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This 3-Day Bilbao Itinerary is perfect for a first-time visitor’s intro to the largest city in Basque Country. Explore Basque cuisine, get acquainted with beautiful architecture, and admire the city’s arts scene.
When it came time to decide on what cities to visit for our Basque Country adventure, I was torn. We were flying into the Bilbao airport, but would it be worth spending time in Bilbao first before heading to San Sebastian? That answer was a definite YES!
After much research, it was clear to me that Bilbao would, in fact, be worth exploring – both to satisfy my hunger and also my longing for beautiful Spanish city vibes.
We spent three full days exploring all of Bilbao had to offer and I think it was the perfect amount of time to get to know the city!
Why Visit Bilbao?
Bilbao is an underrated foodie destination compared to neighboring San Sebastian. San Sebastian is amazing, of course, but Bilbao has its own banging food scene with tons of great pintxos bars, Michelin-starred restaurants, and more varied international cuisines due to its size.
You can take food tours through the Old Town, visit the largest covered food market in Europe, take Basque cooking classes, and plan numerous pintxos crawls (in fact, I would plan daily pintxos crawls!).
Bilbao is also a very artsy city. Thanks in large part to the construction of the Guggenheim in the late 1990s, Bilbao transformed from industrial and drab to the vibrant city you see today!
On top of its famous museum, Bilbao comes alive with colorful buildings, beautiful architecture, and art installations all throughout the city.
And if you’re a sports fan (or even if you aren’t), Bilbao is home to the Athletic Club – a professional football team in Spain’s La Liga. The San Mames Stadium is their home – a beautiful, architectural wonder itself that also has an extremely well-done museum and stadium tour to offer.
All this is to say that there is plenty to do in Bilbao – so much so that we could have easily stayed more than three days in the city!
Our Travel Details
- Month Traveled: Late May
- Airline & Flights: SFO to Paris to Bilbao via Air France (business class on points!). The Bilbao airport is very easy to fly into from other European cities and taxis are readily available to take you to hotels.
- Transportation: You do not need a car if you are just going to stay in Bilbao for a few days. We used a few taxis/Uber during our time in Bilbao, but mostly walked to get around the city. There are also the metro trains available.
Where to Stay in Bilbao
I spent quite a bit of time researching the best hotel to position ourselves as a base for exploring the city. However, it’s pretty easy to get around no matter where you stay! Bilbao is very walkable and we never spent more than 30 minutes getting from one end to the other on foot.
Hotel Tayko
Hotel Tayko was our hotel pick based on pricing and location to the Old Town (Casco Viejo). Tayko is a four-star boutique hotel located right on the edge of the neighborhood. That meant we could easily walk straight into the Old Town pintxo bars and restaurants!
There is also a 1 Michelin Star restaurant in the hotel by Martin Berasategui called Ola, and Ribera Market is just a few minutes’ walk away. We didn’t dine at Ola, sadly – I am kicking myself for that decision – but I do think with all of these amenities and location that this is a great hotel, especially for foodies.
This hotel, like many other hotels in Bilbao, is very stylish. It has a European touch with the outside building architecture, while its interior boasts modern, industrial chic decor – a nod to both Bilbao’s past and present.
Hotel Tayko is also right on the Nervion River and offers river-view rooms, which we stayed in and highly recommend. It was lovely to pull the curtains back and watch the city come alive in the mornings. Watching tour groups gather at the river and people walking their dogs, heading to work, or just enjoying the city as tourists was the best start to the day!
Our river-view room was also very spacious and comfortable for a four-night stay. It even included a mini fridge where we could keep some drinks and food cold.
Pro Tip: Sign up to be a Tayko Hotels member and book direct for discounted booking rates. You also get a welcome glass of cava on check-in!
