Three days is the comfortable amount for Bilbao: the same compact centre as the two-day trip taken at a slower pace, plus a full day for the coast or the Vizcaya Bridge. The Guggenheim and the riverfront, the Casco Viejo and its pintxos, the Artxanda view and the fine-arts museum fill a relaxed first two days, and the third buys you a day trip out to San Sebastian and the Basque coast, or a shorter run to the Vizcaya transporter bridge and the beach at Getxo. Book a timed Guggenheim ticket and check it is not a Monday outside high summer; if you head for Gaztelugatxe on the coast, reserve the free entry slot online in summer as it is capped. Base yourself in the Casco Viejo for all three nights, close to the sights and the bars. Whatever month you pick, it rains in Bilbao all year, so pack a rain jacket, and if you come in mid-August, know that the huge Aste Nagusia fiesta fills the city with concerts, fireworks and packed bars.
Duration
3 days
Base
Casco Viejo (Old Town)
Mid budget
300 EUR
Best months
May · Jun · Sep
Picks sorted with our recommended base, Casco Viejo (Old Town), first. Book early: the good-value rooms go weeks ahead.
Couples€€Old town design hotel · Casco Viejo (Old Town)
A design hotel carved out of a restored heritage building in the Casco Viejo, near the cathedral and the Ribera market. Exposed old stone and beams meet contemporary rooms, with the pintxos bars a step from the door.
from ~130 EUR/night
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Special occasions€€€Design hotel facing the Guggenheim · Abando and the Ensanche
A playful design hotel by Javier Mariscal set directly opposite the Guggenheim, its atrium built around a tall column of stacked pebbles. The rooftop terrace and many of the front rooms look straight across at Gehry's titanium museum.
from ~220 EUR/night
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First visit€€Grand belle-epoque hotel · Abando and the Ensanche
The historic 1926 grand hotel on the circular Plaza Moyua, crowned by a stained-glass domed lobby and once home to visiting artists and heads of state. It sits central to everything, a flat walk from both the Guggenheim and the old town.
from ~150 EUR/night
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Budget€Riverside design hostel · Bilbao la Vieja (San Francisco)
A bright, design-led hostel in the arty Bilbao la Vieja district by the river, mixing dorms with private rooms. The location puts the cheap ethnic restaurants and music bars of San Francisco on the doorstep and the old town over the bridge.
from ~24 EUR/night
Check pricesReal hotel photos · prices are indicative from-rates, not live quotes · booking links support the site at no extra cost
Day 1
Morning
Begin at the Guggenheim with a pre-booked timed ticket, circling Koons's Puppy and Bourgeois's Maman spider before you go inside. It closes on Mondays outside July and August, and the outdoor sculptures are free from the terraces.
TipGehry's titanium-clad museum is the reason most people come, wrapped in Jeff Koons's flower-covered Puppy at the entrance and Louise Bourgeois's giant Maman spider by the river. Book a timed ticket online to skip the queue, and note it closes on Mondays outside July and August; the outdoor sculptures, including Puppy and the fog and fire installations, are free to see from the terraces even if you skip the galleries.
Walk the Nervion promenade back toward town over Calatrava's tilted white Zubizuri bridge. It is free and always open; the glass deck can be slippery after rain, which is common here.
TipSantiago Calatrava's white Zubizuri, the tilted footbridge with a curved glass deck, links the two banks of the Nervion and sits on the walk between the old town and the Guggenheim. It is free and always open; stroll the promenade along the river to string together the bridge, the museum and the modern towers, and mind the glass walkway underfoot as it can be slippery in the rain, which is often.
Afternoon
Pause at Azkuna Zentroa, Starck's reborn wine warehouse, and wander the free atrium with its 43 carved columns and the glass underside of the rooftop pool overhead.
TipThis former wine warehouse was gutted and reborn as a culture centre by Philippe Starck, who filled the entrance atrium with 43 columns each carved in a different style and topped the building with a glass-bottomed rooftop pool. The ground-floor atrium, cafe and exhibition spaces are free to wander during opening hours; the rooftop pool is for gym members, but you can see its glass base lit up from the atrium below.
