Bilbao
Travel Guide

The city of Bilbao is located in the Basque Country, one of the autonomous communities of the Iberian Peninsula. It is a region surrounded by mountains on one side and by the Cantabric Sea on the other. The weather is warm and sunny in the Summer and it is a wonderful destination with amazing landscapes. Its villages distributed among the slopes, its people and traditions make this place a very interesting and special... site to be explored and to get lost in. Bilbao is the busiest city in the region, even it isn’t the administrative capital. It is a real mix between the past, with deep roots and history and the future, being a city very focused on the development. Bilbao offers to the tourist a continuous contrast with historic kind of old buildings and other very contemporary and modern, something which is a real claim which invites anyone to explore this northern corner in Spain.

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Bilbao Overview

Language

Basque language (euskera) and Spanish. Both languages are co-official in the region, but if you don’t know Euskera you can always communicate yourself in Spanish or also in English in the cities.

Weather

Bilbao is a city with a changeable weather. Of course, the Summer months are the warmest, but in general, Bilbao ain’t a very warm or hot destination. Its proximity to the sea makes its temperatures lighter, but it is also a quite rainy destination. The period when it rains the most is between October and April, being November the most rainy one.

Money

Euro (EUR). If your currency is not the euro, we recommend you to have cash with you for the first expenses. At the Bilbao Airport there are several ATMs and Banks where you can exchange your currency. Inside the city you can also find various banks and ATMs where you can take some cash and also some currency exchange offices.

When to go

In the late Summer and during September. In this period is when the weather is the most pleasent and with almost no rain. It is also the period of the year when you’ll find the most important festivities of the region in the whole Basque Country, so also in Bilbao. During these months you can also enjoy of a wide cultural offer, with exhibitions, concerts etc…

Days

2-3 days: 3 days are quite enough to visit Bilbao and to really enjoy. Basically you need time to visit the main attractions of the city and to enjoy the Basque gastronomy.

Surroundings

Bakio (cliffs village)
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe (hermitage of the 10th century)
Bermeo (port village)
Gernika (village bombed during the Spanish Civil War)
Salto del Nervión (park with waterfall)

Store Hours

Most of the shops and stores in the city open in the morning, close for lunch and open again after lunch. The most common is to open at 9h or 10h until 14h and to open from 16h or 17h until 19:30h or 20h. The big shopping centres are an exception because they open their doors from 9:30h until 21h or 22h.