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Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the province of Biscay and in the Basque Country as a whole. With a population of 347,342 as of 2024, it is the 11th-largest city in Spain, and the largest in northern Spain. The Bilbao metropolitan area has 1,037,847 inhabitants, Proyecto Audes making it the most populous metropolitan area in northern Spain. The comarca of Greater Bilbao is the fifth-largest urban area in Spain. Bilbao is also the main urban area in what is defined as the Greater Basque region.
Bilbao is located in the north-central part of Spain, some south of the Bay of Biscay, where the economic social development is located, where the estuary of Bilbao is formed. Its main urban core is surrounded by two small with an average elevation of .Quiroga 2001: 17 Its climate is shaped by the Bay of Biscay low-pressure systems and mild air, moderating summer temperatures by Iberian standards, with low sunshine and high rainfall. The annual temperature range is low for its latitude.
After its foundation in the late 13th century by Diego López V de Haro, head of the powerful Haro family, Bilbao was one of the commercial hubs of the Basque Country that enjoyed significant importance in the Crown of Castile. This was due to its thriving port activity based on the export of wool and iron commodities extracted from the Biscayan quarries to all over Europe.
Throughout the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth, Bilbao experienced heavy industrialisation, making it the centre of the second-most industrialised region of Spain, behind Barcelona.De La Puerta Rueda 1998: 73Gómez Piñeiro 1979: 169 At the same time an extraordinary population explosion prompted the annexation of several adjacent municipalities. Nowadays, Bilbao is a vigorous service sector that is experiencing an ongoing social, economic, and aesthetic revitalisation process, started by the iconic Bilbao Guggenheim Museum, and continued by infrastructure investments, such as the Bilbao Airport, the Metro Bilbao, the Bilbao tram, the Azkuna Zentroa, and the currently under development Abandoibarra and Zorrozaurre urban renewal projects.
Bilbao is also home to football team Athletic Bilbao, a significant symbol for Basque nationalism due to its promotion of only Basque players and being one of the most successful clubs in Spanish football history.
On 19 May 2010, the city of Bilbao was recognised with the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize, awarded by the city state of Singapore. Considered the Nobel Prize for urbanism, it was handed out on 29 June 2010. On 7 January 2013, its mayor, Iñaki Azkuna, received the 2012 World Mayor Prize awarded every two years by the British foundation The City Mayors Foundation, in recognition of the urban transformation experienced by the Biscayan capital since the 1990s. On 8 November 2017, Bilbao was chosen the Best European City 2018 at The Urbanism Awards 2018, awarded by the international organisation The Academy of Urbanism.
There is no consensus among historians about the origin of the name. Generally accepted accounts state that prior to the 12th century, the independent rulers of the territory, named Lords of Zubialdea, were also known as Lords of Bilbao la Vieja ("Old Bilbao"). The symbols of their patrimony are the tower and church used in the shield of Bilbao to this day. Historia de Vizcaya a través de la prensa, Volume 2 One possible origin was suggested by the engineer Evaristo de Churruca. He said that it was a Basque custom to name a place after its location. For Bilbao this would be the result of the union of the Basque words for river and cove: Bil-Ibaia-Bao.Quiroga 2001: 41 The historian José Tussel Gómez argues that it is just a natural evolution of the Spanish words bello vado, beautiful ford.Tusell 2004: 22. On the other hand, according to the writer Esteban Calle Iturrino, the name derives from the two settlements that existed on both banks of the estuary, rather than from the estuary itself. The first, where the present Casco Viejo is located, would be called billa, which means stacking in Basque, after the configuration of the buildings. The second, on the left bank, where now Bilbo Zarra is located, would be called vaho, Spanish for mist or steam. From the union of these two derives the name Bilbao, which was also written as Bilvao and Biluao, as documented in its municipal charter. An -ao ending is also present in nearby Sestao and Ugao-Miraballes, that could be explained from Basque aho, "mouth".
The titles, the flag and the coat of arms are Bilbao's traditional symbols and belong to its historic patrimony, being used in formal acts, for the identification and decoration of specific places or for the validation of documents.
