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San Antón church and bridge on the Nervión, seen from the Muelle de Marzana
The stone bridge and stepped path leading out to the islet of Gaztelugatxe and its hermitage
Aerial view of the San Mamés stadium beside the estuary, with Bilbao and its hills behind
Rows of young vines in a txakoli vineyard at Mota, Erandio, with farmhouses on the hills

Things to do in Bilbao: 12 experiences

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Photo: Falk2, CC BY-SA 4.0

San Juan de Gaztelugatxe (Bermeo)

Climb the 241 steps to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe on a free ticket

Check dates and prices

Photo: Pixiwiki, CC BY-SA 4.0

San Mamés

Tour San Mamés and the Athletic Club museum

Check dates and prices

Photo: Mikel Arrazola, CC BY 3.0

Txorierri valley and Bakio

Taste txakoli at a Bizkaia winery or the museum in Bakio

Check dates and prices

Photo: Javierme Javier Mediavilla Ezquibela, CC BY 3.0

Bilbao made its money from iron, steel, shipyards and the port along the Nervión estuary, and since the Guggenheim opened in 1997 it has rebuilt itself around culture without dropping its oldest habit: eating standing up at the bar. The centre is compact and walkable, ringed by green hills, and a funicular climbs to Artxanda for the view over all of it.

The Casco Viejo, on the right bank, is the medieval core: the Siete Calles, the arcaded Plaza Nueva and the Ribera market, packed with pintxo bars. Across the river, the 19th-century Ensanche of Abando and Indautxu holds the shopping streets, the Fine Arts Museum, the Guggenheim on the riverfront and the San Mamés stadium.

Downstream, the estuary meets the sea between Portugalete and Getxo, joined by the Vizcaya Bridge. Beyond them come cliff paths and surf beaches, and further east the coast leads to the islet of Gaztelugatxe. Metro line 1 serves the Getxo side, line 2 the Portugalete side.

11 things to do in Bilbao

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The stone bridge and stepped path leading out to the islet of Gaztelugatxe and its hermitage

Climb the 241 steps to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe on a free ticket

San Juan de Gaztelugatxe (Bermeo)

About 2.5 hours on siteTimed entry

A hermitage on a rocky islet, joined to the shore by a stone bridge and 241 steps, and entry is free.

Check dates and pricesGaztelugatxe climb with Mundaka and Gernika, from Bilbao
Bar terraces and a crowd under the arcaded façades of the Plaza Nueva

Go for pintxos in the Siete Calles and the Plaza Nueva

Casco Viejo (Plaza Nueva)

No booking needed

Seven old streets and a neoclassical square lined with pintxo bars: one pintxo and one drink per bar, then the next.

Tours in Bilbao
The long riverside façade of the Mercado de la Ribera on the Nervión

Shop the stalls and gastrobars of the Mercado de la Ribera

Casco Viejo (Mercado de la Ribera)

Free

Fish, mushroom and cheese stalls share a 1929 rationalist market with gastrobars and terraces over the estuary.

Tours in Bilbao
The original 1945 entrance of the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, with MUSEO carved over the door

See the Fine Arts Museum, reopened with Foster's new gallery on top

Abando (Plaza Eduardo Chillida)

No booking needed

Bilbao's Fine Arts Museum reopened in October 2026 with Foster's new gallery on top and a free covered plaza.

A red Artxanda funicular car waiting at the station platform

Ride the 1915 funicular up to the Artxanda viewpoint

Plaza del Funicular to Mount Artxanda

3-minute ride, plus time at the topNo booking needed

A 1915 funicular climbs slopes of up to 45 per cent in three minutes to a viewpoint over the whole city.

Tours in Bilbao
The walkway along the top of the Vizcaya Bridge, framed by its red metal girders

Cross the Vizcaya Bridge by gondola, then walk its top deck

Portugalete and Las Arenas (Getxo)

No booking needed

A gondola hanging from a high metal span carries people and cars across the estuary, and you can walk the top deck 50 metres up.

Tours in Bilbao
Aerial view of the San Mamés stadium beside the estuary, with Bilbao and its hills behind

Tour San Mamés and the Athletic Club museum

San Mamés

Book ahead

A club that signs only Basque-born or Basque-trained players, a stadium that lights up at night and a lion won in a bet.

Check dates and pricesSan Mamés stadium and Athletic museum with audio guide
White fishermen's houses climbing the slope above Algorta's old port

Walk from Algorta's old port along the Getxo cliffs

Algorta (Getxo)

Half a dayFree

White fishermen's houses on steep lanes, a pintxo by the old port, then a cliff walk past a windmill, a fort and a lighthouse.

Tours in Bilbao
Rows of young vines in a txakoli vineyard at Mota, Erandio, with farmhouses on the hills

Taste txakoli at a Bizkaia winery or the museum in Bakio

Txorierri valley and Bakio

Book ahead

Taste Bizkaia's own white wine close to Bilbao, from hillside vineyards or a guided tasting at the txakoli museum in Bakio.

