Wow. It’s been a long time since I’ve written anything. The truth is, I haven’t had a lot of time to travel and do things. Between working in a concertada, having Masters classes on Friday evenings, and working for an internet company on the weekends, I’ve been grounded to Madrid. But I had to do something. We had a long weekend, or puente, so I chose to go to Bilbao.
Rule #1: Don’t forget your umbrella when going to Bilbao.
I was prepared. I went to buy an umbrella a few days before seeing that rain was in the forecast. See, Bilbao is located in the northern part of Spain near the Bay of Biscay, so there’s a pretty great chance you’re going to see some rain. I left in the early morning of December 7th with my umbrella in tow. I made it to the train, only to realize an hour into the journey that I had left my umbrella back at the train station when we had to go through security. At least I got bags, right?
Luckily for me, the store I bought my umbrella at was located just around the corner from my hostel, so I went to buy the exact same umbrella because I liked it. I definitely needed an umbrella for the days I was there. My friends didn’t have one and ended up soaked. I even got pretty wet and my shoes were placed under the heater to dry off.
Walking Around
The best way to experience Bilbao is by walking. It’s a very beautiful city that is split in two by the Ría de Bilbao, a river. On one side is the Casco Viejo, or the old town, and on the other side is a beautiful and vibrate modern city.
Casco Viejo, or the Seven Streets, will give you that Basque feel. It’s filled with tons of bars to get as many pintxos as your little heart desires. Of course it’s pretty common to do, by the Plaza Nueva is filled with tons of places to get a wide array of pintxos. I stumbled upon it on my first day. I walked into the restaurant super confused as to how the process worked. The guy working asked if he could choose to most ricos, or most delicious. I said sure, as long as it isn’t seafood!
Casco Viejo is also filled with tons of other shops, both modern and more traditional. There are tons of tourist shops for you to stop in and waste your money on things not even made in Bilbao. The streets are cobblestones, so have fun pulling your suitcase through there! It’s a very nice place to just walk around (unless it’s raining of course!).
On the other side of the river is the modern part of the city. There you will find all the normal stores you find across Spain: Zara, H&M, Mango, etc. This is also where the museums are, like the Museo de las Bellas Artes and the Guggenheim. I also found this amazing looking government building in the Plaza Moyua. Doesn’t it look German?!
We did a lot of walking around, especially on the 8th because it’s a holiday here in Spain (the Immaculate Conception). EVERYTHING was closed. It was difficult to even find food. It is a great way to see the city, although if I’m honest, by the end of my time there, I was resorting to the metro.
The Museum Scene
On December 8th when everything was closed and it was raining cats and dogs, we managed to make it out to the Guggenheim. The Guggs. Tickets to go inside the Guggenheim are pretty expensive (€25), but luckily, the display some of their best art outside the building!
There is the famous long-legged spindly spider, or Maman. There are lots of interesting modern art statues. And of course, there is Puppy. I had been dying to see Puppy since I saw it in my GART class in college. It’s so cute!
On my final day in Bilbao, I checked out the Museo de Bellas Artes. Apparently is has the largest collection of Spanish art outside of Madrid. I went there as an escape from the rain and the wind that was annihilating the city. There wasn’t anything too spectacular in there, unless you like art. They did have an interesting exhibit with an artist I had never heard of called Arcimboldo. He painted portraits using flowers and nature. Quite cool.
A View From Above
I was going to do it my first day in Bilbao since it was a somewhat nice day, but then I ran into friends and so it was put off until my final day (since the other days were full of rain). It’s called the Mirador de Artxanda and it gives you a look over the entire city.
First, you have to take a train up to the top. The station is located on the old side of the river and it costs about 90 cents each way. The train is pretty cool. The track is at such a severe angle that the cars looked like they are diagonal. The whole ride lasts maybe 3-5 minutes.
At the top, you get an amazing look over the whole city. Unfortunately for me, although it was not raining, the wind was whipping about. It was even worse at the high altitude, about 300 m over the city. I didn’t get to take any amazing panoramic views over the city because I was afraid my phone was going to fall out of my hands. I’m sure it’s very lovely to visit on a nice, calm, sunny day.
And more?
I did make a day trip out to a now-famous location, but I think that it deserves its own post. It will come shortly so I can get all my writing out of the way before my winter break trip!
Enjoy Bilbao
Bilbao is a very interesting city to visit. You’ll never go hungry. Try the craft beer places popping up all over town. Take a sip of txocoli (Basque wine). Walk across the Zubizuri Bridge (designed by world renown architect Santiago Calatrava). Have a crack at the daunting language that is Basque. Go and enjoy Bilbao.
Recommended time in Bilbao: 2 days
