The basque country in Spain is located in the northern part of the country. Which consists of three cities, San Sebastian, Vitoria Gaztiez and Bilbao, as its largest city.
And as someone who stayed in Bilbao for more than a month, I must say that I already know how to get around the city. And here are the tourist attractions I recommend for you to visit while you are in bilbao.
1. San Juan de Gaztelugatxe
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe is a very nice island located outside the city of bilbao. Atop a hill is a church dedicated to the Saint John the baptist. This island is popular to tourists especially during summer. A very spectacular view that you should not miss. If you want to know more about San Juan de Gaztelugatxe and how to get there, just feel free to read my blog about it entitled San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, Bakio Bilbao.
2. Guggeheim Museum
Guggenheim Museum is a museum of modern and contemporary art, designed by Frank Gehry. Located at one side of the riverbank of nervion river. You can admire its famous architectural design outside, and artworks display inside. For more details about Guggenheim museum visit http://www.guggenheim-bilbao.es/
3. Ria de bilbao or Nervion River
The river is 72 kilometres (45 mi) long from its source at the Burgos and Alava provincial limits to the sea and runs in South to North direction. You can walk, jog or bicycle along both sides of the river. And if you don’t feel like doing anything, or your feet are tired of walking, you can simply sit on one of its benches and take a few hours to relax.
4. Casco viejo
Casco viejo or old town in english is composed of seven streets that formed the original medieval town. Walking through its alleyways, you can feel and see what the place looks like back in time. In here, you can find plaza nueva for some pintxos or coffee. You can also visit the cathedral of Santiago at the center of this town, or walk the steps up to Parque Etxebarria for a panoramic view of the city, or to the Cathedral of Begonia.
5. Biscaya Bridge
Biscaya bridge or commonly known as Puente Colgante is a UNESCO world heritage site located in Portugalete. It was built to connect the two banks which are situated at the mouth of the Nervion River. It is the world’s oldest transporter bridge and was built in 1893, designed by Alberto Palacio, one of Gustave Eiffel’s disciples. To get here, you need to take a train at Abando station going to Kabiezes and get off at Portugalete station. The bridge is more or less 5 minutes walk from the station.
6. Las Arenas Mansions
Located just a few steps from the Biscaya Bridge are las Arenas mansions. A number of mansions stretched out beside the shoreline of bilbao, creating a free exhibit of mansions for tourists that are visiting the area.
7. Cathedrals
What better way to know the history of a place or how old a town is, is by visiting their cathedrals. Ofcourse there are a lot of cathedrals in Bilbao, but San Nicholas is the one that is very accessible (atleast for me), it dates back to 15th century and is located within eyesight beside the riverbank. The other cathedrals I visited was Cathedral de Santiago and Cathedral de Begonia.
8. Beaches
Who doesn’t like the beach? Well I’m not, I love the beach. There are five beaches in Bilbao, but my favorite or accessible for me is the beach in Getxo. The left side of the beach is a port where cruise ships, cargo and passenger ships dock. While on the right side you can see the old village of the fishermen in Algorta coated with white paint.
9. Panoramic view of Bilbao
If you find yourself tired of walking and wanting to get some fresh air, just walk up to Parque Etxebarria. There you can have a moment of peace and silence away from the hussle and bustle while having a nice panoramic view of the city before your eyes. It is a far yet so near place, because you seem to be far without leaving the city, or for the least casco viejo.
10. Food
Have you ever heard of chorizo de Bilbao or Morcilla? Well, you are at the right place to try those foods. Their pintxos is a must try, they are so mouthwatering you will have dreams of wanting to eat it again. Yuuuumm!!
For more helpful and complete information about bilbao visit https://tourism.euskadi.eus/en/?utm_expid=70376690-18.mqmcyIkCSHenxh_NWIxapQ.0&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.es%2F
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