Will be visiting briefly on May 16 for a full day prior to joining a 12 tour of the Basque country on May 17.
Your suggestions on 1 or 2 “ must see” city attractions , other than the Guggenheim , and/or neighborhoods, are solicited.
If you like reasonably priced inn or hotel & local restaurant ( not Michelin ), we’d appreciate hearing about it.
We don’t mind walking, & will not have a vehicle.
Thank you so much!
richardg, you might check with the hotel the tour will be using; our Basque tour stayed at the Petit Palace Arana, and we loved the price, staff and location. We stayed on for several days after the tour, and would gladly stay there again.
I don't know about "must see," but for us the things we enjoyed most, and would recommend, are the Archeological Museum, and the nearby Holy Week Museum, Museo Pasos de Semana Santa. Wonderful dioramas and awesome life sized statues that are carried on floats in the Holy Week Processions.
We also enjoyed the Museo de Belles Artes, It had been suggested by some that this one was not worth seeing, because it's currently under renovation, but the exhibits were wonderfully imagined and displayed.
I posted a tour report https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tours/tour-report-basque-country-of-spain-and-france-september-22-30-2023
I tried to copy and paste just the section of the report that dealt with our post-tour activities, but it exceeds the character limit for individual posts. Skip down to "Day 9" in the tour report to what we did on our own.
This is a really good tour; have a wonderful time.
Thank you, your post is very helpful & much appreciated.
As a Bilbao local...just back from the very lively old quarter, with people playing music and dancing just because it´s Saturday, and all the great pintxos and wine atmosphere. Do not miss Azkuna Zentroa, the amazing transformation of an old oil and food warehouse into a cultural center. And of course, the 109 year old funicular train to Artxanda hill for the very best views of the city. You can walk anywhere, so any hotel will be well located.
We were on the RS Basque tour and we stayed at the Hotel Conde Duque. It’s located across the river from the Guggenheim and is an easy walk to all the sights. I also recommend what Mikel said, the funicular and the Azkuna Centroa. I wish we had more time to spend at the Azkuna Centroa but it was part of our walking tour and we didn’t have time to go back. Whatever you do, don’t bother with the boat sightseeing tour. Once past the Guggenheim all you will see is a series of blighted areas which is apparently how most of Bilbao was before the Guggenheim was built. That was an hour wasted.
Unless the boat tour takes you to the unique Hanging Bridge or Puente Bizkaia, the boat tour may not be a good idea. Those areas are not Bilbao (Bilbao is a very compact city and covers a limited area, that can be seen from top of the funicular balcony), but Erandio, Sestao, Leioa, Portugalete...other towns that used to be industrial and with a rich mining history.
Mikel, it did not take us to the Hanging Bridge. It was a definite waste of time. The funicular was absolutely worth it for the views. We we t on a private tour and our guide took us to the Hanging Bridge.. I was wondering if it was worth a stop when I heard about it but I’m sure glad we went. We even got a ride on the bridge and our guide drove around to the other side to pick us up.
