Planning a trip to Bilbao

Bilbao Airport (pictured above; tel. 91-321-10-00) is 13km (8 miles) north of the city, near the town of Loiu. Flights arrive from nearly 30 destinations, not only from Spanish cities (Madrid, Barcelona, Alicante, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Málaga, Menorca, Palma de Mallorca, Santiago de Compostela, Sevilla, Tenerife, Valencia) but also European ones (Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt, Lisbon, London, Milan, Munich, Paris, Rome and Vienna). United Airlines now offers direct flights from Newark, although these operate in summer months only. You can also fly from Bilbao to Marrakech and Tangier in North Africa.

From the airport into the city or to the main Bilbao Intermodal bus station, take the 20-minute airport bus (line number A-3247) for 3€. The service operates between 6am until midnight.

The main train station, Estación de Abando (tel. 91-232-03-20), is at Plaza Circular 2. From here, you can catch long-distance trains to Madrid, Barcelona, León, and elsewhere. Up to three trains per day run daily to and from Madrid (trip time around 4.5 hr.). There’s one daily train to and from Barcelona (trip time 7hr.). Next door, the ornate Concordia station is a jumping-off point for the three daily services to Santander. On the more local Euskotren network, line E4 trains leave for Gernika, Mundaka and Bermeo, while hourly line E1 trains head for San Sebastián’s Amara station, all departing from Zazpikaleak/Casco Viejo station.

PESA (Grupo Avanza) (tel. 90-012-14-00), at the Intermodal bus station in Gurtubay Kalea (tel. 94-420-08-69), operates more than 20 buses per day to and from San Sebastián via Zarautz (trip time 1 1/4 hr.). Slower services also operate, via Tolosa and Durango. Alsa (tel. 90-242-22-42) also operates from the Intermodal, with up to 25 buses daily to and from Madrid (trip time 4.5 hr.). The Intermodal website carries details of all bus services from Bilbao. Use the services of Bizkaibus (tel. 94-612-55-55) to take line 3514 or 3515 from outside Abando station to Gernika, with buses running at least every half-hour each weekday (trip time 45 min.), hourly on Saturdays.

Bilbao is on the A-8 toll road, which links the cities of Spain’s northern Atlantic seacoast to western France. It is connected by superhighway to both Barcelona and Madrid.

Getting Around Bilbao & Tourist Information

The most useful public transport for visitors is the Tranvía tram, which runs on a single line linking the Intermodal bus station to the Casco Viejo, via the Guggenheim and the riverbank. Single-ride tickets, available from machines at tram stops, cost 1.50€. Bilbao’s Metro has three lines, though they are mostly useful for visiting nearby commuter towns such as Getxo, Sopela, or Portugalete. A single-ride ticket costs 1.75€‒1.95€, depending on the distance traveled; buy them in station ticket machines.

Short-term visitors are unlikely to use the local bus system, but the network is efficient and comprehensive; a single fare is 1.35€.

A rechargeable Barik card is useful for those staying for a few days or more and can be used on all three modes of transport. It provides much cheaper fares; ask at the tourist office for full information.

The tourist office, at Plaza Circular, 1 (tel. 94-479-57-60), is open daily 9am‒7:30pm between Easter and mid-September, closing at 5:30pm in other months. A satellite tourist office outside the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum is open daily 10am‒7pm (closes Sun at 3pm except July–Aug).

Special events in Bilbao

The biggest and most widely publicized festival is La Semana Grande, dedicated to the Virgin of Begoña and lasting from mid-August to early September. During the celebration, the Río Nervión is the site of many flotillas and regattas. July 25 brings the festival of Bilbao’s patron saint, Santiago (St. James); July 31 is devoted to the region’s patron saint, St. Ignatius; and numerous events are held between these two dates. Santo Tomás is enthusiastically celebrated every December 21.