• How do I get there?
• Getting Around
• Tourist Offices
• When to Go
• Where do I Stay?
• What  to bring
• Things to do

How do I get there?

By Air:

Bilbao’s economic importance make it a city easy to get to- the local airport, Sondika Airport, is well connected to the rest of the country by regular flights; there are daily flights to Madrid and Barcelona, and less frequent connections to a number of other cities. Besides these, there are flights to and from France and England. Iberia is the main airline which serves Bilbao; in addition, Spanair and Air Europa also do runs on some routes to Bilbao.

Sondika Airport lies about 11 km from the city; there are taxis and hourly buses, which do the trip; the bus takes about 50 minutes.  

By Road:

Express highways connect Bilbao to most of Spain’s large cities, and if you’re driving on your own, getting to Bilbao shouldn’t be a problem. The city’s only about 6 hours’ driving time from Barcelona, and other towns such as Vitoria, San Sebastián and Pamplona are less than two hours away. For those who’d much rather travel by bus, there are daily connections to Madrid as well as to other cities and towns across Spain and in neighbouring countries.

By Train:

There are daily direct trains to Bilbao from Madrid and Barcelona, and most other cities and larger towns in Spain are also linked to the city by rail, although you might need to change trains at some point along the way. If you’re coming to Bilbao from elsewhere in Europe, you’ll have to take an international train to Madrid or Barcelona and then take a domestic train to Bilbao.

By Sea:

Bilbao’s port has a lot of traffic, most of it consisting of goods; there are, however, some ferry companies, which operate services to other Spanish ports. It is also possible to come by sea from England; ferries, both passenger as well as car ferries, sail between Plymouth and Bilbao (or Santander, 116 km from Bilbao, in the case of car ferries). The ferry passages from England run twice weekly, and are highly popular, so if you’re planning to get to Bilbao this way, you’d better book well in advance- up to a month and a half is a reasonable period at the peak of the tourist season.

Getting Around

Getting a car and driving around on your own is perhaps the best way to see Bilbao and its surrounding countryside. The city has a number of car rental agencies, including big names like Hertz, Avis and National, besides smaller outfits.

Alternatively, you can make use of the city’s public transport system, which includes a modern subway system and an extensive bus network which covers nearly all of the city. Some parts of Bilbao- such as the city centre- are packed with tourist sights, and you might like to see them on foot. If you do, make it a point (even if that entails a slight diversion from the route) to walk across the Santiago Calatrava footbridge, a glass bridge which is about as close as you’ll probably get to walking on the waters of the Rio Nervíon. 

Tourist Offices

When to Go

The most important factor in the climate of Bilbao and the surrounding lush green Basque countryside is the steady drizzle called the sirimin. It imbues the atmosphere with a steady grey, one that lets up little and rarely. Summer and autumn are better than winter and spring in terms of the rain.

Bilbao has the classic four seasons – spring (March to June), summer (June to September), autumn (September to December) and winter (December to March). The average annual temperature is 14º C and winter lows seldom go below 0º C. Summer days are usually a pleasant 20º C.

The best time to visit Bilbao is during the August fiesta, which begins on the Saturday after the 15^th. Open-air cafes spring up on previously vacant streets, there’s music and dancing and plenty of merriment.

Where do I Stay?

Till some time back, Bilbao’s tourist accommodation was based on the principle that quality is better than quantity- a situation which has, with the growing importance of the city as a tourist destination, thankfully changed. Bilbao today can boast of a large number of good hotels. Nearly all of Bilbao’s best accommodation is in the Casco Viejo area. 

For those travellers who’re trying to stay within a limited budget, perhaps the best course to adopt is to head for the city centre - most of Bilbao’s two and three-star hotels are in the vicinity. If you’re keen on something even cheaper, there are also a large number of pensions and hostels in the area. 

What to bring

Carry your umbrella or raincoat because it rains often especially between December and March. It’s never very warm in Bilbao and the surrounding countryside, and the city is popular with tourists intent on fleeing the southern Spanish sun; bring a light jersey for misty mornings in the summer and autumn. Bring warm jumpers for winter; while it doesn’t snow, it does get quite cold.

