Bilbao Beyond the Guggenheim: What to Do in 2 Days

The best things to do in Bilbao are mostly away from the Guggenheim. See the museum by all means, but give the rest of your time to the Casco Viejo's seven streets, the pintxo bars around Plaza Nueva, the funicular up Artxanda for the view, a walk along the Nervión and a half-day trip out to the Bizkaia Bridge. Two full days covers it comfortably. Three lets you add the coast. This guide covers what is worth your time, what you can skip, and the prices I checked in September 2026.

How much time Bilbao needs

Bilbao is compact. The old town, the riverside and the Guggenheim are all within a 25-minute walk of each other, and the metro handles anything further out. Most visitors treat it as a one-museum stop and regret it.

The Casco Viejo and the Siete Calles

The old town sits on the right bank of the Nervión, squeezed between the river and the hillside. Its core is the Siete Calles, seven parallel streets that were the original medieval town. Today they are narrow, pedestrianised and lined with shops that have been trading for generations alongside bars that fill up from about 7pm.

What to see

• Santiago Cathedral – Gothic, modest by Spanish standards, but a useful landmark. The cloister is the most attractive part.
• Plaza Nueva – an enclosed, arcaded neoclassical square that works as the old town's living room. Arcades on all four sides mean it is useful when it rains, which in Bilbao it often does.
• Mercado de la Ribera – on the riverbank at the edge of the old town, it bills itself as one of Europe's largest covered markets. The fish and produce stalls downstairs are the real thing.

What to skip

The souvenir shops closest to the cathedral are the same as souvenir shops everywhere. And do not bother eating a sit-down lunch in the old town's tourist-facing restaurants with picture menus. Eat standing at a bar instead; it is better food for less money.

Pintxos: where and how to eat

Bilbao's pintxo culture is less famous than San Sebastián's and, in my view, less crowded and better value. If you are doing both cities, our San Sebastián pintxos crawl route works well as a comparison.

The main areas

• Plaza Nueva – the obvious starting point. The bars under the arcades are busy but generally good. Go early in the evening before the counters are picked over.
• The Siete Calles – bars dotted along all seven streets, more local as you move away from the cathedral.
• Calle Ledesma and the Ensanche – across the river in the newer part of town, near the Gran Vía. This is where office workers go after work, and where most visitors never look.
• Calle Licenciado Poza – further west towards San Mamés, the stadium of Athletic Club. Packed on match nights, pleasantly local otherwise.

How to order

Take one or two pintxos per bar, have a drink, move on. Keep track of what you have eaten; many bars still ask you at the end. Hot pintxos are often cooked to order from a board on the wall, and these are usually the best thing in the bar. Drink txakoli, the slightly sparkling white wine made in Bizkaia and poured from a height, or a small beer (a zurito). Our guide to what to drink in Spain covers the rest of the regional options.

La Ribera's gastro area

The upper floor of the Mercado de la Ribera has a food hall with around ten counters. It keeps much longer hours than the market stalls below: the market itself closes on Sundays and between 2pm and 5pm on weekdays, while the gastro area stays open late every day. Convenient rather than exceptional, but useful on a Sunday.

For sit-down meals, look for bacalao al pil-pil (salt cod in an emulsified garlic and olive oil sauce) and bacalao a la vizcaína (with a red pepper sauce), both local classics. Our list of Spanish foods you must try is a good primer for the rest of the country.

The riverside walk and the Guggenheim

The best introduction to modern Bilbao is to walk the river from the old town to the Guggenheim along the left bank. It takes around 25 minutes and shows you how the city rebuilt itself around a former industrial waterfront.

On the way

• Zubizuri – Santiago Calatrava's white footbridge. Photogenic, but the glass deck is notoriously slippery in the rain, and the city has laid a non-slip covering across it.
• Arriaga Theatre – the ornate opera-house frontage facing the old town.
• Puppy and Maman – Jeff Koons's giant flower-covered dog at the front of the Guggenheim, and Louise Bourgeois's spider on the river side. Both free to see.