Book Hotel Tayko on Hotels.com, Booking.com or Direct
Hotels Close to the Guggenheim
Alternatively, if one of the driving forces for your visit to Bilbao is the iconic Guggenheim Museum, you can opt to stay in a hotel closer to the arts district. Here are my top picks that I actually considered booking myself:
- The Artist Grand Hotel of Art is a five-star hotel located just across the street from the Guggenheim Museum, which means quick access to the museum. Upgraded rooms also come with stunning Guggenheim views! Rooms are decorated with contemporary art and the hotel itself was designed with the help of artist Javier Mariscal. They also have a lovely rooftop bar!
Book The Artist on Hotels.com, Booking.com or Direct
- A great alternative to The Artist is Hotel Miro, designed by fashion designer Antonio Miro. It’s located just a few doors down from The Artist and also has rooms with partial Guggenheim views. It’s a modern and chic hotel, but also a little more budget-friendly than The Artist.
Book Hotel Miro on Hotels.com, Booking.com or Direct
Bilbao Itinerary Summary
We flew into Bilbao later in the evening, so while we actually stayed four nights in Bilbao, we only had three full days to fill with activities. Honestly, three days is the perfect amount of time if you just want to get to know Bilbao!
- Day 1: An epic food tour, riverside walks and architecture spotting, a ride up the Artxanda Funicular, and evening pintxos bar hopping
- Day 2: The Guggenheim and more restaurants and pintxos bars!
- Day 3: La Ribera Market, a rare burger experience, San Mames stadium tour, and late night eats
Overall, our itinerary was pretty balanced by building in time for siestas and breaks in between activities. The weather was unseasonably warm too, so walking around the city and eating tons of food tended to leave us feeling tired. Spaniards know what they are doing with those siesta hours!
Note that this is my itinerary exactly how we did it. There are even more things to do in Bilbao that I wanted to experience but just didn’t have the time. If you’re interested in supplementing anything we did or need more ideas, be sure to check out my Best Things to Do in Bilbao post for more inspiration!
Day 1 in Bilbao: Food & Views!
Since we arrived the night before our first full day in Bilbao, we had the morning to sleep in. That extra sleep helped get our stomachs on Spanish time to prep for our noon food tour! After our amazing food tour, we took a little siesta and then walked along the Nervion River to the Artxanda Funicular to ride up to the viewpoint for the best views of the city.
We spent the rest of the evening bar and restaurant hopping to try as many pintxos as we could. Food, after all, is one of the main reasons I wanted to visit Basque Country!
Day 1 Highlights
- Food tour in Casco Viejo with Best of Basque
- Riverside walks and architecture spotting
- Artxanda Funicular and viewpoint
- Pintxos bar hopping
An Epic Food Tour
On our first full day in Bilbao, I wanted to hit the ground running into the city’s food scene. I will admit I was a little intimidated with the language barrier so I signed us up for a food tour to get acquainted with the city and Basque Country food!
We met up with our small group and our tour guide, Olaia, with the Best of Basque and off we went, wandering through the historic streets of the Casco Viejo neighborhood, hopping around to different pintxos bars and restaurants.
We ate our way through some of the city’s more unique pintxos, learned how to pour Basque cider, and got acquainted with Basque classics like the Gilda pintxo and the decadent Basque cheesecake. It was a fabulous intro to the city, learning all about its history and food culture!
This tour was also a great way to meet people from around the world, including a couple from Australia, a family from Miami, and a solo traveler from Birmingham, UK doing research for a business venture! As a major introvert, food tours are helpful to meet new people, which is part of what makes travel so special.
Book this food tour with Best of Basque on Viator!
And don’t forget to check out my detailed Bilbao food tour review for more info on all the spots we visited!
Artxanda Funicular & Riverside Views
After a little siesta (we were stuffed after our food tour), we took a walk along the Nervion River over to the Artxanda Funicular to ride up to the mountain viewpoint.
Luckily for us, we had great weather in Bilbao and it was the perfect day for beautiful city views. We admired all the lovely buildings along the water and watched everyone enjoying the good weather at the local city parks.
The Artxanda Funicular is a few minutes’ ride up the Artxanda “Mountain” and is something you will definitely want to put on your Bilbao itinerary! The cost roundtrip is €5 per person and tickets are easy to buy via the digital ticket machines located at the base of the funicular.