Walk the medieval Seven Streets of the Casco Viejo, taking in the Santiago cathedral and the arcaded lanes while they are quiet. Free and always open, and best in the late-afternoon light before the crowds arrive.
TipThe Casco Viejo is the medieval old town built around the original Seven Streets, the Siete Calles, with the Santiago cathedral, arcaded squares and pintxos lanes packed into a compact grid. It is free and always open, best walked in the late afternoon before the bars fill; come by metro to the Casco Viejo stop, and expect the lanes to be loud and shoulder-to-shoulder on weekend nights.
Evening
Settle into the arcaded Plaza Nueva for the evening, trying the gilda skewer at the colonnade bars. The bars just off the square are cheaper than those directly on it.
TipPlaza Nueva is the grand arcaded neoclassical square in the old town, ringed with pintxos bars under its colonnades and busy every evening. It is free and always open; come on a Sunday morning for the flea market of coins, stamps, books and plants, and try the arcade bars for classic Bilbao pintxos like the gilda skewer, cheaper just off the square than on it.
Do a relaxed txikiteo, one pintxo and a small txakoli per bar as you move around the old town. Start about 8pm and take what is out on the counter in the busy places.
TipThe Basque bar crawl, the txikiteo or poteo, means moving from bar to bar for one pintxo and a small drink at each rather than sitting for a meal. Order a couple of the pintxos laid out on the counter, pay as you go, and pair them with a small glass of txakoli or red; go from about 8pm, and in the busiest bars take what is on the bar rather than waiting for a hot pintxo to order.
Day 2
Morning
Take the 1915 funicular up Mount Artxanda for the panorama over the city and the river bowl. The bottom station is just north of the Zubizuri, the ride is about three minutes, and a return costs a few euros; go earlier in the day for clearer air.
TipThe little funicular has climbed Mount Artxanda since 1915 and lifts you to a hilltop park with the best panorama over the whole city and the river bowl. The bottom station is a short walk north of the Zubizuri bridge, the ride takes about three minutes, and a return ticket is a few euros; go up an hour before sunset for the light, and there are restaurants at the top if you want to linger.
Come down to the Mercado de la Ribera for an early lunch of pintxos and wine upstairs in the huge covered market. It shuts on Sundays and early Saturday afternoons, and the hall bars are cheaper than the tourist squares.
TipThis big riverside covered market, one of the largest in Europe, sells fish, meat and produce downstairs and has a run of pintxos and wine stalls on the upper floor. It closes on Sundays and shuts early on Saturday afternoons, so go for an early lunch on a weekday or Saturday morning; the market-hall bars upstairs are cheaper and less touristy than the main old-town squares.
Afternoon
Spend a calm afternoon at the Museo de Bellas Artes with its El Greco, Goya and Basque painting. It closes Tuesdays and is free in the last couple of afternoon hours, so aim for that window, then loaf in the Doña Casilda park next door.
TipThe fine-arts museum holds a serious collection running from El Greco and Goya through to strong Basque painting, and it is far quieter than the Guggenheim a few minutes away. It closes on Tuesdays, and entry is free in the last couple of hours of the afternoon on most days, so time your visit for that window and pair it with the Doña Casilda park next door.
If it rains, spend an hour in the Euskal Museoa on Basque culture and seafaring, with the ancient Mikeldi idol in the cloister. It closes Mondays and is cheap, a good wet-weather backstop.
TipThe Basque Museum, set in an old Jesuit college in the heart of the old town, walks you through Basque culture, seafaring, sheep-herding and history, with an ancient stone idol, the Mikeldi, in its cloister. It closes on Mondays, entry is cheap and free on some days, and an hour covers it; it is a good dry-weather backstop when the rain sets in during a pintxos morning.
Evening
Book a proper Basque dinner tonight for bacalao al pil-pil or marmitako with a glass of txakoli poured from a height. The best tables go days ahead, so reserve early.
TipBasque cooking is one of the reasons to come: salt-cod bacalao al pil-pil, the tuna-and-potato stew marmitako, sharp Idiazabal sheep's cheese and the lightly sparkling local white, txakoli, poured from a height. Order txakoli by the glass in any old-town bar, ask for the day's bacalao at a sit-down restaurant, and book ahead for the acclaimed places, as the best tables fill days in advance.