The Royal Order of 30 July 1845 determined the maritime password for the population. This was defined as a white flag with an upper red die next to the pod. The die should be square and the length of its side should equal half of the pod. Previously, at least since 1511, the banner that the Bilbao Consulate was wearing was white with a red Cross of Burgundy. The relationship of the town with the mercantile and marine activities was always very strong coming to share headquarters. In 1603 the new consistorial house is inaugurated and in it the headquarters of the city council and of the referred one Bilbao Consulate are located. The intimate relationship made the flag of the Consulate was related as a flag of the town by citizenship.
The definition of the maritime flag in 1845 was assumed by the population, who accepted it as their own, and so did the city council. At the inauguration of the Bilbao-Miranda de Ebro railway line, it was already used as a symbol of the town's representation, being permanently adopted in 1895 although no resolution has been adopted for this purpose. «Una bandera de nuestros padres.» "El Correo".
Although it has always been assumed by the municipal institution and citizenship, at the beginning of the 20th century it was discussed in a municipal plenary session about the determination of a flag for the town. There was talk about "the use of the crimson colour of the Lordship of Biscay, or of the Saltire" but without reaching any resolution to the effect. The maritime flag of Bilbao. The city has adopted the banner created in 1845 for merchant ships, but the City Council has not officially adopted it. "El Correo".
In 1310 María Díaz I de Haro, niece of Diego López V and Lady of Biscay, grants a new municipal charter to the city, which extends its commercial privileges even further, transforming the city in a mandatory stop for all the trade coming from Castile towards the sea. This second charter established that the road from Orduña to Bermeo, at the time the most important trade route in the lordship, had to traverse the San Antón Bridge in Bilbao instead of the pass in Etxebarri, as it did until then. This strengthened the position of Bilbao as a trading post, in detriment of Bermeo, city which until then had acted as the main port of the territory.MONTERO, Manuel. p. 11. In addition, Bilbao was granted exclusive rights to all trade between the city and Las Arenas. In 1372, John I of Castile strengthened even more the city's position by naming Bilbao a free port and granting it special privileges concerning the trade of iron. This caused Bilbao to become an important port, particularly due to its trade with Flanders and Great Britain.
In 1443 the Church of Saint Anthony the Great was enshrined, having been built in the place of an old alcázar. Still today the church is one of the oldest extant buildings of the city. On 5 September 1483, the Queen Isabella I of Castile traveled to Bilbao to swear fealty to the fueros of Biscay. Her husband, Ferdinand II of Aragon had already done so in 1476 in Gernika.
In 1602 Bilbao was made the capital of Biscay, a title previously held by Bermeo. Around 1631, the city was the scenario of a series of revolts against the increased taxation on salt, which had been ordered by the Crown, an event locally known as the " Machinada of the salt". The revolt ended with the execution of several of its leaders. The city had seen a continuous increase of its wealth, especially after the discovery of extensive iron deposits in the surrounding mountains, and by the end of the century it managed to overcome the economic crises that affected the rest of the kingdom, thanks in part to the increased trading of wool (which now used the port of Bilbao instead of the one in Santander), and to the iron ore and its commerce with England and the Netherlands.
Despite the warfare, Bilbao prospered during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when it rose as the economic centre of the Basque Country. It was during this time that the railway first arrived to the city and the Bank of Bilbao (which later would go on to become the BBVA) was founded, as well as the Bilbao Stock Exchange. Steelmaking industries flourished with the creation of many new factories, including the Santa Ana de Bolueta and the Altos Hornos de Vizcaya in 1902. The city was modernised with new avenues and walkways, as well as with new modern buildings such as the City Hall building, the Basurto Hospital and the Teatro Arriaga. The population increased dramatically, from 11,000 in 1880 to 80,000 in 1900. Social movements also arose, notably Basque nationalism under Sabino Arana, which in the subsequent decades would grow to become the Basque Nationalist Party.
With the war over, Bilbao returned to its industrial development, accompanied by steady population growth. In the 1940s, the city was rebuilt, starting with the bridges and by 1948, the first commercial flight took off from the local Bilbao Airport.Tussel 2004: 187 Over the next decade, there was a revival of the iron industry, which became a strategic industrial sector in Spain, as a consequence of the economic model promoted by Francoism. The city received migrants from other Spanish regions looking to work in the iron industry. The demand for housing outstripped supply, and workers built slums on the hillsides.Quiroga 2001: 96 It was in this context that the first social movements arose and the strike of the Euskalduna shipyard in 1947 was the first one to take place during the Francoist dictatorship. In this environment of social repression, on 31 July 1959 the separatist organisation ETA was created from Basque nationalist movements. During the 1960s the city was the scenario of several urban projects, with the creation of new neighbourhoods like Otxarkoaga and the motorway to the French border. In June 1968 the University of Bilbao, the first public university, was established. It would later be integrated into the University of the Basque Country.