The city views up here are just stunning. It’s also one of those things you want to make sure to do on a good weather day. Have some flexibility with this activity just in case the Basque weather acts like typical Basque weather (cloudy and drizzly).
If you’d rather not take the funicular, you can also walk up the mountain or take one of the local buses to the top.
In addition to the beautiful views, you’ll also find a few artsy things up here like a giant red Bilbao/Bilbo sign and a huge thumbprint art sculpture. The city gets artsy at every turn!
Bar Hopping & Pintxos
And then it was time to eat again! After the funicular, we hopped around town in search of delicious pintxos and drinks. This is known as a “pintxos crawl” or txikiteo and I could eat like this every day of my life!
Stop 1: Cafe Bilba
Up first on our Bilbao evening pintxos crawl was a little spot just a few blocks from the Artxanda Funicular entrance. I was searching for the best tortilla de patatas in Bilbao and had planned for a stop at Cafe Bilba as I read they had one of the best. Those reviews were 100% accurate!
The tortilla was everything I hoped it would be – the right amount of firmness (I don’t care for my tortillas to be overly runny) and savory with caramelized onions (onions are a must!). It washed down nicely with a glass of super crisp txakoli wine – a local white wine you should drink a lot of when in Basque Country.
We also could not resist a couple of Gildas (which turned out to be our favorite in all of Basque Country) and a torrija – a sweet treat of Spanish-style French toast (my favorite Spanish dessert). Everything was fantastic and I think this spot is one of Bilbao’s best-kept secrets.
Stop 2: Singular
Our walks along the river led us over to a craft beer bar called Singular. Craft beer isn’t something you’ll find readily available in pintxos bars in Basque Country, but there are still some good finds if you want a cold IPA!
Singular had a great selection of Spanish IPAs which were nice and juicy – exactly what we were looking for. And because you can’t come to Spain and not try jamon iberico, we did just so, ordering a giant plate of jamon that was bigger than our stomachs would allow.
Stop 3: Taska Beltz
Before our last stop of the evening we took a quick break back at our room to put our leftover jamon in the fridge and headed into Old Town for one last pintxos bar. Taska Beltz was actually full when we arrived, so we sat next door for a bit at Taberna Basaras for a glass of txakoli and some Gildas until a seat opened up.
Note: Pintxos bars are often quite small, meaning you often have to elbow your way to the bar, order your food and drinks, and possibly have to stand while eating and drinking! Pack your patience if you’re looking for a seat.
Taska Beltz was on my radar for being a wine bar serving up Basque classic dishes with an elevated touch and a side of rock music for atmosphere. It delivered on all fronts! We had a delicious txipirones (baby squid) dish, steamed mussels in tomato sauce, Gildas, a goat talo (like a taco), and three excellent wine pairings.
This spot was the perfect place to wind down and end our first day in Bilbao.
Day 2 in Bilbao: Artsy with the Guggenheim
Our second full day in Bilbao had one primary focus – to see the iconic Guggenheim Museum! If art and museums aren’t normally your thing, I still think the Guggenheim is worth a visit (even if all you do is see the outside of it). We spent our morning wandering around the museum, took a spritz break outside afterwards, and ventured on to lunch.
Again, we took advantage of that siesta break before heading out to Plaza Nueva in the Old Town for another evening pintxos crawl!
Day 2 Highlights
- Guggenheim Museum visit and self-guided tour
- Cafe spritz break
- Lunch at Lucky Baster
- Evening pintxos crawl
Guggenheim Visit
I love art, but I’m not always a big fan of modern art. That being said, the design and architecture of the museum is the star attraction and you should definitely spend time outside admiring it from all angles.
Not only that, there are some epic art pieces outside the museum like Jeff Coons’ The Puppy (a giant flower sculpture in the shape of a West Highland terrier) and Maman (a huge metal spider by Louise Bourgeois). In fact, these were my favorite things to see at the museum!
Once inside, we spent about an hour and a half looking at the various art exhibits. Some of the “art” is head tilting – especially pieces on sound and digital art. There were certainly some “WTF” moments in there for me.
