Bilbao for the weekend: a city escape!
Let's all be honest: 2020 and 2021 kind of sucked in terms of traveling!
Don't get me wrong, I know it was possible and a lot of people did it. However, it was no walk in the park especially for the "common people" like myself who have a 9 to 5 job and spend the whole day hearing people being negative everywhere (especially the news!).
For me, it was hard! I didn't have a lot of time to travel and, when I did, I was faced with closed borders, tests mandatory almost everywhere and some countries even had mandatory quarantine. I felt depressed and less and less willing to leave my house.
But I could not accept this! I'm not this depressed girl so I had to do something for myself. So, in September, I booked a weekend in Bilbao for me and my bf. I had already been there to visit Guggenheim years before but I didn't get the chance to actually visit the city properly.
Honestly. I wasn't sure I would love the city but I just needed to go somewhere, photograph and do not worry. And seeing my favorite museum again was getting me excited.
My hype grew every day until November when this trip was happening, and I was so excited when the day came I looked like a child in an amusement park!
I have to say that I loved it so freaking much! The city is beautiful everywhere, Guggenheim is breathtaking and there's art in the air you breathe. Can you tell how much I loved Bilbao, from this description?
With no further ado, let's dive into our trip!
ALERT: I did not visit everything I wanted in two days (but I like to see things slowly and take my time).
DAY 1: Friday
Not much to tell you about this day because it was for the plane trip only. We worked the whole day and left Portugal by 8 pm heading towards the Bilbao airport. We arrived at almost 11 pm.
Now I wanted to take you with me through the whole boarding process because there might be doubts due to the Covid measures. At that time, we didn't need a mandatory test or quarantine to get into Spain from Portugal: we just needed to be vaccinated, which we were, so we didn't need to book tests previous to the trip. Please, check the Spanish government site to check how things are now (https://spth.gob.es/).
On that same website, you will need to fill in a form with your info 48h before your flight then you will receive a QR code to show when you arrive in Spain. Don't forget that!!
When boarding, in Portugal, we just had to show our documents and vaccination certificate and we were all good to go. Wearing a mask is mandatory from the moment you enter the airport, don't forget that as well.
As soon as we left the plane in Bilbao, we just had to show our form QR code and leave the airport. You can rent a car, call a cab or Uber or you can get the bus.
There is a bus that goes to Bilbao, from the airport, every half hour (and does the same from Bilbao to the airport with a different schedule) and it works until midnight. The bus trip will take approximately 20 min and will cost 3€ that you can pay directly to the driver or, if you prefer, you can get the tickets in the Bizcaibus stand in the airport (if the stand is closed, you can use the machine next to it).
Find all the bus info here: https://web.bizkaia.eus/es/web/bizkaibus/detalle-de-linea?linea=A3247&nombreLinea=Bilbao-Aireportua%2FAeropuerto&numRuta=001
Besides this, there isn't much to say about this day. We got on the bus, went to the hotel, checked in, and went to sleep because we were sooooooo tired!!
DAY 2: Saturday
This was the only day we could fully enjoy from morning until night again. So we woke up and, after the amazing breakfast we had at the hotel, we went to the old town or, as they call it, Casco Viejo.
The city hall in Casco Viejo
I don't even know where to begin, the buildings are incredible. They have those old facades but they are very well conserved which makes them so pleasant to the eye. We had an amazing breakfast at the hotel, then we left headed to Moyúa which is a huge roundabout with seven streets leaving it (this place only has so many beautiful elements that it almost summarizes what it's like to visit Bilbao: beauty everywhere).
We kept following the street towards Areatzako Zubia, a bridge that crosses the river to the Casco Viejo. The first building you see is Teatro Arriaga but we didn't spend much time here on the first day because our second-day route would end here as well. So we turned left on the bridge and were surprised with the cutest book fair. You probably don't know this but I am passionate about books so I love a book fair in the middle of the street any time.
During our morning, we just wandered around Casco Viejo absorbing all of the beauty it has to offer. We decided to walk up all the way to Etxebarria Parkea which is an awesome park where you can see Bilbao from above. I had so much fun there, took great photos, got the drone flying, and even interacted with some dogs (they really wanted my drone haha). This park was not on our plans initially but I am so glad we went there!!
We didn't have lunch that day because we were still full from breakfast. So we walked back down the hill and headed to Guggenheim. On our way, we got to see a little bit more of Casco Viejo (the city hall and a lot of sculptures on the street) and we crossed the Zubizuri bridge which you should definitely check.
Zubizuri or, as it’s commonly known, ponte de Calatrava is a pedestrian bridge created by the valencian architect Santiago Calatrava and it connects Uribitarte to Campo de Volantín. A curious thing about this bridge is that its floor is made out of glass which means that it gets super slippery when it rains or there’s a lot of humidity in the air.
As I was researching for our little trip, I read a lot of stories about people falling in the bridge due to the slippery floor, and people were recommending us to be careful while crossing the bridge. However, as soon as we got there, I realised this info was outdated because they put some kind of carpet in the middle of the bridge, preventing slippery accidents.