The Guggenheim itself

Frank Gehry's building is worth seeing from outside even if you do not go in. Inside, the permanent collection is limited and the value depends heavily on the temporary exhibitions, so check what is on before you pay.

Book online for a timed slot in summer. Allow two to three hours. The ticket desks close 30 minutes before the museum does.

The Fine Arts Museum

If you only have time for one museum and care more about paintings than architecture, the Museo de Bellas Artes (now branded Bilbao Museoa) in Doña Casilda park may be the better choice, with Spanish and Basque art from El Greco and Goya to Chillida. It has just had a large extension by Foster + Partners. The museum is closed until 5 October 2026 and reopens on 6 October, with free entry for everyone from 6 to 13 October. After that, general admission is listed at €12 and under-18s go free. It had been free throughout the building works, so check the museum's website for current opening hours and any free-entry slots before you go.

The Artxanda funicular

This is the best-value view in the city. The funicular has been climbing Mount Artxanda since 1915, and the ride takes about three minutes from the lower station a short walk from the Zubizuri bridge. At the top there is a viewpoint over the whole city and river, a park and a cluster of grill restaurants.

My advice: go up about an hour before sunset, then walk down. The path takes around 30 minutes and delivers you back into the city in time for pintxos.

The Bizkaia Bridge at Portugalete

If you do one thing outside the centre, make it this. The Puente Bizkaia, which opened in 1893, is the world's oldest transporter bridge and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A gondola slung beneath the steel frame carries cars and foot passengers across the mouth of the river between Getxo and Portugalete, which is more fun than it sounds.

• The gondola crossing – €0.60 per foot passenger during the day (2026 fare), rising to €1.70 in the small hours. It runs around the clock.
• The upper walkway – a lift takes you up to the top of the frame and you walk across the river. The operator lists it at €11 for adults and €9 for over-65s and students in 2026. When I checked, the lift was running shorter hours with reduced capacity due to technical problems, so look at the official website before you go.

Getting there is easy: take metro Line 1 to Areeta on the Getxo side.

Day trips from Bilbao

San Juan de Gaztelugatxe

The hermitage on a rocky islet, reached by a zigzagging stone stairway (Dragonstone in Game of Thrones), is about an hour's drive from Bilbao. Entry is free, but on busy days you need a free timed ticket booked in advance through the official Bizkaia booking site, and there is a daily cap. The summer booking period ended on 20 September 2026, but it returns for October weekends and the 12 October holiday. Check the calendar before you set off. Wear proper shoes: it is roughly 240 steps each way. If you do not have a car, Bizkaibus runs towards Bermeo; if you would rather drive, our notes on renting a car in Spain will help.

San Sebastián

The PESA bus from Bilbao's Intermodal station takes about 1 hour 20 minutes. It is easily doable as a day trip, though one night there is better.

What I would skip

Organised "Basque Country in a day" coach tours that try to fit Gaztelugatxe, Guernica, Bermeo and San Sebastián into one day. You spend most of it on a coach. Pick one.

Practical details

Getting in and around

• From the airport – Bizkaibus line A3247 runs to the city centre in about 20 minutes, stopping at Alameda Recalde, along the Gran Vía, and at the Intermodal bus station. Pay the driver or use a Barik card. It is cheaper with Barik.
• Barik card – the rechargeable transport card for Bizkaia. Covers the metro, Bilbobus, Bizkaibus, the tram and the funicular. Worth buying if you will take more than a couple of rides.
• Metro – designed by Norman Foster. Locals call the glass entrance canopies fosteritos. Line 1 gets you to Getxo and the coast.

When to go

Late spring and September to October are the best times: fewer crowds, milder weather, and everything open. Bilbao is green because it rains, so pack a jacket whatever the month. For a party, time your trip for Aste Nagusia (Great Week), the city's big summer festival: nine days starting on the first Saturday after 15 August. In 2026 it ran from 22 to 30 August. Expect crowds and higher hotel prices.

If you are building a longer trip across northern Spain, our round-up of places to visit in Spain has more ideas. Bilbao earns more time than most people give it: two nights at least, and do not spend all of them at the Guggenheim.