On 26 August 1983 during the celebration of the local festivities known as Aste Nagusia, the estuary overflowed up to five metres in some areas due to the continuous raining, killing two people and causing important destructions in the city's infrastructure, with a total economic cost that reached 60,000 million Spanish peseta (around €360 million)
Since the mid-1990s, Bilbao has been in a process of deindustrialization and transition to a service economy, supported by investment in infrastructure and urban renewal, starting with the opening of the Bilbao Guggenheim Museum (the so-called Guggenheim effect), and continuing with the Euskalduna Conference Centre and Concert Hall, Santiago Calatrava's Zubizuri, the Metro Bilbao by Norman Foster, the Bilbao tram, the Iberdrola Tower and the Zorrozaurre development plan, among others. Many officially supported associations such as Bilbao Metrópoli-30 and Bilbao Ría 2000 were created to monitor these projects.
Bilbao is located on the Basque Mountains, the range between the larger Cantabrian Mountains and the Pyrenees.Gómez Piñeiro 1979: 38 The soil is predominantly composed of mesozoic materials (limestone, sandstone, and marl) sedimented over a primitive paleozoic base. The relief of the province is dominated by NW-SE and WNW-ESE oriented folds. The main fold is the anticline of Bilbao which runs from the municipality of Elorrio to Galdames. Inside Bilbao there are two secondary folds, one in the northeast, composed of Mounts Artxanda, Avril, Banderas, Pikota, San Bernabé, and Cabras; and other in the south, composed of Mounts Kobetas, Restaleku, Pagasarri and Arraiz. The highest point in the municipality is Mount Ganeta, of , followed by Mount Pagasarri, of , both on the border with Alonsotegi.
The river has frequently suffered from human intervention, as seen in the dredging of its bottom, the building of docks on both banks and especially in the Deusto canal, an artificial waterway dug between 1950 and 1968 in the district of Deusto as a lateral canal, with the aim of facilitating navigation, sparing ships from the natural curves of the estuary. The project was stopped with left to complete, and it was decided to leave it as a dock.Santos Sabrás 1998: 60 However, in 2007, a plan was approved to continue the canal and form the island of Zorrozaurre. This human intervention has also brought negative results in the quality of the water, after decades of toxic waste dumping causing a situation of anoxic waters (lack of oxygen), which almost eliminated the entire fauna and flora. However, in recent years this situation is being reversed, thanks to a dumping ban and natural regeneration. now it is possible to observe algae, , crabs, and , as well as occasional bathers in the summer months.
The estuary is also a natural border for several neighbourhoods and districts within the borough. Entering the municipality from the west it separates the districts of Begoña and Ibaiondo, then Abando and Uribarri and lastly Deusto and Basurto-Zorroza.
The proximity of the ocean also means that the two best defined seasons (summer and winter) remain mild, with low intensity thermal oscillations. Average maximum temperatures vary between in the summer months, while the average minimum in winter is between .
Extreme record observations in Bilbao are maximum (on 23 August 2023) and minimum (on 3 February 1963). The maximum precipitation in a day was on 26 August 1983 when severe flooding was caused by the Nervión river.
The first credible data on the population of Bilbao are post-1550.Gómez Piñeiro 1979: 96 It is known that in 1530 Biscay had approximately 65,000 inhabitants, a number that could have been reduced by plagues that struck the city in 1517, 1530, 1564–68, and 1597–1601, the last being especially devastating. This trend for periodic reverses in population growth was maintained until the nineteenth century. Since then, Bilbao has experienced an exponential growth in population thanks to industrialisation. After a peak of 433,115 inhabitants in 1982, the municipalities of the Txorierri valley were removed from Bilbao, with the corresponding loss of their population.
