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About Bilbao City

Bilbao is the largest city in the Basque Country and the tenth largest in Spain. It is called ‘El Botxo’ by its inhabitants (‘the hole’) because it is bounded by mountains. The city is situated on both banks of the Nervion River and surrounded by ‘el Gran Bilbao’ (‘the Big Bilbao’) made of smaller towns following the river all the way to the coast line.

With a heavy iron industry heritage from the fifties, Bilbao has evolved from the construction of ships to what it is today: a modern metropolitan city focused on art and architecture. Ranging from gothic to contemporary styles some of the most famous buildings in the city include Bilbao Guggenheim Museum by Frank Gehry, the Euskalduna Conference and Music Centre, Norman Foster’s Underground, Calatrava’s airport or Santiago’s Cathedral in the old town among many others.

Your itinerary

Arrive in Bilbao via one of the many ways of transport available: flights to Bilbao airport, ferries to Bilbao, public transport and road connexions.

Get a taste of Northern Spain’s cuisine and culture during this romantic city break in Bilbao, where you will be hosted in one of the city’s most modern boutique hotels, Hotel Miró – just opposite from the Guggenheim Museum.

Arrive to your hotel on Friday evening.

Day 1

Start the weekend with a buffet breakfast at your hotel, before visit the Guggenheim Museum, where you will be able to experience a vast collection of modern and contemporary art. Note that the tickets to the Guggenheim include an audio guide with explanations of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao’s architecture and exhibitions, allowing you to enjoy a self-guided tour at your own pace. You can check what exhibitions are on in the museum during the year to plan your trip dates on the Guggenheim Museum official website.

At 1pm after exploring the museum, you will head out on a tapas tour of Bilbao’s old town. During this two-hour tour you will visit four of the best bars in the old town of Bilbao and sample pintxos – the Basque version of tapas – with a culinary expert to guide you. Your guide will recommend the pintxo speciality of each bar, and will also tell you about the town’s culture and food specialities. You will enjoy four pintxos, along with four drinks (glass of wine, beer or soft drink).

If you prefer to go for a pintxo tour without the culinary expert, you will receive a guide to spot the best pintxo bars and don’t miss the hidden gems. You can read more about pintxo bars in Bilbao in our travel guide:

How to order pintxos in the basque country? What is the difference between pintxos and tapas?

Best pintxo bars in Bilbao’s old town

Best pintxo bars in Bilbao city centre

After the pintxo tour you can go back to the Guggenheim Museum if you want to see other exhibitions as the tickets for the museum are for the whole day. Alternatively you can go for a walk around the city as you will know more curiosities and interesting places to visit after your guided tour.

End the day with a seven-course degustation menu dinner at one of the best restaurants in Bilbao. There is a number of brilliant restaurants around the city but Baita Gaminiz has been selected for this experience because being 100 meters away from the Guggenheim Museum if offers an amazing view of the river from its privileged terrace and a traditional Basque cuisine combined with impeccable customer service, everything for an affordable price. Your menu will include:

Aperitif
Bermeo Anchovies in olive oil
Joselito’Ham with Tomato Bread
Crispy Mushrooms and Squid with hot Corn and Cheese Sauce
Cod in Pil-Pil style
Loin of Veal thinly sliced with smoked Potato Purée
Cheese and red Fruits Cake with Yogurt ice cream 
Coffee, Water, Wine
Wine: Rioja 2008

Day 2

Weak up opposite the Guggenheim to start the day with your buffet breakfast at the Hotel Miró.

You will have a free morning to enjoy the city or relax. Note that your hotel has a Wellbeing area with a private whilrpool buthtub, a fitness centre and wellness suite where you can get a massage with natural products and essential oils. You can arrange this upon arrival.

We can also recommend you the best areas to visit on Bilbao based on your interests for this day.

In the afternoon, you will be treated to wine and tapas pairing at an urban bodega (cellar), where you will get to sample the marvellous local wine and small bites. This urban cellar is run by Ana Martin, one of the best winemakers in Spain, who has been in the wine industry for over 20 years and has worked giving technical advice in preparation for the most important wineries in Spain.

During this wine pairing experience, you will be testing Basque food by Aitor Elizegi, a reference in the Basque cuisine with his restaurant Gaminiz who has open a second restaurant called BasqueCook, this time in an old salt cellar from the XX century in Bilbao. Together they will present you 3 pintxos marinated with the best local wines:

Thinly-sliced cod and mushroom mayonnaise with a glass of Txakoli Itsasmendi 2012, D.O. Bizkaiko Txakolina – Basque white wine
Bacon Foccacia of Euskal txerri with a glass of Luberri 2012, D.O. Calificada Rioja Alavesa – Basque red wine
Beef Carpaccio with a glass of Señorio Cuzcurrita 2007, D.O.Calificada Rioja – Rioja red wine

If you want, this wine pairing experience can be guided by a wine expert to make the most out of the wine tasting experience and learn more about the production of wine in the Basque Country and La Rioja. Let us know if you are interested as this would need to be arranged before visiting the wine cellar.

The wine pairing experience will finish by 5pm when you can get ready to go back to the airport or continue with your trip.

Add to your trip

If you are planning to stay in Northern Spain longer than a weekend, get in touch with us to extend your trip. There is so much to see in the area and among other destinations we can arrange for you hotel stays and experiences in San Sebastian, the Rioja wine country, Asturias, Santiago de Compostela and many more.

Transport. We can arrange all transport or provide you with detailed information when you make a booking. If you are flying to Bilbao airport, the only road transport you will need for this trip is from the airport to the city centre. You can do this by public transport taking the regular busses from the airpot or by taxi. Hiring a car is not recommended unless you are planning to go for a day trip outside Bilbao.

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