On the other side of the bridge, we walked on the riverside to Guggenheim Museum. The walk there is filled with art on the street and even on the river!
There is a sculpture created by the Mexican artist Rúben Orozco in the middle of the water right next to Zubizuri. This face of a girl kind of drowning in the river is supposed to trigger us to reflect on the future as the girl breathes when the water level is low and drowns when the level of the water rises. I love the concept of this art piece which is named Bihar, Tomorrow in Basque. What do you think of this sculpture in the river?
Arriving at Guggenheim, we went to buy our tickets (15€ each), left our coats and bags in the cloakroom, and went on a two or three-hour visit. The tickets could be bought online but we weren’t sure about when we were visiting so we decided to buy them there (not a bad decision as there was no queue at all.
As far as I noticed, you could take some pictures there (make sure of it before you do it) but please be aware of marks on the floor that should not be surpassed. Please, respect those. We saw art of various sorts, from sculptures to paintings to video and photography…great modern art for your eyes to fall in love with!
Make sure you check the info so you know what temporary exhibitions are there by the time you visit but know that some installations are permanent. The four well-known sculptures on the outside are always there. It doesn’t matter when you visit, you will always be able to see Maman (the giant spider with eggs) of Louise Bourgeois, Los Tulipanes of Jeff Koons and El gran árbol y el ojo of Anish Kapoor…as for the Puppy (Jeff Koons’s giant flower dog), you will always see it unless it is being replanted like it was when we visited.
There is not much I can say about Guggenheim except for the fact that it is magical and everything around it breathes art. Definitely, one of my favourite places in the world!
When we left the museum, we were actually starving so we obviously had to go to a Pintxos bar. We googled one nearby and, when we got there, it was so full that we thought “well, I guess this is a good one”.
We had various different pintxos that cost between 1€ and 2€ each. Not an expensive meal at all.
After our delicious snack, we visited Azkuna Zentroa on our way back to the hotel. This is a cultural building with various services: library, study centre, gym, pool, restaurants, bars, auditorium, cinema and even an art exhibition. A curious thing about the pool is that it has glass flooring and it's placed on the second floor so when you’re roaming around, you can look up and see people swimming. It’s pretty cool!
If you go there, make sure you go to the terrace, it is beautiful and so peaceful (at least it was that day).
We decided not to go to a restaurant for dinner because Bilbao is quite expensive if you’re not eating pintxos. It doesn’t come as a surprise because Bilbao is known for its Michelin star restaurants. So we went to a Pizza Hut nearby and had a pizza haha
On our way back, we walked around a little bit and absorbed the life of Bilbao on a Saturday night…everyone was out on the street and it was beautiful to see!
By midnight, we were back at the hotel, tired as hell and ready to sleep!
DAY 3: Sunday
The view from the inside of the fosteritos
On Sunday morning, we had a lot to be done but we didn’t want to stress (not the purpose of the trip at all) so we did everything calmly. We went for breakfast, came back to take some pictures and film some parts of a little video I had planned, and checked out of the hotel by 11h30 am.
The first place we went to was El Ensanche which is basically a business centre that you can explore to see various beautiful buildings, statues, and plazas. You can start at Plaza de España where you can find the statue of the founder of the city: Don Diego López de Haro. Then walk the Gran Vía, which is the heart of Bilbao.
To visit El Ensanche, I think the best method is to roam around. Absorb the beauty of the buildings and the streets around Plaza Circular.
While you do it, don’t forget to check the metro, accessible through the Fosteritos (entrances imitating mole holes)
With our time running short, we kept walking towards Mercado de la Ribera, passing through some streets that reminded me of the New Orleans streets I’m used to seeing in movies.
Mercado de la Ribera is a pintxos heaven, there is so much to choose from. It is known for having the largest covered food market in the world. However, this is a prize they won in 1990…I’m not sure it’s still true 🙈
Nevertheless, the food court is one of the coolest!
To end our day, we made a quick visit to Plaza Nuevo, bought some souvenirs, and ended our route at Teatro Arriaga. We only had time to check it on the outside and sit a few moments on the stairs admiring the theatre and its surroundings.
After this, it was time to almost run to the nearest airport bus stop. We went to Plaza Circular to catch the bus and it was time to say goodbye to Bilbao, sure to be back again.
Places we didn't visit (but really wanted to!):
As I said in the beginning, we like to take our time to absorb the places we visit. That and the fact that we had barely two days to visit the city, we obviously didn’t have time to see everything we wanted.
So the places we didn’t visit but we believe may be totally worth it are:
> Funicular de Artxanda
> Monte Artxanda
> Museo de Belas Artes de Bilbao
> Ponte de Vizcaya
I hope you found this article useful and I wish that you visit Bilbao and love it as much as I did.
Let me know in the comments if you liked this post and what are your thoughts on Bilbao. Have you ever visited the city or would you like to?
XOXO,
Barbara