Spanish is the most spoken language in the city, followed by Basque language. According to the city government of Bilbao, at least 51% of the population can speak "some Basque", while 29% consider themselves to be fluent.
| +Foreign population by country of birth (2024) !Nationality !Population | |
| 9,743 | |
| 5,196 | |
| 4,309 | |
| 4,244 | |
| 3,645 | |
| 2,657 | |
| 1,939 | |
| 1,797 | |
| 1,791 | |
| 1,679 | |
| 1,321 | |
| 1,316 | |
| 1,235 | |
| 1,020 | |
| 946 |
As of 2024, the foreign-born population of the city is 56,629, equal to 16.3% of the total population. As of 2007, here are 127 different nationalities registered in Bilbao, although 60 of them represent fewer than 10 people each. As of 2024, the largest foreign communities are Colombians and Moroccans, with 9,743 and 5,196 respectively. Other nationalities with more than 1,000 inhabitants are Bolivians (4,309), Venezuelans (4,244), Nicaraguans (3,645), Paraguayans (2,657), Ecuadorians (1,939) and Romanians (1,797).
Since 1892 the seat of the government has been the Bilbao City Hall, located on the centric Ernesto Erkoreka Plaza and by the Estuary of Bilbao. It is the fourth city hall building to have been used since the year 1300. The first three city halls were located by the San Antón Church but were destroyed due to floodings. The current building was designed by the Spanish architect Joaquín Rucoba in Baroque style and was built in the former site of the San Agustín Monastery, which was destroyed during the First Carlist War. Since the Spanish transition to democracy, the city has been governed by the Basque Nationalist Party, often with support of the Socialist Party of the Basque Country. Iñaki Azkuna served as mayor from 1999 until his passing in 2014, when he was replaced by Ibon Areso. Azkuna was awarded the World Mayor prize in 2012. Since the 2019 municipal election, the councillors of the plenum have the following political distribution: 14 seats for the Basque Nationalist Party, 5 seats for the Socialist Party of the Basque Country, 4 seats for the EH Bildu coalition, 3 seats for Udalberri and 3 seats for the People's Party. The mayor is Juan Mari Aburto, chosen with 19 votes from the Basque Nationalist Party and the Socialist party.
In 2008 and 2010, Bilbao won the Municipal Transparency Prize, awarded by the Spanish division of Transparency International. In 2009 it came second, after Sant Cugat del Vallés.
| 1 | Deusto | Arangoiti, Ibarrekolanda, San Ignacio-Elorrieta, and San Pedro de Deusto-La Rivera. | 51,656 | 4.95 | 10,436 | |
| 2 | Uribarri | Castaños, Matiko-Ciudad Jardín, Uribarri, and Zurbaran-Arabella. | 38,335 | 4.19 | 9,149 | |
| 3 | Otxarkoaga-Txurdinaga | Otxarkoaga and Txurdinaga. | 28,518 | 3.90 | 7,312 | |
| 4 | Begoña | Begoña, Bolueta, and Santutxu. | 43,030 | 1.77 | 24,311 | |
| 5 | Ibaiondo | Atxuri, Bilbo Zarra, Casco Viejo, Iturralde, La Peña, Miribilla, San Adrián, San Francisco, Solokoetxe, and Zabala. | 61,029 | 9.65 | 6,324 | |
| 6 | Abando | Abando and Indautxu. | 51,718 | 2.14 | 24,167 | |
| 7 | Errekalde | Amezola, Iralabarri, Iturrigorri-Peñascal, Errekaldeberri-Larraskitu, and Uretamendi. | 47,787 | 6.96 | 6,866 | |
| 8 | Basurto-Zorroza | Altamira, Basurto, Olabeaga, Masustegi-Monte Caramelo, and Zorrotza. | 33,658 | 7.09 | 4,747 |
The port of Bilbao is a first-class commercial port and is among the top five of Spain. Over 200 regular maritime services link Bilbao with 500 ports worldwide. At the close of 2009 cargo movements amounted to 31.6 million tonnes, Russia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the Nordic countries being the main markets. In the first semester of 2008, it received over 67,000 passengers and 2,770 ships. This activity contributed €419 million to the Basque GDP and maintains almost 10,000 jobs.