Check dates and pricesTxakoli winery, three wines and lunch, plus Gaztelugatxe
A surfer carrying a board along the beach at Sopela, below a layered cliff

Take a surf lesson on the cliff-backed beaches of Sopela

Sopela (Arrietara and Atxabiribil beaches)

Book ahead

Learn to surf on a cliff-backed beach facing into strong northwest swell, one metro ride from Bilbao.

Tours in Bilbao
The titanium curves of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao beside the Nervión river

Walk round the Guggenheim Bilbao from the river side

Bilbao

1 hour on foot around the outsideFree

Gehry's titanium building changes shape as you walk around it, and seeing it from the outside costs nothing.

Tours in Bilbao

Plan your trip

  • Getting there

    Bilbao airport is in Loiu, just north of the city. Bizkaibus line A3247 runs from the terminal into the centre, with a stop at Plaza Moyua (Plaza Elíptica), for a €5 single ticket. Long-distance trains arrive at Abando, in the centre, and coaches at Termibus, across the street from San Mamés. The slow Euskotren line from San Sebastián ends at Matiko, on the right bank.

  • Getting around

    The centre is walkable. For everything else, Metro Bilbao lines 1 and 2 share the trunk through the city (Casco Viejo, Abando, Moyua, San Mamés) and split at San Inazio: line 1 follows the right bank to Getxo and Sopela, line 2 the left bank to Portugalete and Santurtzi. The tram runs along the river past the Guggenheim and San Mamés. Buy an anonymous Barik card (€3) at a metro machine: it pays on the metro, tram, Euskotren, Bilbobus, Bizkaibus and the Artxanda funicular, and up to ten people can travel on one card. The metro runs all night from Saturday to Sunday.

  • How many days

    In must30's view, three days. Spend one on the Casco Viejo, the Ribera market and the funicular to Artxanda; one on the Guggenheim, the Fine Arts Museum and San Mamés; and one at the mouth of the estuary for the Vizcaya Bridge, Algorta's old port and the Getxo cliffs, or a surf lesson in Sopela. Add a fourth day for Gaztelugatxe and the txakoli museum in Bakio, which share the same bus route.

  • When to go

    The climate is Atlantic, mild and wet, with the most rain in winter, spring and part of autumn, so pack a waterproof in any month. Summer is the crowded season: from mid June to mid September Gaztelugatxe needs a free ticket every day. Aste Nagusia, the city's festival, runs for nine days from the first Saturday after 15 August, with festival tents (txosnas) on El Arenal and a fireworks contest every night. The Bilbao BBK Live music festival takes over Kobetamendi in July; the 2027 edition is on 8 to 10 July.

  • Where to base yourself

    The Casco Viejo puts you among the pintxo bars and the Ribera market, with the Casco Viejo metro station serving both lines. Abando and the Ensanche, across the river, are flatter and closer to the Fine Arts Museum, the Guggenheim and San Mamés, with metro stations at Abando and Moyua. For the sea, stay in Getxo, at Las Arenas or Algorta on line 1, close to the Vizcaya Bridge and the cliff path.

Questions travellers ask

How many days do you need in Bilbao?

Three days cover the old town, the museums and the mouth of the estuary at an easy pace. Two days are enough for the city itself if you skip the coast. Add a fourth day for San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, which takes most of a day from Bilbao by bus.

Do I need a ticket for San Juan de Gaztelugatxe?

Entry is free, but on controlled days you need a free ticket from reservagaztelugatxe.bizkaia.eus, the Bizkaia council's booking site. In 2026 those days are Easter, weekends in spring and autumn, every day from mid June to mid September and a few December holidays. Each ticket has a set time, lapses 60 minutes after it, and a no-show stops you booking again for a year.

How do I get from Bilbao airport to the city centre?

Take Bizkaibus line A3247 from the terminal. A single ticket costs €5, and the bus stops at Plaza Moyua (Plaza Elíptica), in the middle of the Ensanche.

Is the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum open after the expansion?

Yes. It closed from 31 August to 5 October 2026 to prepare the new building and reopened on 6 October with its collection back on show. General entry costs €12, under-18s go free, and on Tuesdays the collection is free while the temporary exhibitions are closed.

Can you visit San Mamés on a match day?

Only partly. On LaLiga match days the stadium tour closes five hours before kick-off and the museum two hours before. Check the fixture list before you buy, because tickets bought online cannot be changed or refunded.

Is a Barik card worth it for a short stay?

Yes, if you will ride more than a few times. The anonymous card costs €3 at metro machines, works on the metro, tram, Euskotren, Bilbobus, Bizkaibus and the Artxanda funicular, and up to ten people can travel on it. On the funicular alone, a single drops from €3.50 to under €0.50.

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