Bilbao

Bilbao, the capital of Vizcaya, is located in north east Spain in the Basque Country. It has created a new image far from the dirty industrialised city of years ago which had little interest for the tourist. New hotels have been built in the last decade, pedestrian areas have been made, beautiful buildings have been cleaned and interesting architecture can be admired.

The Guggenheim museum is the main tourist attraction not only for its modern art collections but also because of the spectactcular building. Thousands of tourists flock to visit it all year round.

The estuary divides the city into two parts.There are numerous bridges, some of them quite old and others modern, so to get from one side to the other is easy.Bilbao has excellent communication by road, air, sea but train services are not so efficient.

There is a competent underground service that runs acroos the city and spans to nearby places like: Sestao, Getxo, Sopelana and Plentzia on the coast.

The seven streets in the old quarter are well worth a visit,they played an important part in the development of the city. There are umpteen shops and bars where you can pop in for a wine and a “pincho” (a typical small snack) when you feel like a break. There is plenty to offer the tourist at night: theatre, music and exhibitions.

If you want to visit other places in Bilbao itself it is advisable to use public transport rather than go by car because finding parking space is difficult and expensive. The old quarter is completely a pedestrian area.

Useful Links

Metro Bilbao (Bilbao Underground Transport)
Guggenheim Museum
Map of Bilbao (mapadebilbao.com)
Bilbao Airport
Bilbao Photos
Download Bilbao Street Map (Pdf 1,2MB)