About Bilbao

Bilbao is the largest city in the Basque region of Spain, as well as being the capital of the Biscay Region, known as Bizkaia in Basque. The Population of Greater Bilbao is just under 1 million which built up with the rise of industrialisation along the banks of the Nervion River.

Bilbao has an oceanic climate, which is generally mild with average temperatures in January of 9c and 21c in July. Extreme heat has been known in Bilbao, but it is rare. The Nervion River flooded severely in 1983, there are marks on the buildings in downtown Bilbao to show how high the water went.

The main attraction in Bilbao is the world famous Guggenheim Museum, which has placed the city firmly on the tourist map, and greatly increased the number of hotel rooms.

Getting to Bilbao

Two airlines fly direct to Bilbao from London, Easyjet (Stansted) and Vueling (LHR), although you can fly from UK regions with KLM / Air France, and Brussels Airlines.

Most UK visitors to Bilbao arrive by the well established ferry route from Portsmouth operated by P&O Ferries. Read our review of this service here...

Reaching Bilbao by train is rather tricky and time consuming so we recommend you just take the ferry. It's far cheaper and easier.

Getting around Bilbao

Bilbao has a public transport of your dreams, it’s brand new, cheap and efficient. A typical single journey on either the Trams, Metro or Bus costs just 1.2 Euro. However, for tourists the best deal is the Bilbao Card, which enables you to travel on all modes of transport and get discounts for admissions and restaurants. You can even get up and down the nervion river by River Taxi, Bilboats.