The real tourist surge though would come much later with the inauguration of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in 1997. Thereafter tourist arrivals registered a continued upward trend, reaching over 932,000 visitors in 2018. The trend was exponential considering that in 1995, Bilbao only counted 25,000 tourists. Bilbao also hosts 31% of the total Basque Country visitors, being the top destination of this autonomous community, outranking San Sebastián. The majority of tourists are domestic visitors, coming from Madrid and Catalonia. International travellers are predominantly French, crossing the border just to the east. The others arrive from the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy. Tourism generates about €300 million yearly for the Biscayan GDP. Bilbao also draws business tourism, having been equipped with facilities like the Euskalduna Conference Centre and Concert Hall, and the Bilbao Exhibition Centre, in nearby Barakaldo.
In 1861, engineer Amado Lázaro projected an ensanche inside the then-municipality of Abando with wide avenues and regular buildings, that included the hygienists ideas of the time. The project was mostly based on Barcelona's Eixample, designed by Ildefons Cerdà. However, the project was dropped by the Bilbao City Council after considering it "utopian and excessive" because of its high cost, though of great quality. Furthermore, Lázaro had calculated the demographic growth of the town was based on the previous three centuries, a provision that eventually would not conform to reality.Montero 2000: 45
The next large urban change in Bilbao would come in 1876, when the capital annexation (in several stages) the neighbouring municipality of Abando. The new ensanche project was planned by a team made of architect Severino de Achúcarro and engineers Pablo de Alzola (elected Mayor that same year), and Ernesto de Hoffmeyer. Unlike Lázaro's, this project was significantly smaller, compassing against the original . It also featured a not so strict grid pattern, a park to separate the industrial and residential areas and the Gran Vía de Don Diego López de Haro, the main thoroughfare, where many relevant buildings were located, such as the Biscay provincial government hall or the BBVA Tower. By the end of the 1890s, this widening was half completed and already filled, so a new extension was planned by Federico Ugalde.
By 1925, the municipalities of Deusto and Begoña, as well as part of Erandio were annexed, and in 1940, the remaining part of Erandio became part of Bilbao. The last annexation took place in 1966, with the municipalities of Loiu, Sondika, Derio, and Zamudio. This made Bilbao larger than ever, with . However, all these municipalities, with the exception of Deusto and Begoña regained their independence on 1 January 1983.
On 18 May 2010, the government of Singapore awarded Bilbao the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize, at the World Cities Summit 2010. It is considered the Pritzker Prize of urbanism.
Seventeen bridges span the banks of the estuary inside the town's boundaries. Among the most interesting ones are the Zubizuri (Basque for "white bridge"), a pedestrian footbridge designed by Santiago Calatrava opened in 1997, and the La Salve, also known as "La Salve", a suspension bridge opened in 1972 and redesigned by French concept art Daniel Buren in 2007. The Deusto Bridge is a bascule bridge opened in 1936 and modelled after the Michigan Avenue Bridge, in Chicago. Between 1890 and 1893 the first transporter bridge ( "Bizkaia Bridge") in the world on the Nervion river, between Portugalete and Getxo, was built by Alberto Palacio (architect and engineer) together with his brother Silvestre.
Since the deindustrialization process started in the 1990s, many of the former industrial areas are being transformed into modern public and private spaces designed by several of the world's most renowned architects and artists. The main example is the Guggenheim Museum, located in what was an old dock and wood warehouse. The building, designed by Frank Gehry and inaugurated in October 1997, is considered among architecture experts as one of the most important structures of the last 30 years, and a masterpiece by itself. The museum houses part of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation modern art collection. Another example is the Azkuna Zentroa, a wine warehouse built in 1909 and completely redesigned in 2010 by French designer Philippe Starck into a multi-purpose venue that consists of a cinema multiplex, a fitness centre, a library, and a restaurant, among other spaces. The area is also being renovated, and it features not only the Guggenheim Museum, but also Arata Isozaki's Isozaki Atea, the Euskalduna Conference Centre and Concert Hall and the Iberdrola Tower, designed by Argentine architect César Pelli which is, since its completion in 2011, the Basque Country's tallest skyscraper, high. Zorrozaurre is the next area to be redeveloped, following a 2007 master plan designed by Iraqi people architect Zaha Hadid. This peninsula was transformed into a island and will feature residential and commercial buildings, as well as the new BBK seat.