Truly worth seeing inside the museum, however, is The Matter of Time by Richard Serra. This installation consists of giant steel sculptures bent and twisted in ways that distort things visually. Walking through them might even make you feel a little dizzy (it did for me!). It really is impressive and it should be admired both on the ground and from the ledge above overlooking the whole area.
And because I am the most mature adult ever, I sought out my least favorite artists’ paintings – Mark Rothko – who is famous for his color blocking style. I really don’t understand how paintings like this can fetch tens of millions, but to each their own. That’s the beauty of art right? That still doesn’t mean I won’t make faces at the things I don’t get (which I’ve also done in London…and Chicago).
I recommend about two to three hours on your itinerary to have enough time to explore the museum both outside and inside.
A Spritz Break
We hadn’t yet eaten up to this point and walking through the museum had us working up an appetite. Our lunch spot wasn’t open yet, so we headed over to a little cafe just outside the Guggenheim to get some bottled water, a jamon bocadillo, and a couple of Aperol Spritzes. I know we’re not in Italy, but these really hit the spot on a hot day!
Lunch at Lucky Baster
Fueled by drinks and a tiny sandwich, we made our way over to Lucky Baster which was only about a six-minute walk from the museum.
We found restaurants in Bilbao to be fairly quiet during lunch hours. We practically had the whole restaurant to ourselves! We ordered a bottle of txakoli, naturally, and ate the most perfectly-fried croquettas to start.
Next, we had a seared ahi dish with squid ink “rice” (which I think was more like an orzo pasta), and a rich oxtail bikini sandwich. Everything was delicious and I was stuffed!
Lucky Baster (and their sister restaurant Baster) are also known for their individual tortilla de patatas and their calamari bocadillos. Next time we visit, those are definitely going to be ordered!
I’m sure you can guess what came next – siesta time! It was the hottest day of our time in Bilbao thus far and a little break was much needed.
Evening Plaza Nueva Pintxos Crawl
Feeling refreshed after our siesta, it was time for another evening pintxos crawl. Armed with recommendations and tips from our food tour guide, we ventured over to Plaza Nueva – the perfect spot in the city for pintxos.
Lined with bars and restaurants, Plaza Nueva makes bar hopping so easy! You don’t have to go far in between each spot. Each place also has different specialties, so you never have to eat the same thing twice (unless you are as obsessed with Gildas as we are)!
Stop 1: Gure Toki
Gure Toki is one of my favorite stops in Plaza Nueva. Their pintxos are so creative but best of all, delicious! One of the things they are known for is their Idiazabal cheese soup made with a local Basque sheep’s cheese. It’s creamy, nutty and super unique.
We also loved their hot scallop pintxo, a crispy hot pastry filled with mushrooms, and they have one of the best (and biggest) Gildas in the city.
Stop 2: El Globo
El Globo’s specialty are gratinados – creamy mixtures of seafood, vegetables, or meats and cheese served hot and topped on a piece of bread. These are rich and packed with flavor!
The txangurro gratinado is a popular recommendation, made with spider crab sourced from the Bay of Biscay. I can see why! It’s very good. We also had the beef and aged cheddar, which ended up being my favorite of the gratinados we tried. It had great beef flavor with a bit of sharpness from the cheese. We also really enjoyed their fried txipirones (squid) pintxo.
I could go back and eat so many more of their gratinados. The potato gratinado and chipirones en su tinta (their take on a popular Basque squid dish) also caught my eye but we were trying to be mindful not to get too full before our last stop.
Stop 3: Cafe Bar Bilbao
Our final stop of this evening’s pintxos crawl was Cafe Bar Bilbao specifically to try their bacalao al pil pil pintxo. Bacalao al pil pil is a special way of cooking salt cod where its gently swirled in olive oil and garlic until a creamy and rich emulsion is created. That sauce gets topped onto the cod for serving! It was a really unique and tasty bite of food.
