Basque Country · Spain
Where to stay in Bilbao
Bilbao is a city in Basque Country, Spain, home to about 351,000 people. This guide covers 3 hotels and 3 aparthotels in Bilbao, with about 186 rooms between them. 1 of them carries a published guest score, and the list below is ordered by it.
- Places to stay in this guide
- 6
- Best months
- June to September
- Nearest airport
- BIO5 km · Bilbao Airport
- Currency
- EUReuro
- Time zone
- Europe/Madrid
- Language
- Basque, Catalan, Galician
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About Bilbao
Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the province of Biscay and in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 347,342 as of 2024, it is the 11th most populous city in Spain, and the most populous in northern Spain.
Milder and rainier than most other parts of Spain (temperatures here rarely fall below freezing in winter nor rise much above 25°C even in the height of summer), the greenery of this city on the banks of the Nervión is both a blessing and a curse: the climate here is as much a welcome relief from the heat of the dry plains in the south as a thorn in the side of those hoping for a day at the beach.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Bilbao
See
- Guggenheim Museum
- Puppy
- Museo de Bellas Artes
- Basque Museum
- Itsasmuseum
- Museo Taurino (Bullfighting Museum)
- Museo Diocesano de Arte Sacro (Museum of Sacred Art)
- Museo de Reproducciones Artísticas (Museum of Artistic Reproductions)
- Cathedral of St. James (Santiago)
- Iglesia de San Antón
- Basílica de Begoña
- Iglesia de San Nicolás
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
The best-rated places to stay in Bilbao
Ordered by guest score as each operator publishes it, weighted by the number of reviews so a handful of perfect scores does not outrank thousands of very good ones. Scores are shown on their own scale.
| # | Place to stay | Rooms | Guest score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NYX Hotel Bilbao hotel | 108 | 89/100 7,431 reviews |
5 more places to stay, without a published guest score
| Place to stay | Rooms |
|---|---|
| Barceló Bilbao Nervión hotel | |
| Bilbao Deusto aparthotel | 28 |
| Bilbao San Mamés aparthotel | 22 |
| Bilbao Tristán De Leguizamón Kalea aparthotel | 28 |
| Occidental Bilbao hotel |
Schematic: the city centre in orange, each place to stay as a dot, distance rings in kilometres.
When to go
The best time to visit Bilbao
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Bilbao are June to September. August is the warmest month, with average highs of 25 °C; November is the wettest, with about 144 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Bilbao: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Bilbao Airport (BIO), about 4.7 km from the city centre in a straight line; Vitoria Airport (VIT, 46 km) and Seve Ballesteros-Santander Airport (SDR, 74 km) are also within reach.
Getting in
All buses to other provinces leave from the TermiBus terminal aka Bilbao Intermodal. There are regular connections from Santander (75 minutes), San Sebastian (60 minutes), Vitoria-Gasteiz (60 minutes) and Madrid (arriving at Avenida de América bus station, 4–5 hours) among others. There are many ticket machines in a line behind the escalators so you may be able to avoid the long queue (line) at the ticket window. You need a ticket or Barik card to get to the -2 departure floor. The bus companies connect Bilbao with many cities in Spain more cheaply and frequently than the rail companies.
Getting around
Bilbao is difficult to drive in. Hilly one-way streets, and frequent construction projects, make it a nightmare for drivers in parts of the city. Having an automobile map helps a lot; without it allow at least 30 min extra to find the right exit from the city. What's more, Bilbao now has a low emissions zone, so certain vehicles may not even be allowed in. Check the website to see the borders and which cars are allowed (with time, it gets more restrictive). There is good citywide public transport through the bus network (Bilbobus) and the single-line tram.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
BIO · Bilbao Airport
VIT · Vitoria Airport
SDR · Seve Ballesteros-Santander Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Bilbao
Eat
The local custom is to call what are known in Spanish as tapas by the Basque name, pintxos, probably much more elaborated than their Spanish cousins due to the Basque love of gastronomy. Friday and Saturday nights are most popular time for eating pintxos - as it is for going to bars.
Drink
Tap water is safe to drink, also from the outdoor taps if not clearly marked with signs saying No Potable (not potable). On weekend nights a lot of people gather in the bar area in eastern Casco Viejo, get their drinks from any of the bars and hang around on the streets before heading to nightclubs.
Stay safe
With a rate of only 33.4 crimes per 1000 inhabitants, the Basque Country has one of the lowest crime rates in Europe. Crime rates can, however, vary significantly between rural and urban areas, though urban areas are still not particularly dangerous. Avoid the San Francisco area, however. Violent crime is extremely rare, but the usual precautions will keep you out of trouble. While some may advise you not to wear any Spanish symbols, the reality is that the vast majority of Bilbainos will not even notice, much as it is true that a small minority might be upset about them. As a statistical precaution it is also best to avoid referring to the Basque Country as Spain.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Good to know
Accessibility, parking and families in Bilbao
How many places to stay in this guide offer each, in their operators' own words.
Questions
Bilbao: questions travellers ask
What are the best-rated hotels in Bilbao?
By published guest score: NYX Hotel Bilbao (89 / 100 · 7,431 reviews · www.leonardo-hotels.com (operator's own guest score)).
When is the best time to visit Bilbao?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Bilbao are June to September. August is the warmest month, with average highs of 25 °C; November is the wettest, with about 144 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Bilbao?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Bilbao Airport (BIO), about 4.7 km from the city centre in a straight line; Vitoria Airport (VIT, 46 km) and Seve Ballesteros-Santander Airport (SDR, 74 km) are also within reach.
Are there accessible hotels in Bilbao?
1 place in this guide list accessible rooms.
What currency is used in Bilbao?
euro (EUR).
Nearby
Destinations near Bilbao
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.