Day 3
Morning
Take the direct PESA bus from the Termibus station about an hour east to San Sebastian, for the shell-shaped La Concha beach and some of the densest pintxos bars in Spain. It runs frequently for around 12 EUR each way; if you would rather do the wild coast, aim for Gaztelugatxe and book its free timed slot online in summer.
TipSan Sebastian, about an hour east, is the elegant seaside city of the shell-shaped La Concha beach and some of the densest pintxos bars in Spain, reachable by direct PESA bus from Bilbao's Termibus station for around 12 EUR each way. Alternatively head for the Basque coast and the island hermitage of Gaztelugatxe, where you climb 241 steps across a stone causeway; book the free Gaztelugatxe entry slot online in advance in summer, as it is capped.
Afternoon
For a shorter day instead, ride the metro to Areeta for the UNESCO-listed Vizcaya transporter bridge, crossing on the hanging gondola for small change and, if you like, walking the high 45-metre walkway. Then stroll the mansions and the beach at Getxo.
TipThe Vizcaya Bridge of 1893, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is the world's oldest transporter bridge, shuttling a hanging gondola of cars and people across the river mouth between Getxo and Portugalete. Crossing on the gondola costs small change and runs every few minutes; for a few euros more you can ride the lift and walk the high 45-metre-up walkway for the view, weather permitting. Reach it on the metro to Areeta.
Evening
Back in Bilbao, close the trip with a last txikiteo through the Casco Viejo, one pintxo and a small drink per bar. Remember it rains here in any month, so keep the rain jacket handy, and if it is mid-August the Aste Nagusia fiesta will have the streets packed until late.
TipThe Basque bar crawl, the txikiteo or poteo, means moving from bar to bar for one pintxo and a small drink at each rather than sitting for a meal. Order a couple of the pintxos laid out on the counter, pay as you go, and pair them with a small glass of txakoli or red; go from about 8pm, and in the busiest bars take what is on the bar rather than waiting for a hot pintxo to order.
If tomorrow is an early flight, remember the airport is about 12km north with no train: allow for the A3247 Bizkaibus from Plaza Moyua, roughly 25 minutes and about 3 EUR, or a taxi at 25 to 30 EUR.
For 3 days, base yourself in Casco Viejo (Old Town). The medieval heart of Bilbao is the Casco Viejo, the tight grid of the Seven Streets, the Siete Calles, around the arcaded Plaza Nueva and the Santiago cathedral. It is dense with pintxos bars, small shops and old churches, all walkable and atmospheric, and it turns lively at weekends when the crowds pour in for the bar crawl. Base here on a first, short trip when you want the eating and the sights on your doorstep and do not mind some noise. Compare all neighborhoods in the full where-to-stay guide.
Short on time?
Bilbao in 2 days →
Three days is the comfortable amount for Bilbao: the same compact centre as the two-day trip taken at a slower pace, plus a full day for the coast or the Vizcaya Bridge. The Guggenheim and the riverfront, the Casco Viejo and its pintxos, the Artxanda view and the fine-arts museum fill a relaxed first two days, and the third buys you a day trip out to San Sebastian and the Basque coast, or a shorter run to the Vizcaya transporter bridge and the beach at Getxo. Book a timed Guggenheim ticket and check it is not a Monday outside high summer; if you head for Gaztelugatxe on the coast, reserve the free entry slot online in summer as it is capped.
Base yourself in Casco Viejo (Old Town) for this itinerary. The medieval heart of Bilbao is the Casco Viejo, the tight grid of the Seven Streets, the Siete Calles, around the arcaded Plaza Nueva and the Santiago cathedral. It is dense with pintxos bars, small shops and old churches, all walkable and atmospheric, and it turns lively at weekends when the crowds pour in for the bar crawl. Base here on a first, short trip when you want the eating and the sights on your doorstep and do not mind some noise.
The plan works year round, but May, June, September give you the best weather-to-crowds ratio.