Basque adventures: episode 2

In the previous post I have introduced the Basque Country, this underrated faraway land in Spain, and have shared some of the basic information you need to know about its unique cultural characteristics. But now, let’s start with our three-day-long adventure. Our main destination was Bilbao, 400 km from Salamanca, surrounded by mountains, but we also had the time to visit Getxo and Vitoria, thus these are the places I will be writing about.

The accommodation

We stayed three nights at Casual Gurea, located right in the middle of the historical old part of the city, called Casco Viejo. The place is a hostal/pension, and was at the moment under construction. For this reason, I could not take nice photos of its entrance, but I am sure when the renovation is finished, the place will have a very inviting atmosphere and design – something I could tell from the interior. The Casual Gurea can be found on the third floor of the building and you get a code to enter in case the receptionists are not around.

For the three nights, we payed 126€ in total. I believe this can be considered a cheap price, for which we got a basic but very nice double bedroom with an individual bathroom and free WiFi. The walls were painted with blue and white colours with amazing drawings on them that I simply adored. My only problem was that due to the easy structure of the floor, anytime someone stepped in the other room, I could hear it as if it was happening next to my ears. So when the cleaning lady started to work at 9 o’clock in the morning, it was the end of my sleeping time.

Otherwise the staff was very nice and recommended us places to visit and restaurants to eat out. They also had a bunch of different catalogues containing information regarding the cultural events of Bilbao and nearby places to check out. Last but not least, although there was no parking for the pension, there was a public parking garage 10 minutes from the place, where you could get a discount for staying in Casual Gurea.

Bilbao – what to see?

One of the most advised places to see in Bilbao is the Casco Viejo, which is considered as the heart of the city and is the area where our accommodation was located. Casco Viejo – also referred to as the Seven Streets – is the leisure and commercial centre of Bilbao and home to numerous pintxo bars and restaurants. It is the perfect district to experience what the Basque gastronomy has to offer. Additionally, the corners of Casco Viejo are hiding various old churches and the Cathedral of Santiago, but also the Plaza Nueva (the New Square) can be found in this area.

It has become somewhat of a ritual for me to find those places in a city where I would love to wake up every day. Well, in Bilbao this title definitely goes to Casco Viejo for being the most pulsating point of the city and for its colourful streets and houses.

After discovering Casco Viejo with all its historical buildings and hidden spots, we headed to the river Nervión which can also be considered as a collecting point of the city’s most well-known touristic attractions. Walking along the river banks allowed us to enjoy a fascinating view of the city while stopping by the Guggenheim Museum, the Deusto University (where I could be studying from September), the new Library of Deusto, the tower of Iberdrola – which with its 165 meters is the highest building in Bilbao, - and the Zubiarte Commercial Centre.

To be honest, we didn’t even go much further than this area, on one hand because we were convinced that it was the peak of the city, and on the other because the whole stroll along the Nervión, from our accommodation to the university, to go and return took half a day for us. For sure it is possible to make it much shorter if you prefer, but we had such a beautiful sunny weather the whole time that we couldn’t have imagined a better way to spend our day. And also, if you want to visit properly and admire the aforementioned touristic destinations, you need to devote to them a little bit more of your time.

Guggenheim Museum

Although we didn’t enter the museum, only visited the gift shop – because I wanted to find books about Bilbao, - we were impressed by its modern architecture. I think Guggenheim can be rightly called as the symbol of Bilbao with the spider in the front, which is another representation of the modern art style the city is permeated by. And let me tell you something very interesting: there is a psychological thriller called Enemy with Jake Gyllenhaal that we watched a couple of weeks ago. In this movie, there is a huge spider levitating above the city representing totalitarian regimes. It is not my intention to go into details, what I just wanted to say with this is that we are 99% sure that the director, maybe even the writer was inspired by the sculpture in front of the museum. The movie was based on the book was written in 2002, while the spider in Bilbao was made in 1999 by Louise Bourgeois.

Deusto University

The university is the oldest private university in Spain and is owned by a religious group, which is well showed by the sculptures and paintings inside of the building. However, walking between its walls, I could really imagine myself attending the lectures there every single day. Not to talk about the building itself and its location, which is right opposite to the Guggenheim Museum.

Where to eat?

We have tried quite a lot of places while staying in Bilbao. The ones that I remember are:

• La olla

Recommended by the receptionist at Casual Gurea. Specialized in pintxos. It was a higher category restaurant located at the Plaza Nueva, but it was definitely worth to go there. Address: Nueva Plaza, 2, 48005, Bilbao, Bizkaia.

• Green Bistrot

Again, specialized in pintxos, this time focused on healthy eating but also offers many different types of desserts. They also have menus around 12-14€. Attractive design. Close to the Guggenheim Museum. Address: Calle Juan de Ajuriaguerra, 13, 48009, Bilbao.

• Hatari – urban kitchen and bar

We found by accident looking for a place to have dinner in Casco Viejo. Big variety of pintxos and hamburgers. The food was delicious, prices were normal. Inspired by the movie with the same name. Address: Jardines Kalea, 4, 48005, Bilbao.

• Bertiz Panadería

Located in Casco Viejo. An ideal place to have breakfast: delicious pastry, churros con chocolate, coffee. A tranquil and clean environment. Recommended for people who appreciate sweet things. Address: Zabalburu Plaza, 3, 48010, Bilbao.

This is most of what I needed to say about Bilbao. The only information missing is transportation, but as I have told you above, we were on foot the whole time and thus, don’t know anything about the options and prices except that there are two metro lines and a green tram. However, I can tell that Bilbao is a beautiful city full of life, I really liked its atmosphere and I wish I could go back in October.

Now, there is only one episode left from my Basque adventures, which will be about Getxo and Vitoria. Coming soon!

Photo gallery