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Bilbao · History

From town charter to iron port

Bilbao was born in 1300 as a merchants’ town on the river, and almost everything that followed comes back to the water: wool shipped to Flanders, iron loaded for England, sieges and floods. This route crosses the Old Town, Alde Zaharra in Basque, from the church and bridge that appear on the city’s coat of arms to the City Hall of 1892.

  • 6 stops
  • 1.6 km
  • 1 h 35 min
  • Free
Start with GPS Read about this stop 1
The Gothic church of San Antón with its Baroque tower beside the two-arched stone bridge over the Bilbao estuary

The route

Stop by stop

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

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Start with GPS

Guide mode

Walk it with GPS.

Open guide mode on your phone: you’ll see your position and the distance to each stop, and we’ll let you know when you arrive. Then read or listen.

Start with GPS

  1. Turn on your location

  2. Walk to the spot

  3. Check the photo and listen

What you’ll discover

From town charter to iron port

The birth of a town

The 1300 charter, the only bridge for centuries and the seven streets that were once all of Bilbao.

Trade, war and water

Wool and iron, the 19th-century Carlist sieges and the great flood of August 1983.

A city that reinvented itself

From the Enlightenment square to the City Hall built in the industrial boom, still the seat of local government.

Keep exploring

More routes in Bilbao

Back to Bilbao
Mysteries & legendsThe Amatxu, the idol and the dog fountain MixedTitanium, flowers and iron: Bilbao highlights

Itineraries

How many days do you have in Bilbao?

We’ve planned it day by day for you: which routes to walk and in what order, what else to see and where to eat.

1

Bilbao in 1 day

All three routes in one full day: the highlights, the history and the legends at dusk.

See the itinerary 2

Bilbao in 2 days

A gentler pace: the three routes over two days, plus extra sights and where to eat.

See the itinerary 3

Bilbao in 3 days

The city in depth: one route a day, extra museums and neighbourhoods, and a day for good food.

See the itinerary