r/travel City Destination of the Week: Bilbao

[u/AutoModerator]

Weekly topic thread, this week featuring the city of Bilbao. Please contribute all and any questions / thoughts / suggestions / ideas / stories about this travel destination.

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[u/kvom01]

I was there a few years ago, and it became one of my favorite cities ever.

The maritime museum was quite good (I've been to many around the world), and I even got in free when the ticketing system was out of order.

Excellent town for just walking about, and the food is great.

[u/AstoriaJay]

Took the metro to Portugalete to see the bridge, which was cool. The pintxos were outstanding pretty much everywhere, and so cheap. I actually enjoyed the food scene better than in San Sebastián. Plaza Nueva has some amazing places to eat.

[u/panameboss → u/AstoriaJay]

Honestly I would say both cities have fantastic food scenes however what has made me prefer San Sebastián is their Pintxo Pote deal which seemed a lot more widespread than in Bilbao.

[u/[deleted]]

I really enjoyed the Guggenheim. It had some decent modern art exhibits and the architecture was neat to see. I recommend spending lunch wandering the city for pixtos at different restaurants. The public transportation is easy and the overall feel of the city is small but with variety.

[u/emjayd]

I only did a day trip to Bilbao but really enjoyed it. Good city to walk around in. My favorite part was "sneaking" into the San Mames, which is Athletic Bilbao's beautiful downtown stadium. We walked around, went to the team store, and you can grab food/drinks inside overlooking the field.

[u/jonafutbolero]

Thats my city ♥️ If you are nearby dont forget to visit San Juan de Gaztelugatxe. One of the spots on GOT, and you can access to the place for free!

[u/c_more → u/jonafutbolero]

What's the best way to get there from the city?

[u/enver_hoxha]

I've been to Bilbao on a few occasions and my fiance lived there for a while. It is one of my favorite cities in the world.

Here are my quick highlights:

• I loved the Guggenheim Museum. If you are into modern art, it is definitely worth the price of admission. I found I was able to get through the whole museum in about 3-4 hours at a reasonable pace. The exterior is definitely worth walking around and exploring too.

• Look for menu del dia's in the Casco Viejo. These typically include a drink (wine, beer, coke), appetizer, entree, and dessert for about 10-15 euros. They run from around 13:00 until 15:00 give or take an hour. I would highly recommend El Txoko Berria. I have been recommended this restaurant by several locals, and the steak I had there is one of the best steaks I've had in my life.

• If you are looking for a beautiful place to walk on the beach and get stunning views of the Bay of Biscay, I highly recommend taking the metro line 1 to Plentzia. (Unrelated to the view, but one of my favorite cafe/bars is there. Its called ZuaZua and has the best tortilla de patata that I had there)

• Window shopping on Gran Via can be fun.

• The Vizcaya bridge spans from Portugalete to Getxo. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is inexpensive to take a ride across on. Definitely a must see if you're into that sort of thing.

[u/TravelKats]

Bilbao is a very accessible city both for the able-bodied and the not so able-bodied. There is a flat paved promenade on both sides of the river which makes it easy to walk along the river to and from the Guggenheim. There are even elevators to take you from one level of the city to another.