Experience in Bilbao, Spain by Asier

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What is it like to live in Bilbao? Would you recommend it? What is the city like?

Living in Bilbao is great. You can do so many activities and you have everything you need, as in a big city, but small enough to apart from it some kilometres and be in pure nature.

Bilbao is surrounded by mountains, and the possibilities they offer are unlimited. You can do so many sports, mountain activities, etc. You can also go by subway or bus to the coast and, even if the weather is not the best, go to the beach and do some water sports or at least to have a walk, and see the nice views of the cantabric sea.

Bilbao has also a lot of museums, two of them quite important and globally well known, the Guggenheim Museum and the Fine Arts Museum.

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But, if you don't like art, and you're more into shopping and having fun, I'll tell you that there is a huge shopping centre just in the middle of the city and you have also the shops of Gran Vía. And if this isn't enough, you can go to the biggest mall of the north of Spain, which is located in a town near bilbao (10-15 minutes by subway or 20-25 minutes by bus).

You can also find bars, restaurants and pubs all over the city. With different ranges of prices. In general, I think that the food here is amazing. And party is essential, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays people go out. We love party! And there are different zones of the city to go out at night.

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How much does it cost to live in Bilbao?

Although is not the cheapest, you can live without spending too much. Food at supermarkets is quite cheap. You can find a shared flat for 200-300€ the month. And party... well, if you live here you'll find that party can be also cheap if you know where to go and what to do.

Is it difficult to find accommodation in Bilbao? Is there any advice you can give?

I don't think so, as many students come here to live in the academic year from other parts of the province or near provinces. So, the more students come to live, the more accomodation offers you will find.

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What is the food like? What are your favourite dishes?

As I have previously said. The food here is amazing. I think that the food at the north of Spain in general is a Mediterranean style of food mixed with the tradition of this region. Like the food your grandma or grandpa does with so many love and dedication, and which tastes like heaven.

I think that you have a wide range of dishes to choose. Fish, meat, vegetables, etc. And everything quite fresh, even the food of supermarkets. In fact, I think that Spain is one of the cheapest countries of Europe to buy fresh vegetables and fruits. You have also so many Italian, Japanese, Thai, Mexican and all over the world's food restaurants.

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What places would you recommend visiting in Bilbao?

I recommend you to visit the centre of the city, the old town, the downtown and some landmarks of near towns like the hanging bridge of Portugalete (20 minutes in subway) or the abandoned mines of "la arboleda". You can visit everything in a couple of days, as it's everything very close. You should also visit al the coast of Biscay and if you can the coast of our neighbour province Guipuzcoa. There are so many beautiful coast villages that deserve to be visited.

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Then you can pass to another level and visit near cities like:

• Santander (1h 30min. bus or car)
• Vitoria (1h bus or car)
• San Sebastián (1h 30min. bus or car; 3h train (don't recommend that)
• Pamplona (2h bus or car)
• Zaragoza (3h 30min. bus or car)
• Madrid (4h 30min. bus or car)

Or every city you want because practically all of them are relatively close, (maximum 12h by car or bus).

But sometimes train is faster and plane is super fast. You can be in Madrid or Barcelona practically in 1h.

Everything depends on the places you want to see and how much you like travelling and knowing new places.

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Is the nightlife good in Bilbao? Where is good to go?

It is amazing, if you like good music and discos, you can go to "Fever", "Sonora", "Backstage", etc. They are huge and lot of people go every weekend.

You can go to cheaper places like Barakaldo, a pubs and discos zone, near Bilbao.

But if you prefer to go from pub to pub, you can find some places of Bilbao like "Mazarredo" or "Iturribide" wich are zones with so many pubs and almost all of them have free entrance.

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