The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao by the river, with La Salve Bridge and its red arches on the left
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Bilbao in 3 days

  • 3 days
  • 5.8 km on foot
  • 17 stops
  • Audio guide

Three days is just right for getting to know Bilbao without watching the clock. Each morning has its own route and each afternoon its own theme: the Basque Museum and Artxanda, then art and shipyards, and finally the Bizkaia Bridge and San Mamés before signing off with legends. It's a plan for anyone who wants to understand how the iron city reinvented itself, and to eat very well along the way.

Day 1The river and the viewpoint

Start mid-morning at the Zubizuri with "Titanium, flowers and iron: Bilbao highlights"; today you see the Guggenheim and Maman from outside, and the inside gets its turn tomorrow. From Azkuna Zentroa, walk down to the Old Town and have salt cod pil-pil on Plaza Nueva. After lunch, visit the Basque Museum, five minutes away, then cross the river to the Artxanda funicular. Go up in good time to watch the sunset over the city and, if you fancy it, have dinner at the top before heading back down.

  1. Morning

    Titanium, flowers and iron: Bilbao highlights

    Mixed · 2.5 km · 2 h

    1. Zubizuri and the Isozaki TowersA white Calatrava bridge, a Japanese-designed stairway and a lawsuit over a cut railing.
    2. Guggenheim Museum and PuppyA dog made of 38,000 flowers guards the building that changed Bilbao.
    3. Maman and La Salve BridgeA nine-metre spider dedicated to a mother, and a bridge named after a sailors’ prayer.
    4. Fine Arts Museum and Doña Casilda ParkTen centuries of art beside the ducks of a park named after a maid who became Bilbao’s great benefactor.
    5. Plaza Elíptica and the Gran VíaThe heart of the Ensanche: an iron magnate’s palace and Norman Foster’s glass metro entrances.
    6. Azkuna Zentroa (Alhóndiga)A 1909 wine warehouse that Philippe Starck turned into a cultural centre held up by 43 different columns.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  2. Lunch

    Try Salt cod pil-pil or Biscay-style at Víctor Montes. Plaza Nueva, 8

  3. Afternoon

    Basque Museum

    Set in the former Jesuit college on Miguel de Unamuno Square and recently renovated, it explains traditional Basque life through tools, boats and farmhouses. The Mikeldi idol is here too, and you'll meet it again on the legends route. Check opening times.

    Directions

    Artxanda Funicular

    In service since 1915, it lifts you in minutes to Mount Artxanda, Bilbao's great viewpoint over the river, the Guggenheim, the Ensanche and the mountains. At the top there's a park and grill restaurants; the lower station is near the City Hall bridge.

    Directions

Day 2Seven Streets, titanium and cranes

Spend the morning on "From town charter to iron port", from San Antón Bridge to City Hall via the Ribera, Santiago Cathedral and the Arriaga. At lunchtime, head back to Plaza Nueva and eat Bilbao-style, hopping from bar to bar for pintxos. In the afternoon, follow the river downstream: the Guggenheim from the inside with your pre-booked ticket and then, a quarter of an hour's walk away, the Maritime Museum in the old Euskalduna shipyards. It's the same story of iron, this time told through ships.

  1. Morning

    From town charter to iron port

    History · 1.6 km · 1 h 35 min

    1. San Antón Church and BridgeThe church and bridge Bilbao carries on its coat of arms: this is where it all began.
    2. Ribera MarketSeven centuries of buying and selling on the riverbank, in one of Europe’s largest covered markets.
    3. Santiago Cathedral and the Seven StreetsThe pilgrims’ church at the centre of the seven streets that, for centuries, were all of Bilbao.
    4. Plaza NuevaThe great arcaded square dreamt up by the Enlightenment, which took sixty-five years to become real.
    5. Arriaga Theatre and the ArenalAn 1890 theatre that survived a fire and the 1983 flood, facing the riverside that held out against the Carlist sieges.
    6. Bilbao City HallThe town hall built by a city grown rich on iron, beside the river that made it all possible.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  2. Lunch

    Try Pintxos and txikiteo on Plaza Nueva at Café Bar Bilbao. Plaza Nueva, 6

  3. Afternoon

    Inside the Guggenheim Museum

    Inside, Gehry's atrium and the vast gallery holding "The Matter of Time", Richard Serra's steel sculptures, are worth the ticket on their own. Book ahead and check opening hours: it usually closes on Mondays outside the high season.

