BILBAO


ESSENTIALS i 200 yards v


Doña Casilda Park


Guggenheim Museum Zubizuri footbridge


URIBARRI Museo de Bellas Artes ABANDO Plaza de Moyúa


B ILB A O Azkuna Zentroa


Bilbao SPAIN


BILBAO MADRID LA VIEJA


Mercado de la Ribera


Etxebarria Park


Plaza Nueva CASCO VIEJO


Las Siete Calles


Getting there and around


Gure Toki pintxo bar, where specialities include cheese soup


Bilbao is typically served by non-stop flights from London and Manchester, with airlines such as British Airways, EasyJet, Ryanair and Vueling. Aer Lingus flies direct from Dublin. ba.com easyjet.com ryanair.com vueling.com aerlingus.com Average flight time: 2h. Brittany Ferries sails between Bilbao and Portsmouth and Rosslare, with up to three sailings a week in each direction. There are also sailings between nearby Santander and Portsmouth (three times a week, both directions) and Plymouth (once a week, both directions). brittany-ferries.co.uk Average sailing time: 24h. Bilbao is easy to cover on foot, but its metro and tram system is efficient. Fares start from €1.60 (£1.40) and €1.50 (£1.30) respectively. The airport is easily reached by public transport.


When to go


PROMENADE BILBAO BEST FOR: DEVOURING GILDAS Calle Ledesma runs parallel to the main shopping drag, Gran Vía, and is lined with bars and terraces. It lends itself superbly to a spot of bar-hopping, although tiny Vermutería Promenade, with its slim yellow frontage, can be easy to miss. Seek it out, largely because it does one of the best gildas in Bilbao. Made with anchovies, olives and green chillis, this pintxo is said to be named aſter the 1946 Rita Hayworth film Gilda. promenadebilbao.com


CAFÉ DEL ARENAL BEST FOR: CHURROS On the fringes of the Old Town, this cafe isn’t much to look at — expect slot machines, tired neon, and a TV showing pop music — but serves up an irresistible treat in the form of its hot chocolate and churros. The chocolate is ludicrously thick and rich; the churros are crunchy tendrils of warm, sugared dough fresh from the kitchen. Bag a seat outside, in the shadow of the Iglesia de San Nicolás de Bari, and get dunking. facebook.com/cafeteriaarenal


130 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel


CAFÉ IRUÑA BEST FOR: ELABORATE DECOR Overlooking the Jardines de Albia since it opened its doors in 1903, this stunning cafe still feels like some half-dreamt Moorish fantasy, with glazed tiles, painted murals, wood carvings and a tasselled valance above the bar. It’s a relatively large venue, split into multiple areas, but the main event, food- wise, is the grill in the far corner, where lamb kebabs are spiced and cooked to order. As late-night snacks go, it takes some beating. cafeirunabilbao.net


LA VIÑA DEL ENSANCHE BEST FOR: OLD-WORLD AMBIANCE Across the street from El Globo, La Viña del Ensanche has been in business since 1927. It retains a pleasantly bygone feel, with tulip-shaped lampshades, dozens of ageing postcards on the walls and huge legs of ham hanging above the bar. This acorn-fed jamón, cut wafer-thin, is what the bar is famous for, but there’s a broad range of other pintxos to try. In 1996, the bar opened a produce shop to sell the in-demand ingredients and wines on its menu. avinadelensanche.com/en


Late spring and autumn are the best times to visit, avoiding the intense heat and high prices of the peak summer months and the wetter days of winter and early spring.


Places mentioned


Los Fueros. losfueros.com Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. guggenheim-bilbao.eus Café Bar Bilbao. bilbao-cafebar.com Bohemian Lane. bohemianlanebilbao.com


More info


Bilbao Tourism bilbaoturismo.net How to do it


BRITTANY FERRIES has ferry-and- hotel packages, at Bilbao’s four-star Hotel Abando, from £389 per person, including a four-berth cabin with return sailings. brittany-ferries.co.uk LOVEHOLIDAYS has four nights at the four-star NYX Hotel Bilbao in December on a room-only basis, from £233 per person, including flights and flight amendments. loveholidays.com


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ILLUSTRATION: JOHN PLUMER


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