{"id":3003,"date":"2026-07-01T15:37:34","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T14:37:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/traveljimmy.com\/blog\/?p=3003"},"modified":"2026-07-07T11:35:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T10:35:03","slug":"bilbao-26th-30th-june-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/traveljimmy.com\/blog\/bilbao-26th-30th-june-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Bilbao"},"content":{"rendered":"

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We’ve enjoyed all our trips to Northern Spain so far, so decided to visit Bilbao, a city we haven’t yet visited, for Gareth’s birthday weekend.<\/p>\n

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We stayed at the Sercotel Ayala<\/strong>.\u00a0 \u00a0It was a nice hotel in a great central location, opposite El Corte Ingles and a 10 minute walk from the old town. The beds were really comfortable and the hotel had good soundproofing. We weren’t impressed by the weak shower over the bath mind you. We didn’t eat breakfast at the hotel, but it cost \u20ac11 if booked ahead, double that otherwise.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Features” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.22.1″ custom_padding=”0px||14px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_button button_url=”https:\/\/booking.stay22.com\/traveljimmy\/ZD_fEkQ26-” url_new_window=”on” button_text=”Book a room at Sercotel Ayala” _builder_version=”4.27.7″ _module_preset=”default” custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”16px” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_button][et_pb_cta title=”Getting around Bilbao” button_url=”https:\/\/hotelnouroma.com\/en\/” url_new_window=”on” _builder_version=”4.27.7″ header_font=”Yeseva One||||||||” header_font_size=”22px” header_line_height=”1.4em” body_font=”Lato|500|||||||” body_text_color=”#515151″ body_font_size=”16px” body_line_height=”1.9em” use_background_color=”off” custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”15px” button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_bg_color=”#0c71c3″ button_border_width=”1px” button_border_color=”#000000″ button_border_radius=”60px” button_letter_spacing=”1px” button_font=”Montserrat|700||on|||||” button_use_icon=”off” button_alignment=”left” text_orientation=”left” background_layout=”light” custom_padding=”0px|||||” button_text_color_hover=”#ffffff” button_border_radius_hover=”66px” button_letter_spacing_hover=”1px” button_bg_color_hover=”#2f3854″ global_colors_info=”{}” button_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”on” button_text_color__hover=”#ffffff” button_one_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_radius__hover_enabled=”on” button_border_radius__hover=”66px” button_one_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”on” button_letter_spacing__hover=”1px” button_one_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_bg_color__hover_enabled=”on” button_bg_color__hover=”#2f3854″ button_one_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off”]<\/p>\n

The best advice we received when researching Bilbao was to buy a Barik travel card<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0 We flew into Bilbao Airport and at the far right on the arrivals floor is a travel desk where you can purchase a Barik card for just \u20ac3 (June ’26) and added \u20ac10 onto the card.\u00a0\u00a0We then went directly outside where an airport bus was waiting which took us into the centre of Bilbao in about 15 minutes and, with the Barik card, cost just 81cents.\u00a0 Without the card it would have been \u20ac5 each.\u00a0 We went on to use the card on the metro (30 minutes journey each way), the funicular return journey, the ferry at the Bizkaia bridge and the return bus journey to the airport, and still had a few cents remaining on the card!\u00a0 You can top it up at metro or train stations, at authorised kiosks or online using the Barik NFC App.\u00a0 The app is also useful to check your balance.\u00a0 Great value!\u00a0 The card is valid for 7 years, so we will keep ours for our next trip to Bilbao.<\/p>\n

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Things to do in Bilbao<\/h1>\n

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The most obvious thing to do in Bilbao is to visit the world-famous Guggenheim Museum<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0 \u00a0 Impressive inside and out it’s well worth a visit.\u00a0 You can book ahead online, although we were there at the end of June, mid morning, and didn’t book ahead and there was no queue.\u00a0 Admire the amazing architecture of the building like no other, designed by Canadian American architect Frank Gehry.\u00a0 Outside exhibits include The Puppy, designed by the artist Jeff Koons, 13 meters high, with approximately 38,000 living plants and flowers, which are painstakingly replaced twice a year (in spring and autumn) to keep the artwork in full bloom.<\/p>\n

There is also Maman, the 9-meter-tall steel spider which has a sac containing 10 marble eggs at its underbelly and its abdomen and thorax are made of ribbed bronze.\u00a0 And the silver sculpture ‘Tall Tree & The Eye’ with 73 reflective spheres anchored around three axes.<\/p>\n

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We’re not exactly connoisseurs of art, but we thoroughly enjoyed the Guggenheim, particularly the exhibits by Igshaan Adams (see bottom second-right image above) and Ruth Asawa.\u00a0 The infinity mirrored room is also interesting (see bottom right image), but you may have to wait in a queue for a quick look at it!<\/p>\n

Another interesting place to visit is the Athletic Bilbao stadium<\/strong><\/a>. They have an excellent museum where you can read about their history and watch fascinating videos showing the passion for the club. Then you go outside to see the pitch, sit in the dugout or the directors box, see the press room, dressing room, etc. If you’re even remotely interested in football you should enjoy this.<\/p>\n

