What to see in Bilbao in 3 days. A complete walk through the capital of Vizcaya
Bilbao is one of the most beautiful cities in northern Spain, full of life and art, with very special streets, an enviable gastronomy and many places of interest. This city is much more than the Guggenheim Museum and that is why we are going to tell you what to see in Bilbao in three days.
Being able to visit Bilbao in 3 days will allow you to enjoy this city with peace of mind, as you will be able to get to know almost every corner in detail and admire a modern and cosmopolitan city.
Here we describe a 3-day tour of Bilbao so you don’t miss a thing.
What to see in Bilbao in 3 days
First day in Bilbao
We are going to dedicate the first of the three days we have to visit Bilbao to the places that we recommend in our article on what to see in Bilbao in one day, but in a more relaxed and calm way since we have two more days in the city. to meet her.
We start the tour and we recommend doing it at the gates of the Old Town of Bilbao, next to the Arriaga Theatre, admiring its beautiful façade before entering the narrow streets of the oldest part of the city, the best thing to see in Bilbao in three days.
The Old Town of Bilbao is the area with the most atmosphere in the city, its heart, and the one that will surprise you the most with its streets, its squares and its monuments. In this area we have as main point of interest the Cathedral of Bilbao. But neither should you miss the Plaza Nueva or any of the Siete Calles, as the narrow streets that make up the neighborhood are known.
Once you have visited the heart of the city, it is time to go to the estuary and take a walk along the Ribera del Nervión, to get to know a more modern but charming area thanks to the renovated Ribera Market, the historic Abando Station or the interesting Church of Saint Nicholas of Bari.
A little further on we come to the Arenal Bridge, next to which is the Bilbao City Hall. Here we leave this beautiful area of the estuary, one of the best things to see in Bilbao in three days, to head towards the Ensanche, whose most important street is Gran Vía, full of shops and where we can admire the beautiful Palacio Foral.
Our tour of the first day in Bilbao continues towards Plaza Moyúa, with its spectacular fountain and the Chávarri Palace, its main building.
Nearby is the Azkuna Centroa, known as the Alhondiga, a multifunctional space where exhibitions and conferences are held and which has become an artistic benchmark in Bilbao. The day can end again in the Casco Viejo tasting some of the pintxos that this wonderful area of the city offers you.
What to see on the second day in Bilbao
Yes, we haven’t talked about the Guggenheim Museum yet. But we have left the visit to the best-known place in Bilbao for this second of our 3 days in Bilbao.
But we’re not going there yet. First we go to the Plaza del Funicular, from where the funicular departs that takes us to the Mirador de Artxanda, a place from which we will have the best views of Bilbao. From the heights, cities change completely and that is why we like to climb to high places.
After enjoying the views offered by the viewpoint, we go down in the funicular to the Zubizuri Bridge, designed by Calatrava, and walk along the banks of the Ría de Nervión to the place you are longing for, the Guggenheim Museum.
The incredible steel and titanium structure designed by Frank Gehry will not leave you indifferent. But do not stay only in the spectacular building that houses the museum but also in its interior and its exhibitions. The building perfectly complements the estuary and its surroundings, watched over by Mama and Puppy, the spider and the dog next to the museum.
After the visit to the Guggeheim Museum, we should start walking along the Paseo Abandoibarra, the result of the de-industrialisation of the city and which takes you past beautiful and large buildings such as the University of Deusto Library, the Euskalduna Palace or the Iberdrola Tower.
The Pedro Arrupe Bridge is the next destination. It is a pedestrian walkway that takes you to a historic place in Bilbao, the University of Deusto, one of the best things to see in Bilbao in three days. Strolling among its buildings and gardens is an obligatory experience.
The Maritime Museum is our next destination, which we will reach by walking along the Ribera de Botica Verde after crossing the Eukalduna Bridge, one of the most modern and beautiful bridges to visit in Bilbao. There is the Carola Crane, symbol of the old shipyards of the city.
The tour of this second day in Bilbao ends at the San Mamés Stadium, the cathedral of football, a must if you like football. You can end the day in the Casco Viejo enjoying its pintxos, which you can reach by going through the Ensanche again.
What to visit on the third day in Bilbao
On the last of our three days to get to know Bilbao, we are going to go to the sea to discover one of the main points of interest on our tour, which is also a World Heritage Site.
We are talking about the Vizcaya Bridge, which connects Getxo with Portugalete. We can get to it thanks to the Metro or the Cercanías if you don’t have your own car. It must be said that the Bilbao Metro is also a great work of art worth visiting.
The Vizcaya Bridge is an impressive architectural marvel made up of four towers and a walkway anchored to the ground by several steel cables. It was designed by Alberto Palacios to communicate both banks of the Ría and from its walkway you can have great views from above.
After visiting the bridge and walking through Portugalete, we can go to Playa de las Arenas, the small sandbank that has survived from the large beach where the historic spa was located and which disappeared after the refurbishment works of the port. Nearby is the Churruca Pier and the great mansions of Las Arenas
If we continue walking we reach Algorta and Ereaga Beach. The Old Port of Algorta is one of the best places to visit in this area with its fishing atmosphere and numerous bars and restaurants where you can enjoy Bilbao cuisine. In front of this place is Santurtzi.
After visiting this maritime area we can return to Bilbao. We will take the Metro and go to the Basilica of Begoña, a beautiful Gothic sanctuary dedicated to the patron saint of the Señorío de Vizcaya, several times destroyed and rebuilt by the wars that hit the city.
We can end the last of our 3 days to visit Bilbao in the nearby Etxebarría Park, where we can relax and unwind. There is a chimney from the factory that existed before the park, the last vestige of what was once one of the main industrial areas of Bilbao.
You can find more information on the official Bilbao tourism page.
