Bilbao – City Guide

Why Bilbao Is Worth the Trip

Located in the Basque Country, in the North of Spain, Bilbao was chosen by the National Geographic readers as the Best Gastronomic Destination in Spain for 2026. And this city is also very beautiful!. Just by walking in the historic center you’ll see gothic churches and eclectic buildings.

Oka Gastrobar

This is our favorite restaurant in Bilbao. We love the modern decor and their pintxos. If you don’t know what pintxos are: they’re small bites, sometimes on bread and pierced by a cocktail stick. We ordered the Pintxo de Foie con jamón – A rich, intense pintxo with foie gras over jamón, finished with Pedro Ximénez and nuts – sweet-salty, savory, and full of flavor.

What’s nice about getting pintxos is you can always go back to the bar and get more. Maybe some new ones. Like the Salmon pintxo with crab salad and black sesame seeds. Soft, smoky and creamy – very well balanced. And we had to try the Bilbaino – named after the city.

This restaurant also has a grocery store where you can buy gourmet products and fresh quality beef. It’s great!

Pintxos at the Market

A couple of minutes from the historic center, right across the estuary, there’s the Ribera Market. A surprising place where you can get pintxos from a lot of food stands and then enjoy them at a table. Or you can go sit on the terrace and enjoy the view.

With over 10.000 metres, this is one of the biggest covered markets in Spain. People come here to get their groceries and maybe get a pintxo. We loved the huge stained glass decor!

Excursion to Getxo & the Beach

Bilbao has a metro network, so we took advantage to go to the beach! We got off at the Algorta stop and walked to see Getxo. We heard locals talk about the croquetas de idiazabal from Itxas bide taberna, so we had to go and try them for ourselves. They only had croquetas de jamon, but they were the best we’ve had so far! They were extremely creamy inside.

It was great walking around Getxo – this old fishermen village – with old white washed houses, made with stone and wood. We loved the narrow streets and relaxed atmosphere. We highly recommend the experience!

Where we stayed in Bilbao

At this point we’re wiped so it’s time to go back into town and check in into our room. We found a place in the historic center – called Casual Arriaga – which had everything we needed for a couple of days: a comfortable bed, and a spacious shower. We especially liked the view of the Municipal Library. And being able to watch the people go by before winding down and looking at the photos we took of Bilbao.

STAY IN BILBAO

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Morning coffee

The next day, we went for coffee at a close by historic cafe called El Tilo. We liked their interior decor and how many good options for breakfast there were. The solo largo and the cafe con leche were good and the warm croissant with cheese was delicious. We also recommend this cafe for the nice service.

El Globo

Then we went to El Globo, a famous Pintxo bar with several awards. They have plenty of pintxos to choose from at the bar or order at the terrace. The service is very friendly and informal, just like we like it. We sat at the terrace and ordered the mix of pintxos. El gratinado de txangurro, the morcilla and patata trufada came first. The star is gratinado de txangurro, an award winning crab pintxo.

Next came the foie gras pintxo and the Bermeo Tuna. This combination was perfect after the first pintxos because they both felt rich and showcased a sweet and salty combination. The Bermeo tuna came with shallots, seaweed mayonnaise and homemade teriyaki sauce. Lightly seared, we loved the texture in the middle: it was so soft and delicate! We’d order it again anytime.

If you’ve never tried a foie gras pintxo, we highly recommend ordering it. It’s salty, rich and satisfying.

Café Iruña

Then we went to Cafe Iruna in the modern city center. This place has a beautiful location and a terrace. The interior is spectacular here: they have an Andalusian decor with many carefully chosen details. But that doesn’t mean the food is lacking: they actually have a wide variety of delicious pintxos – which we loved!

You can also have a sit down meal where the waiter will come with a menu and get your order. Or go to the front for the ceramic decor. We got a table, a glass of Getaria Txakoli and some pintxos. Like the ham and parmesan mousse pintxo, which was smooth and rich.

Evening Sightseeing

After so many pintxos, it’s definitely time to take a long walk! We headed to the historic center and took the time to admire the architecture, like the Arriaga Theatre. Then we went to the Guggenheim Museum, to enjoy the area at night. And, we found a nice terrace next to it: Café Ona.

Gure Toki

Time to get back to our room, but first, one last Pintxo stop! We went to Gure-Toki because it’s one of the most popular restaurants in the Plaza Nueva area. They are famous for creative pintxos and they won several awards over the years. Like this oyster: it looks beautiful! It could have been simple and still be delicious, but they added some red fish eggs so it really gets your attention. It tasted very good, fresh, mineral – we’d order this again!

Watch our trip

Download the Extended Bilbao Guide

Everything in this article is a starting point. The PDF goes further: more pintxo bars, hidden cultural spots, and a private map with everything marked so you can explore without guessing.

What’s inside:

• More restaurant and pintxo recommendations: Classic and modern pintxo bars, award-winning spots in Plaza Nueva, and top choices for fresh seafood and local specialties.
• More city and attraction recommendations: expanded routes beyond what is covered here
• Accommodation picks: curated stays in the historic center for every budget
• A private interactive map: every recommended spot clearly marked
• Full offline access: download once, use without internet

Buy the Bilbao City Guide