The Doña Casilda Iturrizar Park is located in the district of Abando, near the town centre and covers an area of . It is named after a local benefactress who donated the grounds to the borough. It is an English-style garden designed by Ricardo Bastida and opened to the public in 1907. It features a dancing water fountain surrounded by a pergola, and a pond with many species of ducks, geese and swans, which gives the park the alternate name of "Ducks' Park", as known locally. In recent years, it was expanded to be connected with the Abandoibarra area. In Ibaiondo, the Etxeberria Park was built in the 1980s in the place where a steel mill previously stood. The original chimney was maintained as a homage of its industrial past. It covers an area of , on a sloped terrain that overlooks the Old Town. Other relevant public spaces inside the city include the Europa Park, the Miribilla Park, or the Memorial Walkway, a long walkway, with high lamps, located in the left bank of the estuary and that connects the main sights.
Mount Artxanda is easily accessible from the town centre by a funicular. There is a recreational area at the summit, with restaurants, a sports complex and a balcony with panoramic views. In the south, Pagasarri receives hundreds of hiking every weekend since the 1870s, who seek its natural wonders. Its environment is officially protected since 2007.
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, part of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, was inaugurated on 19 October 1997 and is work of the Canadian architect Frank Gehry. The museum's permanent collection is centred in the visual arts of the second half of the 20th century and the present, with relevant artworks from Richard Serra and Jeff Koons, although including as well temporary exhibitions with a more varied nature, like Russian art or engravings from Albrecht Dürer.
Another important museum is the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, first established in 1908 and housing a notable collection of Spanish and European work from the 12th century to present times. The collection from before the 20th century is centred mainly around Spanish and Flemish artists such as El Greco, Francisco de Zurbarán, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Francisco Goya and Anthony van Dyck. The museum also holds one of the best collections of Basque art, with works from the 19th century to present times. It has an eye-catching collection of Avant-garde art, from the Post-Impressionism of Paul Gauguin to Pop art and the expressionism of Francis Bacon.
The Basque Museum showcases Basque archaeology and ethnography, and holds frequent exhibitions in the area of Basque history. The museum building itself is part of the heritage listing Conjunto histórico. The city also has several specialised museums, like the Maritime Museum Estuary of Bilbao ( Bilboko Itsasadarra Itsas Museoa), located next to the Estuary of Bilbao, which holds ships and other collection related to the region's fishing and shipbuilding culture, being particularly relevant the Carola crane, last remaining element of the Euskalduna shipyard that existed where the museum now stands.
Other relevant museums are the Biscayan Archeological Museum ( Arkeologi Museoa) which holds important collections related to the region's prehistory, and the Diocesan Museum of Religious Art ( Eleiz Museoa), both located in the Casco Viejo quarter.
Bilbao is the birthplace of famous composer Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga, who lived his formative years in the city before moving to Paris at age 15. Also native from Bilbao were the soprano singer Josefa Cruz de Gassier and Natividad Álvarez, nicknamed Nati, la bilbainita (Spanish for "Nati, the little one from Bilbao") a dancer and castanets player who achieved national fame in the early 20th century. Also relevant is the Bilbao Choir Society ( Bilboko Koral Elkartea), established in 1866. Important musical bands coming from the city include rock band Fito & Fitipaldis, Basque Folk music band Oskorri and folk-pop band Mocedades.
Bilbao hosted the 2018 MTV Europe Music Awards.
Beyond the main festivities of the Aste Nagusia, the city also celebrates some minor festivities, many of them religious in nature, such as Saint Agatha on 5 February, the celebrations of Our Lady of Begoña on 11 October, the Day of Thomas the Apostle on 21 December and the Christmas festivities, centred around the figure of Olentzero. There are also festivities in the different neighbourhoods and districts which are celebrated locally, such as the Fiestas del Carmen in Santutxu and Indautxu, Fiestas Santiago in Bilbao la Vieja, Fiestas San Ignacio in San Inazio and Fiestas San Roque in Arxtanda and Larraskitu.