We also had to try their Gildas (we did almost everywhere we went in Basque Country) and theirs made the #2 spot of my list of favorites. They had a spicier kick to their peppers than most, which I’m a fan of.
Other pintxos bars in Plaza Nueva I recommend are Sorginzulo (get the txistorra sausage roll) and La Olla, both of which we visited on our food tour the day prior.
Be sure to check out my Basque Food Guide for more inspiration on what to eat when visiting Basque Country.
Day 3: Burgers and Football
Burgers and football in Spain, say what?! It’s not as American as you might be thinking. I’m talking about rare, quality burgers made from Basque ox and football (futbol) as in soccer. Bilbao is home to the Athletic Club, a professional football team in Spain’s La Liga! We visited the San Mames Stadium for a self-guided tour of both its museum and stadium facilities.
But first, we started our day with a search for bollo de mantequilla (Bilbao’s Basque butter bun) and explored the Mercado de la Ribera – Europe’s largest covered food market.
Day 3 Highlights
- Basque butter buns for breakfast
- Exploring the Ribera Market
- Rare burgers and creamy cheesecake at HDH Bilbao
- San Mames stadium tour
- Late night eats
Basque Butter Buns
In my quest to try as many Basque foods as I could while we were in the region, I found a bakery/cafe called Le Chocolat serving bollo de mantequilla – Basque butter buns that originated in Bilbao! Butter buns are a sweet bread filled with buttercream and its a delicious little handheld treat.
La Ribera Market
After the butter bun was secured, we walked a few minutes over to the Mercado La Ribera to check out the market and visit the gastro plaza for more pintxos!
La Ribera Market is the largest covered food market in Europe and has three floors filled with vendors selling meats, seafood, vegetables, cheese, charcuterie, olives, etc. The main reason I wanted to pop into the market though was to visit the market’s gastro plaza to try some different pintxos and Basque desserts.
We ordered a few different croquettas, an assortment of Gildas, scallops, and a couple of glasses of txakoli wine. The bakery case was also calling my name and I had to get one of Bilbao’s specialty Carolinas and a piece of Basque pantxineta!
A Carolina is a custard tart topped with a beautiful meringe that has an egg yolk and chocolate coating. Its a visual stunner! The real winner for me though was the pantxineta – layers of puff pastry, custard, and nuts with a dusting of powdered sugar. It had great texture between the custard and nuts and the tasty custard oozed out with each bite.
Gourmet Burgers at HDH
After our market visit, we stopped back to our hotel for a little break and to get some work done before heading out to a late lunch at a spot called HDH. In doing my research, I spotted them on Google Maps one day and saw how highly-rated they were. I also read about how their burgers are served – super rare high-quality Basque ox. We had to try it!
The burgers really were amazing! They were indeed very rare – seared on the outside and packed with flavor and special toppings. My favorite: the Umami with caramelized onions. My husband’s favorite: the Boccati de Cardinale served on focaccia with crispy onions. It was a very unique experience and I’m ranking their burgers in my top five of all time!
Even though we were stuffed (because we literally shared three whole burgers here), we couldn’t leave without a slice of their Basque-style cheesecake. This was a creamy and crustless wonder!
Note: I had to secure a reservation here via WhatsApp, even for lunch. It’s a small spot so seating is very limited.
San Mames Stadium Tour
The last big attraction I wanted to see in Bilbao was the San Mames Stadium. I booked us for a late afternoon self-guided tour at the home of the Athletic Club Bilbao professional football/futbol/soccer team!
The stadium itself is a work of art architecturally, but they also have a museum dedicated to the club’s history with a ton of memorabilia on display.
We made our way through the museum with the help of an audio guide that I downloaded to my mobile. It was neat to learn a little bit of the club’s history and see all the memorabilia, which included things like uniforms, game balls, and lots of very shiny trophies.
The museum was cool, but my favorite parts of the tour were actually getting to go out onto the field, walking through the locker room, and seeing the pressroom! If you’re thinking of taking a tour, I highly recommend going on a day where there’s no match so you can get access to all of these areas in the stadium.
