← Maratón de Logroño·2 nights

Bilbao: The River, the Guggenheim and the Casco Viejo

Two nights in Bilbao after the Logroño race, with a flat riverside walk to the Guggenheim, pintxo bars in the old town and the airport 20 minutes away.

Duration2 nights
TransitCoach, about 2 hours from Logroño bus station
DepartsLogroño bus station

After the Maratón de Logroño: Bilbao

The Route: Logroño → Bilbao → Bilbao Airport Logistics: Coach from Logroño to Bilbao's Termibus station, city on foot and by metro, airport bus home. Marathon Month: October Duration: 2 nights

Logroño bus station ──(about 2 hrs coach)──> Bilbao Termibus ──(about 20 mins airport bus)──> Bilbao Airport (BIO)

The Maratón de Logroño is two laps of a compact city of about 150,000 people. Bilbao, two hours north, is the opposite: a port city of steep green hills, a river lined with new buildings and old industry, and the flight home at the end.

October in Bilbao is milder than inland Rioja but wetter. The Atlantic side of the mountains gets frequent showers in autumn, with daytime temperatures usually in the high teens. Pack a waterproof. The upside is that the city's best sights are either indoors or along a paved riverside with plenty of shelter.

Coaches run between Logroño bus station and Bilbao's Termibus several times a day and take about two hours. Book ahead on a Monday; check operators and times on the station's website. From Termibus, the San Mamés metro station is next door and the tram runs along the river.

Nights One and Two: Bilbao

Bilbao was an iron and shipbuilding city, and when the heavy industry collapsed in the 1980s it rebuilt the riverfront. The Guggenheim Museum, opened in 1997, stands on the site of old docks.

The riverside walk along the Nervión is the recovery route. From the Zubizuri footbridge, a paved, level promenade runs west along the south bank through Abandoibarra to the Guggenheim and beyond towards the Euskalduna conference centre, about 2 km each way, with benches and the tram alongside for the way back. It needs no climbing at all.

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao fills a morning. Frank Gehry's titanium building is worth circling from outside, where Jeff Koons's flower-covered puppy sits by the entrance and Louise Bourgeois's spider stands by the river. Inside, galleries are spread over three floors with lifts, and Richard Serra's steel spirals take up the largest room. Outside the summer season the museum closes on Mondays, so go on Tuesday. Buy tickets online at guggenheim-bilbao.eus.

The Casco Viejo, the old town across the river, is where Bilbao eats. The Siete Calles, the original seven parallel streets, are level, and the arcaded Plaza Nueva is lined with pintxo bars. The Mercado de la Ribera, a large riverside market hall, is at its liveliest in the morning. Streets climb steeply out of the old town on the far side, so stay low.

Where to stay. Gran Hotel Domine stands opposite the Guggenheim, with rooms looking at the building. Hotel Carlton, on Plaza Moyúa in the city centre, is the city's grand old hotel, near the metro and the airport bus stop.

Where to eat. Café Iruña, on the Jardines de Albia, has served the city since 1903 in a tiled dining room with Moorish decoration; lamb skewers at the bar are the order. For pintxos, work around the Plaza Nueva and the streets off it in the Casco Viejo, where each bar lays out its counter from lunchtime.

Getting to Bilbao Airport

Bilbao Airport (BIO) is about 20 minutes from the centre by the Bizkaibus airport bus, which runs frequently from Termibus and stops at Plaza Moyúa. A taxi takes about the same time. Check the current airport bus timetable at bizkaibus.eus.