Why is Bilbao worth visiting?

Cultural highlights of Bilbao

As I said, one of the joys of Bilbao is that it won’t overwhelm you with its cultural activities. The main draw is obviously the Guggenheim Museum, an absolute must for art lovers but there are also many smaller museums to check out (or not).

Architecture in Bilbao

The cuisine in Bilbao is not the Spanish cuisine you might be expecting, it’s Basque and it is extremely tasty. Basque cooking is often touted to be some of the best in the world and I probably wouldn’t disagree. Every time I’m in this region I swear I’m going to move north just to keep eating so well (ok, ok it’s not just for the food, I love this part of the world for many reasons, good job that my kids have banned me from moving until they finish high school).

Bilbao may not have the culinary reputation of San Sebastián but in my opinion that’s probably more down to some excellent marketing than any real difference between the cities. True, there are fewer Michelin Star restaurants in Bilbao but that really doesn’t mean the quality of the food isn’t excellent. In fact, I’d say you can eat just as well in Bilbao as you can in San Sebastián without the crowds and the high prices.

Whether you’re into fine dining, a cheap & cheerful menu del día, a glass of cider with your pintxos or market snacks, you’ll do just fine here. And of course, don’t forget the Basque cheese cake, whatever time of day it is 😉.

→ If you’re excited to know more about the food culture and cuisine in Bilbao and the Basque country, why not take a food tour to learn from the experts while the feed you?

→ If you’re not into food tours, then just take yourself on your own txikiteo (pintxos crawl) and have fun!!

⭐️ The very best meal I had was actually in a Sopela, a small beach town just outside Bilbao in a beach restaurant called El Peñon de Sopelana. You won’t regret it if you make a reservation there, I promise.

Fun forms of transport

Quite apart from your feet and a modern metro system, there are three more forms of transport to persuade you that Bilbao is a city to visit.

Funicular (Artxandako Funikularraren Geltokia) -taking a ride in the city’s funicular is a fun way to ascend into the city’s hillier section for some great views over the valley and the city.

Note that your metro card works on the funicular too but it can not be charged at the top (extremely annoyingly, please don’t ask me how I know this). If you don’t have a metro card it’ll be more expensive but it’s still fun.

The Vizcaya Bridge, also known as the Hanging Bridge of Portugalete. This bridge was finished in 1893 and is a UNESCO World Heritage site as well as something of a landmark for Bilbao. The fun bit is that you can cross the river in a gondola below the extremely high bridge (or walk over, of course).

Bilboat – take a boat ride along the Nervión River for a different view of the city.

Ease of access to nature & other cities from Bilbao 

And of course, if you’re anything like me, Bilbao’s incredible location is also part of what makes it well worth visiting. It’s gorgeously nestled along the river, super close to the Bay of Biscay so although it doesn’t have its own beach, the local metro will get you to the beach without too much trouble.

I promise you that from Bilbao you will have the very best day trips, whether you have your own car, want to use public transport or take guided tours. There’s so much within day trip distance that you’ll not be able to do everything.

→ Read the full MexicoCassie guide to taking day trips from Bilbao

Day trips to other cities & villages

You can easily take day trips to San Sebastián-Donostia (pictured above), Vitoria-Gasteiz, Santander, and even Biarritz, that’s right, even Biarritz in France is under 2 hours away.

Guernica/Gernika, made forever infamous by the devastation it suffered at the hands of Franco and the Nazis during the Spanish Civil War and Picasso’s painting memorialising it, is also just a short drive from Bilbao. While you might not think this sounds like a cheery place to visit, it’s a lovely small town with a replica of Picasso’s haunting work to see, a good Peace Museum, and of course, the Assembly House and its iconic tree (which was an important part of Basque political life)

Game of Throne fans will be thrilled to know that San Juan de Gaztelugatxe (better known to some as Dragonstone) is just a short trip away from Bilbao. Truthfully, even if you don’t give one single shred of a damn about GoT (like me), you’ll still love San Juan de Gaztelugatxe (once you learn how to say it) because it’s a magnificent place to spend a few hours.

→ Read more about tour options

🏄🏾‍♀️ The Basque coast is a super popular destination for surfers and wannabe surfers. Its beaches are beautiful, whether they’re calm and sandy or windswept and wild.

🔎 The ancient flyshe landscape all along this coast will blow your mind – you can take a boat tour to see it, hike (as I have) the coastal routes or even see it on the beaches as you chill out on your towel in the sun.

🥾 If you enjoy a good coastal hike then one that I did recently starts at the Larrabasterra metro stop in Sopela (a 30 minute metro ride from Bilbao) and follows the coast to a look out point over the stunning Plenzia Bay just past Barrika. It took around 5 hours and we reckon we probably walked 20ish km.

Countryside fun

And, oh my goodness, is the countryside here absolutely wildly and magically beautifully perfect. Pick a village, find a ruined castle on the map, find a vía verde to walk, go for lunch in a rural restaurant, take a hike in the mountains. Whatever you decide to do, you’ll be so, so glad that you chose to base yourself in Bilbao.

On my most recent trip to Bilbao, my countryside fun included visiting the ancient iron mill, El Pobaleko Burdinola Museoa, strolling along a vía verde and heading into the Urkiola parke naturala (photo of me, above) to spend a few hours hiking in a place so spectacularly beautiful that I walked with tears in my eyes and had to be dragged away at the end of the day.