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Take the Arxtanda Funicular<\/a><\/strong> up Mount Artxanda for great views, Once you\u2019re at the top, you can enjoy excellent views over the city \u2014 including a perfect view of the Guggenheim. There are also some nice walking trails to enjoy, but the temperatures were in the low 40s when we were there so not many people were hiking! Hours of operation for the funicular vary by season and are more limited on Sundays but generally opens between 7.15am and 8.15am and closes between 10pm and 11pm. Cars leave every 10-15 minutes and the ride takes just three minutes. You can ride the cable car one-way or buy round-trip tickets.\u00a0 Tickets are \u20ac4.30 return or \u20ac2.50 one way – or just \u20ac0.65 with the Barik card. If you walk down, the path goes through a quiet wooded area and ends up at Etxebarri park and takes about 45 minutes.\u00a0 There’s a nice bar\/restaurant at the top called Txakoli Cafeteria<\/strong> where we had a delicious glass of txakoli before taking the funicular back down.<\/p>\n

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We were looking forward to visiting La Ribera Market<\/a><\/strong>, Bilbao’s Central Market as we love the ones in Valencia and Barcelona and had read that Bilbao has the largest covered market in Europe.\u00a0 What a disappointment it proved to be!\u00a0 The food court only had a few stalls and there was little of interest to buy in the rest of the market<\/p>\n

Get the metro from central Bilbao to Portugalete (takes about half an hour) and go to the Bizkaia\/Vizcaya Hanging Bridge<\/a><\/strong> which links Portugalete and Getxo.\u00a0 It was built in 1893 and is the world’s oldest transporter bridge.\u00a0 It was was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in July 2006. Vehicles and foot passengers are transported in a gondola, suspended from the rails of the horizontal crossbar above.<\/p>\n

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Eating and Drinking in Bilbao<\/h1>\n

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Bilbao has a pintxos culture, so virtually every bar you go into has a big selection of finger food on the counter.\u00a0 Most of it is bread with something on top, such as ham, sausage, seafood, cheese, egg, or an interesting combination, but there are also other tasty offerings including tortillas and croquetas.\u00a0 It’s usually more exotic than tapas.\u00a0 For example it’s the first time we have seen a huge selection of different flavoured tortillas.\u00a0 The best one we had (in fact probably the best tortilla we’ve ever had!) was a spicy tortilla with morcilla at Zaharra Bar<\/strong> in Plaza Nueva<\/strong>.\u00a0 It was delicious!\u00a0 If you don’t like morcilla they have a huge selection of tortillas with different toppings and fillings.\u00a0 The large ham croquetas there were also very nice, and the staff are friendly.\u00a0 \u00a0The first three photos below are from Zaharra.\u00a0 It’s a good place to try txakoli too, ice cold and refreshing.\u00a0 Txakoli is a light, slightly sparkling white wine that is available for around \u20ac2.50 a glass at virtually every bar in Bilbao.\u00a0 We don’t usually drink white wine, although we like cava, but the txakoli is easy to drink and lighter in alcohol.\u00a0 Perfect for summer!\u00a0 The pintxos tend to cost around \u20ac2.50 – \u20ac3.50 each.\u00a0 There are several bars and restaurants in Plaza Nueva but Zaharra was our favourite.<\/p>\n

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Calle Ledesma<\/a><\/strong> was a great street for nightlife with lots of pintxos bars and restaurants.\u00a0 The street was really buzzing on Saturday night and we felt it was more for the locals, whereas Plaza Nueva seemed full of tourists.\u00a0 Bar Ledesma was the most popular, but we also liked Ekain and Nicol\u00e1s.\u00a0 We liked Bar Olla the first time we were there, but we went back another night and they didn’t have much of a selection for food so we decided just to have a glass of txakoli and were a bit taken aback to be charged \u20ac4 each, when it had just cost us \u20ac2.50 the last time.\u00a0\u00a0When I confronted the arrogant waiter who served us, he told me that it was a superior type of txakoli, but he didn’t have an answer as to why he felt it necessary to give us this instead of the standard one which we were perfectly happy with. it didn’t taste any different to us, and we felt he was trying to rip us off. We didn’t have this problem anywhere else.\u00a0 Note that when we returned to Calle Ledesma on Monday night it was totally different – much quieter and many places were closed.\u00a0 Sunday and Monday are quite quiet in Bilbao so if you are planning a short break and night life is important, we would recommend avoiding these days if at all possible.<\/p>\n

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Our favourite place for breakfast was El Tilo de Mami Lou<\/a><\/strong>, a nice little cafe just over the bridge into the old town. We had a ham and cheese croissant and tostado with tomato and avocado and both were very tasty. Nice coffee too, and their cakes looked delicious. If we’d been there longer, I’m sure we’d have sampled them!<\/p>\n

We read great things about Bascake<\/a><\/strong> saying that their cheesecake was amazing, so when we were looking for a coffee shop on our last morning and found it by accident, it felt like a sign!\u00a0 However, although it was quite tasty, it was a bit too runny and sweet and in our opinion not a patch on the amazing Burnt Basque Cheesecake at La Vina in San Sebastian.<\/p>\n

So, we had a wonderful time in Bilbao, another great city in northern Spain – watch the video below for more information on our great trip.<\/p>\n

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