Bilbao in late June - questions

Why are you going to Bilbao if not just for the Guggenheim? It seemed more of a day trip from San Sebastian kind of town. I guess that is what Tripadvisor meant by "less touristy" which to me sounds like good and/or not so good. Yeah it use to be an industrial town and fell on hard times maybe industrialist found cheaper labor elsewhere. You can see what looks like a dormant factory building here and there. I would ignore Tripadvisor and refer to a guide book.

It does not get hot in that part of Spain and it is cool at night. I was in San Sebastian last July did not need air.
So you are planning to drive from Bilbao to Barcelona on the day of your flight?

It has been 4 years but I was there in late June, also. I was by myself and did a modified version of the RS tour. Travel is just so subjective! I based in San Sabastian after a week+ on the "French Side", and used a tour company for the Bilbao day trip. Several hours was plenty for the museum, inside and out (and I am a huge museum person!). It was rushed to go but I took a sort of trolley to the Old Town, where I believe all the restaurants are? Just quickly walked a couple blocks there and had to get back for the bus. Where are you prior? Will you have time in San Sabastian otherwise? I just loved it. I went into lots of tbe pinxtos bars there! And the beach is amazing. And I felt like the only American- there were crowds and tourists but not, as far as I could tell, from the US. I do remember it was warm, but can't remember about AC sorry!

I have zero interest in bar-hopping, especially when I cannot find a place to have lunch in a seated position because every spot in the historic district is packed to the gills. As pretty as San Sebastian is, I much preferred Bilbao.

The medieval district (Casco Viejo) in Bilbao is larger than San Sebastian's and much less crowded/touristy. The walk there along/near the waterfront is pleasant, but your time is short, so you would probably do better to take a tram. In addition to the Guggenheim, Bilbao has a second art museum, the Museo de Bellas Artes, which I think is respected. Unfortunately, the company that staffs the museum was on strike at the time I was in Bilbao, so I didn't get to see it. I believe it is Harold who has written positively about the Museum of Reproductions. There are other museums as well.

Bilbao was described in the past as gritty and industrial, but I don't think any current guidebooks take that position. The Guggenheim has wrought quite a change. It's a very attractive place; I suspect they spent a lot of money around the time the Guggenheim opened, sandblasting the buildings. The architecture in the center of town is quite handsome. There is no in-town beach, whereas San Sebastian has a huge and magnificent one, so S.S. would certain be preferred by beach lovers.

You would have to be a bit unlucky to need air conditioning in Bilbao on June 30, but I can't guarantee that it will not happen. Last June there was a 3-day period when the temperature didn't drop below 80F at night. I've linked to the monthly historical data for June 2017 on Wunderground.com. You can use the pull-down boxes near the top to change the year to 2016, 2015, etc.

Thank you for your quick feedback. This is why I love this community.

To put it in context, the itinerary looks like this. At the end of my conference in Valencia, I will fly to Barcelona, and my husband will join me there. After 3 days in Barcelona, we fly to San Sebastian. Explore San Sebastian, pick up the car, and drive westward along the coast, staying in Getaria, a fishing town for a couple of days while we explore the area, including Guernika, Pasai Donibane, and time permitting, the nearby biosphere reserve. Then we drive to La Rioja the wine region, visit a few bodegas and stay the night in LaGuardia. After this, we head to Bilbao, which is our last destination in this area. As mentioned earlier, we have a night in Bilbao, with two half-days on either side. We will drop off the car in Bilbao and fly to Barcelona. We have two more nights with one day in between in Barcelona before we fly back home.

Acraven, thanks for the input on Casca Viejo, the old quarter of town. Seems like it would be a nice place to explore on the first day. Thinking of spending the night there. The Guggenheim is in the new part of town, and I believe there is a 103 year old funicular very near the museum which offers great views of the city. We can check out both on Day 2.

Thank you again for your comments. Gets me more excited about this trip!

I wouldn't fly from Valencia to Barcelona. The train takes as little as 3-1/4 hours.

Laguardia has a festival in late June. It was on June 24 in 2016. They blocked off a bunch of streets and turned some baby bulls loose. It was fun, but it made moving around the town very difficult. It also meant the tourist office was closed.

My colleague, who will also be traveling to Barcelona with me, was also wondering if we should be taking the train. Acraven, thank you for your suggestion. I will definitely do that.

The Basque country wasn't my favorite place, but Bilbao was a definite exception - I liked it a lot. Rather than retype, I refer you to my trip report. You can skip down to my Bilbao hotel, then skip down again to the Bilbao visit sections: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/basque-country-trip-report-bayonne-san-sebastian-vitoria-gasteiz-and-bilbao-may-2017

Yes, calling Bilbao "industrial" is about as accurate as calling Pittsburgh "industrial." Both certainly were at one time - and that time has long passed.

Bilbao surprised us in Oct15. We only stayed the night (great deal on Hotel Melia) before an early flight to Malaga & did not go into the Guggenheim itself though spent time admiring the outside architecture. The old town & Plaza Nueva are nice to stroll around. Take the funicular de Artxanda for great views of the city & countryside. Check out Cafe Iruna on Colon de Larreategui with Moorish style decor, tapas & yumm grilled kabobs in one corner.

San Sebastian is a place I long to go back to. So many innovative tapas in the old town, Zeruko being our favourite but there's lots to try out like Borda Berri, Tamboril, etc. Beef cheeks were sublime & pigs ears were actually quite tasty! Tapas bars can be intimidating so I offer a tip: order a drink. That puts you on the staff's radar & gives you time to take in the tapas selection. Remember to check out the board's offering, usually in Spanish only, but that's where you'll find chili garlic shrimp & other dishes. Don't miss the funicular for fantastic views of the town & its bay. Enjoy!

Harold, thank you for pointing me to your detailed trip report with a candid explanation of what worked, and what did not work for you. It was really helpful to me as I wondered whether I was budgeting too little time for some of the smaller towns. Of course, as you say, as a solo traveler it is hard to get too excited about cute scenery for too long, but since time is precious for most of us, your comments have lessons for others like me as well. So thank you. Great to hear that Bilbao appealed to you.

Marika, thanks a lot for the tips on both Bilbao and San Sebastian. We are looking forward to both towns. We hear so much about Basque food, these famous restaurants in that region, etc, and at the same time, we read that these restaurants are overpriced and you are not treated well. So I am getting a bit nervous, and I don't know if I should go with high expectations and end up being disappointed. So the tapas places in San Sebastian that you mentioned were nice, I take it?

Anu, that certainly wasn’t our experience. We found Spaniards to be friendly & helpful. The old town has a string of tapas bars, just pop into any that look interesting. It is amazing how staff keeps track of everyone’s bill. San Sebastian is also known for several Michelin starred restaurants but we did not try any out.