Bilbao is a large bustling city and its shops are well stocked with essentials and extras; you’re unlikely to be disappointed in a hunt for contact lens solution! If you’re on prescribed medication it is advisable that you carry a decent stock of the medicine and a copy of your prescription.

Things to Do

• Dining & Entertainment
• Shopping
• City Getaways

Dining & Entertainment

Just as Bilbao’s best accommodation is in the Casco Viejo area, so too is the city’s best dining. The area has a huge number of eateries, including posh sit-down restaurants serving local and international cuisine; friendly tapas bars and cheap snack counters. Bilbao’s restaurants are especially known for the excellent seafood they offer; other than that, you’ll find some of the region’s best game, pastries, meat and farm produce in the city’s eateries. If you’re keen on trying the local specialties, look out for delicacies like calamares en sui tinta (squid in a sauce of squid ink); jámon iberíco (Iberian cured ham); roasted lamb, fish and seafood.

Bilbao has a fairly lively nightlife, with live music and dancing at bars, clubs and discotheques across town. In addition, there are a number of venues where regular performances of music, dance, theatre and other performing arts are held. The city’s most `happening’ venues include the Teatro Arriaga (for opera, ballet, theatre and local zarzuella, a Spanish operetta form which is generally comic); the Palacio Euskalduna; the Café-Teatro Mistyk (highly recommended for music lovers: this is one place you can even hear good jazz); and the Teatro Victoria Eugenia. Listings of what’s on in Bilbao can be obtained from the tourist office and from local newspapers.

Shopping

Bilbao offers some of the best shopping in the entire Basque country, and the city’s shops are full of interesting buys - shoes, clothing, textiles, and lots more. Among the local souvenirs that you might like to add to your shopping list are traditional Basque berets (known as txapelas), shoes, wine (the latter comes highly recommended- look out for the excellent Rioja!), puppets, and other local handicrafts. Bilbao’s main shopping districts spread out over Casco Viejo (an excellent area to go exploring), Gran Via/Ensanche, and Indautxu, which have the largest concentration of shops anywhere in Basque. In addition to the more chic shops, shopping malls and department stores, Bilbao also has local markets that are perfect for bargain hunters. Some of the best markets are the ones at the Plaza Nueva de Bilbao (on Sunday mornings) and the exotic Mercado de la Robera, the market by the river.

Most shops in Bilbao are open from 10.30 to 1 and 4.30 to 8, Mondays to Saturdays; all shops remain closed on Sundays and public holidays, and some shops even close on Monday mornings or Saturday afternoons.

City Getaways

A 100 kilometres from Bilbao lies the seaside resort of San Sebastián. One of the most interesting and fashionable old towns of the Basque country, San Sebastián sits, flanked on two sides by steep bluffs, along the Bay of Biscay. Although most tourists visit the city mainly in order to swim or sunbathe on San Sebastián’s beaches, the city also has some excellent tourist sights - museums, churches and an aquarium. San Sebastián’s best known for its lovely parks, gardens, promenades and tree-lined boulevards, and the best place to view the city is from the summit of the adjoining Monte Igueldo. Even though the city has no outstanding monuments, it’s a pleasant enough place to spend a day or two.

The capital of the Cantabria autonomous community, Santander is a fashionable seaside resort 116 km from Bilbao, along the vast sweep of the Bay of Biscay. In the 1800s, Santander became famous for its spas, and towards the beginning of the 20^th century, Spain’s king Alfonso XIII set up the court’s summer residence along the Cantabrian coast, lending a further boost to Santander’s attractiveness as a resort. The town is best known for its beaches and the beauty of the surrounding landscape; but Santander also has some interesting old monuments, such as the Cathedral and the Royal Palace. If you are keener on history than on beaches and seas, add a day or two to your trip to Santander, and fit in some of the surrounding Cantabrian countryside - the medieval village of Santillana del Mar and the Roman village of Julióbriga are definitely worth a visit.

Need to Know Facts