We spent about two hours here, but you could easily spend more, especially if you dedicate more time to reading through all of the information in the museum.
Tickets can be booked via the Athletic Club website for both self-guided tours with an audio guide or fully-guided tours. You can also book tickets via Get Your Guide (like I did) or just walk up and purchase tickets onsite in person.
Late Night Eats
For our last evening in Bilbao, we had to squeeze in one last jaunt through the Casco Viejo even though we weren’t super hungry due to our extra large late lunch. Here are the spots we managed to hit!
Stop1: Baster
Sister restaurant to Lucky Baster (where we had lunch on our second day), Baster was on my list to try a marianito – a vermouth-based cocktail similar to a negroni but more vermouth-forward. It was allegedly invented in Bilbao so we had to try one!
We arrived to Baster just as they were closing their kitchen, so we had a couple of marianitos (which were really good – I’m a fan!) and moved on to find food elsewhere.
stop 2: txokomex
And here we have a bit of a wild card! After wandering Old Town, we decided we didn’t want to battle other patrons for a spot at a busy bar. It was a Friday evening and the streets were buzzing with people!
It was getting late and we really just needed a little bit of sustenance. We walked by this Mexican spot serving burritos and tacos and in we went (after a quick Google search, of course, to make sure the reviews weren’t terrible…because Mexican food in Spain…).
We had a shrimp burrito and bottle of Mexican beer that honestly hit the spot! I won’t say it was the best burrito of my life, but it was decent and was just what we needed. Now I can say I’ve had burritos both in Ireland and Spain, which is kind of a weird claim to fame.
One last gilda
Before turning in for the night, we popped into our hotel’s bar for one last drink and a Gilda. Tayko’s bar has little snackies you can order that come from the Ola Kitchen (their Michelin-starred restaurant) and we had been eyeing their Gildas for a couple of days.
They had a few different kinds but we chose the octopus Gilda and it was fantastic. Spaniards really know what they are doing when it comes to cooking octopus!
It was the best little bite to say goodbye to our time in Bilbao.
Other Bilbao Travel Tips
- Cash & Currency: All of Spain uses the Euro as currency. You can easily find ATMs in Bilbao that will give you a better exchange rate than at the airport. I do recommend having some cash on hand for a few restaurants that may not accept credit cards and/or for tipping tour guides.
- Weather: Prepare for the worst and hope for the best! Basque Country weather can tend to be rainy and cloudy, but that’s what keeps it green and beautiful. I wore my waterproof Vessi sneakers daily, and carried an umbrella and light rain jacket just in case. I only had to break out the umbrella twice when we were in Bilbao for some brief rain showers.
- Learn some Spanish: I found English to be less spoken here than in nearby San Sebastian. I highly recommend learning a few words and phrases, especially for ordering and paying at restaurants. Basque is not widely spoken in the city, but a simple Eskerrik asko (thank you) and agur (goodbye) goes a long way!
- Siesta time: Shops and restaurants typically close from 3:00 or 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Be sure to plan your activities accordingly.
Where to Next?
Bilbao was an incredible destination to kick off our time in Basque Country and I’m very glad we decided to dedicate a full three days to this city. We had so many great pintxos and got to see some really cool art (and some weird stuff too…thanks Guggenheim), amazing architecture, and beautiful cityscapes. Bilbao really does have a great mix of everything!
Hopefully this 3-Day Bilbao Itinerary gave you some ideas to help plan your own trip to this amazing Basque Country city!
Next up on our Basque Country trip: San Sebastian to continue our eating adventures. Until next time, Bilbao!
Read Next:
- Searching for the Best Gilda Pintxos in Basque Country
- 5 Must-Try Desserts in Spain’s Basque Country
- What to Eat in Spain’s Basque Country: Must-Try Basque Foods, Dishes & Drinks!
- Bilbao Food Tour Review – The Best Intro to Bilbao & the Basque Food Scene
- Savoring Bilbao: A Foodie’s Guide on Where to Eat in Bilbao, Spain
- Best Things to Do in Bilbao, Spain for Food, Art & Architecture Lovers!
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