Get up to €50 off your stay
Back to the guide

Bilbao itinerary

Every place in “10 Best Things to Do in Bilbao”. Save places in the guide to make this list yours.

  1. 1

    Guggenheim Museum Bilbao - The Titanium Landmark That Remade the City

    Frank Gehry's titanium-clad museum opened in October 1997 and turned a declining port city into a design destination. The building is the main event: roughly 24,000 square metres of curving limestone, glass and titanium…

    Address
    Abandoibarra Etorbidea 2, 48009 Bilbao
    Nearest transit
    Moyua station, Metro Bilbao lines 1 and 2, 8-min walk; Guggenheim stop on the Euskotran tram, 2-min walk
  2. 2

    Casco Viejo and the Siete Calles - The Medieval Core of Bilbao

    The Casco Viejo started as seven parallel lanes laid out in the 1400s, and locals still call it the Siete Calles. Somera, Artekale, Tenderia, Belosticalle, Carniceria Vieja, Barrenkale and Barrenkale Barrena run between…

    Address
    Plaza Nueva 2, 48005 Bilbao
    Nearest transit
    Zazpikaleak/Casco Viejo station, Metro Bilbao lines 1 and 2, 2-min walk; Arriaga stop on the Euskotran tram
  3. 3

    Mercado de la Ribera - The Riverside Market Hall With a Guinness Record

    The Mercado de la Ribera runs about 10,000 square metres along the Nervion, which earned it a Guinness listing as the most complete municipal food market in Europe. The current art deco hall went up in 1929, replacing…

    Address
    Erribera Kalea 22, 48005 Bilbao
    Nearest transit
    Zazpikaleak/Casco Viejo station, Metro Bilbao lines 1 and 2, 5-min walk; Ribera stop on the Euskotran tram, 1-min walk
  4. 4

    Museo de Bellas Artes - The Collection Locals Rate Above the Guggenheim

    The Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao holds roughly 10,000 works spanning the 12th century to the present, and plenty of residents rank it above the Guggenheim for depth. Its strongest rooms cover Spanish painting, with…

    Address
    Museo Plaza 2, 48009 Bilbao
    Nearest transit
    Moyua station, Metro Bilbao lines 1 and 2, 7-min walk; Bizkaibus route A3247 stops on Alameda Recalde
  5. 5

    Artxanda Funicular - Three Minutes to the Best View in Bilbao

    The Funicular de Artxanda has hauled passengers up the 770-metre track from Castanos since 1915. The ride lasts three minutes and climbs about 226 metres, ending at a terrace that frames the entire Nervion valley - the…

    Address
    Plaza del Funicular 5, 48007 Bilbao
    Nearest transit
    Zazpikaleak/Casco Viejo station, Metro Bilbao lines 1 and 2, 10-min walk across the Zubizuri; Uribarri station on Metro Bilbao line 3, 6-min walk
  6. 6

    Zubizuri and the Nervion Riverfront Walk - Calatrava's White Bridge

    Santiago Calatrava's Zubizuri opened in 1997, the same year as the Guggenheim, and the name means white bridge in Basque. A single steel arch carries a curved deck about 75 metres across the Nervion. The original…

    Address
    Campo Volantin Pasealekua 1, 48007 Bilbao
    Nearest transit
    Uribarri station, Metro Bilbao line 3, 5-min walk; Uribitarte stop on the Euskotran tram, 3-min walk
  7. 7

    Basilica de Begona - The Hilltop Church Basques Call Amatxu

    The Basilica de Begona honours the Virgin of Begona, patron of Bizkaia, known across the province as Amatxu - Basque for mother. Building started in 1519 on the spot where the Virgin was said to have appeared, and the…

    Address
    Virgen de Begona Kalea 38, 48006 Bilbao
    Nearest transit
    Begona station, Metro Bilbao lines 1 and 2, 8-min uphill walk; Ascensor de Begona public lift from Calle Esperanza
  8. 8

    Azkuna Zentroa - A 1909 Wine Warehouse Rebuilt by Philippe Starck

    Azkuna Zentroa occupies the Alhondiga, a municipal wine warehouse finished in 1909 and then left empty for decades. Philippe Starck gutted the interior and reopened it in 2010, resting the three brick-clad blocks on 43…

    Address
    Arriquibar Plaza 4, 48010 Bilbao
    Nearest transit
    Indautxu station, Metro Bilbao lines 1 and 2, 3-min walk; Bizkaibus routes along Alameda Recalde stop 4 minutes away
  9. 9

    Vizcaya Bridge at Portugalete - The World's Oldest Transporter Bridge

    The Puente de Vizcaya has swung a suspended gondola across the mouth of the Nervion since 1893, making it the oldest transporter bridge still in service anywhere. Alberto Palacio, a student of Gustave Eiffel, designed…

    Address
    Barria Kalea 3, 48920 Portugalete, Bizkaia
    Nearest transit
    Portugalete station, Metro Bilbao line 2, 8-min walk; Areeta station, Metro Bilbao line 1, 5-min walk on the Getxo side
  10. 10

    San Juan de Gaztelugatxe - The Day Trip Up 241 Steps

    San Juan de Gaztelugatxe is a rocky islet on the Bizkaia coast joined to the mainland by a stone causeway and a zigzag staircase of 241 steps. A hermitage has stood on the summit since at least the 10th century, and the…

    Address
    San Pelaio Auzoa 91, 48130 Bakio, Bizkaia
    Nearest transit
    Bizkaibus route A3518 from Bilbao to Bakio, then route A3524 to the San Pelaio stop, followed by a 20-min walk down to the causeway

Find a place to stay in Bilbao

Pick your dates and see hotels near these places.

Hotels in Bilbao

Choose your dates.