The city also hosts the International Festival of Documentary and Short Film under the commercial name of Zinebi. It was first held in 1959 under the name International Festival of Ibero-American and Filipino Documentary Film of Bilbao, with the goal of being complementary to the San Sebastián International Film Festival. Since 1981 it is organised by the city hall and takes place in the Arriaga Theatre. Bilbao is also the host of the SAIL in Festival, a yearly event centred exclusively around sailing, which brings together international representatives of this sport.
Bilbao, as other Basque cities, is known for a variety of appetizers and snacks, being prominent among them the Pincho, which are typically eaten in bars and that consist of small slices of bread on top of which is placed an ingredient or mixture of ingredients, generally of many different types and usually including elements typical of Basque cuisine. Other snacks include rabas (fried or battered calamari rings, usually served with lemon slices), Spanish omelette (omelette made with eggs and potatoes, sometimes including onions and peppers), txampis (stuffed mushrooms), triángulos (Bilbao-style sandwiches), gildas (one or more olives, a guindilla pepper and an anchovy joined together with a toothpick).
As for beverages, typical from the region is the txakoli, a white wine usually drunk as an apéritif. Biscayan txakoli ( Bizkaiko Txakolina) is a protected Denominación de origen for the white wine produced in the province of Biscay and it is usually served in Bilbao. Also typical are cider, patxaran (sloe-flavoured liqueur) and Rioja wine.
There are many restaurants and bars who serve these dishes and beverages, especially around the Casco Viejo quarter. are also a very popular institution in Bilbao, as in other Basque cities and towns. Bilbao, and the province of Biscay as a whole, is one of the spanish cities with a greater number of recognized restaurants by the gastronomic guides, among them several Michelin-starred restaurants.
According to the data from the 2016 census, the population older than 2 years old registered in the municipality of Bilbao who speaks Basque fluently represents 29% of the total population, while those who can speak it with difficulty represent around 19.95% of the total. Finally, those who cannot speak or understand the language represent the remaining 51.06% of the census.
| +Evolution of the Basque-speaking population"Linguistic competence in the capitals", in 4th Social-Linguistic Map. 2006 . Basque Government (2009). !Group!!1981!!1986!!1991!!1996!!2001!!2006!!2011!!2016 | |
| 97.287 | |
| 67.004 | |
| Spanish monolinguals: Unable to understand or speak Basque, only Spanish | 296.703||266.045||255.210||229.336||212.485||190.483||166.869|171.441 |
| 335.732 |
The city is connected with the regions of Cantabria, Asturias and Galicia via the A-8 motorway and with Durango, Eibar, San Sebastián and the French border via the AP-8 motorway, which is a toll road. The AP-68 toll motorway to the south is the main road connecting Bilbao with southern Spain and the Mediterranean coast, connecting in Miranda de Ebro with the A-1 to Madrid and in Zaragoza with the AP-2 to Barcelona.
Minor roads passing through Bilbao or starting in the city itself include the national road N-634 which connects San Sebastián with Santiago de Compostela and runs parallel to the A-8 and AP-8 motorways. The regional road BI-631 connects Bilbao with Bermeo, while the BI-626 joins the city with Balmaseda. The city is circled by the BI-625 and N-637 roads, which form a half-ring to the east, and the N-634 and A-8 to the west.
The city's main arteries the Gran Vía de Don Diego López de Haro, which crosses the financial and business district of Abando and connecting it with the Casco Viejo to the east and the San Mamés area to the west. The Sabino Arana Avenue and Juan Antonio Zunzunegui Avenue provide a direct route between the central districts and the motorways while Autonomía Street joins the southern districts on an east-west direction. The city has 14 bridges connecting opposite sides of the Estuary of Bilbao and the Cadagua river, including the La Salve and Euskalduna bridges, as well a series of tunnels under the Mount Artxanda.
Some low-cost airlines, such as Ryanair, also use the Vitoria Airport (VIT) located in Foronda located 59 km (37 mi) south of the city.
The Bilbao-Abando station is the main railway station of the city, with Renfe running Iberian-gauge long-distance Alvia trains to Madrid and Barcelona, as well as Intercity services to Vigo with connections possible to A Coruña and Hendaye. During the summer there are special trains to Málaga. The city will be connected to the Basque Y high-speed train network around 2023, allowing for high speed AVE trains to operate between the Basque capitals and also to Madrid and other Spanish cities in the future. The arrival of the new high speed services will involve the creation of a completely new underground station that will replace the current infrastructure. The construction is expected to begin in 2020.
