
- Zaragoza → Bilbao245 km · quickest by road, 4h 9m · €31–43
- Ranón → Bilbao255 km · quickest by road, 4h 29m · €31–43
- Madrid → Bilbao323 km · quickest by air, 4h 10m · €90–140
- Plan a tripFrom anywhereThe planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.
No local-transport research exists yet for Bilbao
Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Bilbao. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.
- Get inwikipedia:Renfe_Feve wikipedia:Renfe_Feve Brittany Ferries run a direct car ferry between Bilbao and Portsmouth, England.
- Get inIt is best to book early, since the ferry is often booked out in summer.
- Get inFerries land at Zierbena, at about 15 km from the centre of Bilbao.
- Get aroundYou can use the tram, bus or funicular to move around Bilbao.
From Wikivoyage: Bilbao, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-09.
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If you know how people move in Bilbao – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.