Starting point Plaza Circular

We begin the day in Plaza Circular, right next to Abando’s train, metro, tram and bus station, where you’ll also find Bilbao’s tourist office and where we can pick up a map and information to get around the town.

Heading down Calle Navarra, we come to the Arenal Bridge, which we’ll cross to reach the Arriaga Theatre, noteworthy for its neo-baroque façade and the square, a popular meeting place for the people of Bilbao. Calle Bidebarrieta leads us into the Old Quarter, a maze of pedestrian streets where you can enjoy bars, restaurants and a wide range of shops. In the Old Quarter, we mustn’t miss the Ribera Market next to the church and the San Antón Bridge, Santiago Cathedral, Plaza Nueva or the Mallona Steps next to the Bilbao Archaeological Museum which lead up to the Basilica of Begoña.

We leave the Old Quarter and head for the funicular. On the way we’ll see the town hall, and we’ll stroll along the riverbank on the Campo Volantín Promenade until we reach the funicular square. The funicular, which made its first journey in 1915, takes us up to Mount Artxanda, where we’ll find the viewpoint to enjoy an impressive panorama of the town. Artxanda has restaurants and picnic areas and offers the chance to take part in sports both outdoors (hiking, cycling, etc.) and indoors, since it has a sports centre.

We’ll head back down to the city and we’ll cross to the other side of the estuary via one of its bridges (Zubizuri or La Salve Bridge) to reach the Guggenheim Museum. The Guggenheim Museum is the iconic symbol of the city, an emblematic building that marked a turning point, transforming it from an industrial city to one open to the world, as well as being cosmopolitan, modern and sustainable. The Guggenheim Museum is a work of art in itself, housing collections of contemporary art inside, and outside it’s also an open-air museum with pieces that are impossible to ignore.

Another of the city’s key museums is the Fine Arts Museum, very close to the Guggenheim Museum, and home to one of the most prestigious art collections. It’s located next to the lovely Doña Casilda park, the city’s green space par excellence, which invites you to rest, visit the duck pond or take a pleasant stroll.

To finish, there’s nothing better than losing yourself in Bilbao’s Ensanche district and recharging your batteries in any of its bars and restaurants.