Logbook · 7 places

What to see and do in Bilbao

What to see and do in Bilbao (Bilbo Handia / Gran Bilbao, Bizkaia): 7 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 3 Monuments · 3 Historical milestones

How far each place is from the centre of Bilbao

Towns near Bilbao

What to see in Etxebarri 3.9 km · 2 places
What to see in Sondika 4.1 km · 2 places
What to see in Alonsotegi 4.6 km · 2 places
What to see in Basauri 4.7 km · 3 places
What to see in Derio 5.1 km · 2 places
What to see in Erandio 5.6 km · 3 places
What to see in Loiu 5.8 km · 2 places
What to see in Barakaldo 6 km · 6 places

Spain › Basque Country › Bizkaia › Bilbo Handia / Gran Bilbao › Bilbao

What to see and do in Bilbao

Bilbao
Village
Villa founded on 15 June 1300 by Diego López V de Haro, Lord of Vizcaya, with a settlement charter confirmed on 4 January 1301. It was the seat of the Consulado de Bilbao, a foral institution for regulating trade created in 1511, and the capital of Vizcaya from the early 17th century. It has 351,124 inhabitants (INE, 2025), the most populous city in the Basque Country.
Iglesia de San Antón (Bilbao)
Monument
Gothic church next to the bridge of the same name, consecrated in 1443, whose silhouette has long appeared on the town's coat of arms.
Museo Guggenheim Bilbao
Monument
Museum designed by the architect Frank Gehry, opened in 1997 on the banks of the estuary, which has become a symbol of Bilbao's urban transformation following the decline of its heavy industry (the so-called "Bilbao effect").
Teatro Arriaga
Monument
Theater opened in 1890 next to the Puente del Arenal, destroyed by fire in 1914 and reopened after its reconstruction in 1919.
Sitios carlistas de Bilbao
Historical milestone
Bilbao withstood several sieges by Carlist troops during the 19th-century Carlist Wars: it was besieged in 1835-1836, during the First Carlist War, and again in 1874, in the so-called Third Siege, during the Third Carlist War.
Riada de Bilbao de 1983
Historical milestone
On 23 August 1983 a cold-drop storm dropped 252.6 l/m² on Bilbao and caused the estuary to overflow, with severe flooding in the town center and much of the metropolitan area.
Batalla de Bilbao de 1937
Historical milestone
On 19 June 1937, during the Civil War, Francoist troops occupied Bilbao after the fall of the so-called Cinturón de Hierro (Iron Ring) defensive line.