Bilbao-Concordia station is located in close vicinity to Bilbao-Abando, and hosts the narrow-gauge railway services ran by Renfe under the Renfe Feve brand. Renfe runs frequent regional trains to the cities of Santander and León. Euskotren Trena runs regular services to Bermeo from the Bilbao-Atxuri station, while in the Zazpikaleak/Casco Viejo station there are regional services to Durango, Eibar and San Sebastián.
The mass transit rail system is divided into different networks managed by separate operators. Bilbao metro, established in 1995, operates two underground lines with some overground sections (Line 1 and Line 2). These two lines connect the metropolitan area following the estuary on both sides, starting in Etxebarri in the south all the way to Plentzia and Santurtzi by the coast. Line 1 was built following largely the same route as the Bilbao-Las Arenas railway, which was still active by the time the Metro system opened in 1995 and since has been replaced by it. The metro system stations were designed by Norman Foster. Line 3 of metro is operated by Euskotren Trena, which also operates the regional services to Durango and Eibar as well as a commuter rail line that connects the centre of Bilbao with Lezama and the Txorierri valley. This third line of metro was inaugurated on 8 April 2017 and is expected to be extended to the Bilbao Airport in the near future. Projects for a fourth and fifth line exist and are currently being studied.
Euskotren also operates a Bilbao tram under the brand Euskotren Tranbia. The line follows the estuary of Bilbao across the central districts of the city, starting in the Bilbao-Atxuri Station and connecting important areas like the Guggenheim museum and the San Mamés football stadium. The original tram network started operations in 1876 and gradually expanded across the city to finally shut down in the 1960s due to being largely replaced by urban buses. The new tram system was opened on 18 December 2002, almost forty years after the closing of the original system.
Renfe Operadora operates four commuter-rail lines in a system separate from the metro. Three of them operate under the Cercanías brand and are collectively known as Cercanías Bilbao, while a fourth line is operated by Renfe Feve. The three lines operated under the Cercanías name operate largely overground and travel larger distances than the metro system, reaching municipalities outside of the metropolitan area such as Muskiz or even outside of the Biscay province, like Amurrio. The three lines all start in the Bilbao-Abando railway station, whereas the line operated by Renfe Feve starts in the Bilbao-Concordia station.
The gaps in the railway service are covered by an extensive bus network. The urban bus system is operated under the brand Bilbobus and has 28 regular bus lines, 8 microbus lines and 8 night buses collectively known as Gautxori (night owl). The Bilbaobus network is limited to the city limits, and only a few lines extend beyond it. The BizkaiBus network fills this gap, with more than 100 lines, connecting the city with all other municipalities in the metropolitan area, as well as with most towns in Biscay and some in Álava.
A Brittany Ferries ferry service links Santurtzi, near Bilbao, to Portsmouth (UK). MV Cap Finistère ferry departs from the port of Bilbao, north west of the town centre. A service operated by Trasmediterranea served the same route from 16 May 2006 until April 2007. P&O Ferries operated this route until its withdrawal on 28 September 2010 with a ship called the Pride of Bilbao.
However, the two largest hospitals that provide healthcare services to the inhabitants of the city are located outside of the city limits: the University Hospital of Gurutzeta/Cruces in neighbouring Barakaldo and the Galdakao-Usansolo Hospital in Galdakao. Other minor public hospitals located in the city include the Santa Marina Hospital and the Hospital of Urduliz, located in the metropolitan area.
The supply of all oil-based fuels distributed in the whole metropolitan area (gasoline, diesel fuel and butane) are produced in the oil refinery owned by Petronor in the municipalities of Muskiz and Abanto Zierbena. Petronor is a large oil company founded in Bilbao in 1968 and it currently comprises two partners, Repsol (85.98%) and Kutxabank (14.02%).
Supply of drinking water is managed by the Consorcio de Aguas Bilbao Bizkaia (Bilbao Bizkaia Water Consortium), a public entity with the responsibility of managing the water infrastructure and distribution to many Biscayan municipalities, Bilbao and its metropolitan area included. The supply of drinking water for the city comes from the Uribarri-Ganboa and Urrunaga reservoirs, which are fed by the river Zadorra.
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