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Bayonne and Bilbao -

For a day in Bayonne what are your suggestions for on-our-own visits?

Likewise, for a day in Bilbao.

Posted by
27176 posts

Of course, it depends on your interests, and how many nights you'll be spending in each city, but here are a few suggestions:

Bayonne: Historic center, Musee Basque, Museum of Fine Arts. If you've had enough of traditional museums, I can recommend the Chocolate Museum. It was good (not artisanal) chocolate, and pre-pandemic the tasting set-up was very generous. It was something of a walk from the nearest bus stop, though.

I day tripped to both St-Jean-de-Luz and Biarritz and preferred the former.

List of Museums in Bayonne: https://simply-france.com/11-bayonnes-top-museums/

BIlbao: Casco Viejo (medieval old town), Guggenheim, Museum of Fine Arts, Basque Museum (this one I haven't seen)

There are lots of day trip options, beginning with Donostia/San Sebastian, Bermeo, Lekeitio and Gernika.

I'm not immediately finding a good source for a list of the museums in Bilbao.

Posted by
4051 posts

https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attractions-g187454-Activities-c49-Bilbao_Province_of_Vizcaya_Basque_Country.html

It's a list from a travel service and I can't vouch for all of them. I do think the Guggenheim is one of the great buildings on earth. The fine arts museum, far less famous, is a decent regional institution with lots of nice art.

One thing, not artistic, to add is the aerial tramway suspended over the river valley as it moves towards the sea. Old- fashioned and curious. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1217/

The local tipples is hard cider, poured from shoulder height. Nice stunt but not to my taste.