    Directions

    Maritime Museum Ría de Bilbao

    Set in the dry docks of the old Euskalduna shipyard, beside the Carola crane, it tells the story of the river as port, shipyard and gateway to the sea. It follows on naturally from the history route and is a short walk from the Guggenheim.

    Directions

Day 3A bridge, a stadium and the Amatxu

Get up a little earlier and take the metro to Portugalete: the Bizkaia Bridge looks its best in the morning light and the old seafaring town is still quiet. On the way back, hop off at San Mamés to see Athletic Club's stadium and museum. Have a txuleta at Casa Rufo in the Ensanche and take the afternoon easy. At dusk, go up to Begoña for "The Amatxu, the idol and the dog fountain", which leads down via Mallona to San Nicolás. Dinner is baby squid in their ink on Calle del Perro.

  1. Morning

    Bizkaia Bridge, Portugalete

    Opened in 1893, the Bizkaia Bridge was the world's first transporter bridge and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Cross the river in its hanging gondola or, if you have a head for heights, along the top walkway. The metro takes you there from the centre.

    Directions

    San Mamés and its museum

    The "Cathedral" of Athletic Club, the team that only fields players born or trained in the Basque Country. The current stadium dates from 2013, and its museum and guided tour tell that unusual story. It has its own metro stop.

    Directions

  2. Lunch

    Try Grilled txuleta at Casa Rufo. Calle Hurtado de Amézaga, 5

  3. Early evening

    The Amatxu, the idol and the dog fountain

    Mysteries & legends · 1.7 km · 1 h 35 min

    1. Basilica of BegoñaThe Amatxu who, legend says, chose her hill and refused to come down.
    2. Old Mallona CemeteryA lonely gateway halfway up the hill is all that remains of Bilbao’s first municipal cemetery.
    3. Miguel de Unamuno SquareA stone idol more than two thousand years old, with inscriptions no one has managed to read, next to Unamuno’s birthplace.
    4. Dog FountainThree bronze lions and a name nobody can fully explain.
    5. Church of San Nicolás and the ArenalThe church of the fishermen’s saint, facing the riverside where Marijaia appears and bids farewell every August.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  4. Dinner

    Try Baby squid in their ink at Río-Oja. Calle del Perro, 4

The map

Bilbao in 3 days, on the map

Each route’s stops are numbered in order; the stars are the extra sights.

Mixed History Mysteries & legends Extra sight

Loading the map…

Before you go

Tips for Bilbao in 3 days

  • Wear waterproof shoes with good grip: the Old Town and the Mallona steps are stone, it rains often and wet paving gets slippery.
  • If you have half a day to spare, swap the afternoon of day three for an excursion: San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, Gernika, Mundaka or San Sebastián are all reachable by public transport from the centre.
  • If an Athletic match falls during your stay, go: check the fixtures and tickets well in advance, and if you're out of luck, soak up the atmosphere in the bars on Calle Licenciado Poza near the stadium.

Questions

Bilbao in 3 days: your questions

What to do in Bilbao in 3 days if it rains?

Most of the plan copes with rain: the Guggenheim, the Basque Museum and the Maritime Museum are indoors, and the Ribera Market and Azkuna Zentroa offer shelter between routes. Save the Artxanda funicular and the Bizkaia Bridge for when the sky clears.

How far will I walk in 3 days?

The routes add up to about 5.8 km: 2.5 on day one, 1.6 on day two and 1.7 on day three, downhill from Begoña. With the walks to the extras and time inside the museums, you'll cover around 6 or 7 km a day, with no big climbs.

Can I do a day trip from Bilbao?

Yes. San Sebastián is just over an hour away by bus; Gernika and the Urdaibai reserve, about an hour by train. San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, on the coast near Bakio, requires a free access booking in high season: check before you go.

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