Casco Viejo (old town)
Bilbao, Spain
Bilbao's historic core, dense with pintxos bars and traditional shops.
Places in Casco Viejo (old town)
- Casco Viejo pintxos bars An assortment of laid-back bars serving Basque pintxos, the region's answer to tapas.
- Mercado de la Ribera eateries Stalls and eateries inside one of the largest covered food markets in Europe.
- Casco Viejo pintxos bar crawl A dense cluster of bars perfect for a pintxos crawl, each specialising in a handful of signature bites.
Practical notes for Bilbao
- Best time to visit
- May to September offers the mildest weather for exploring the riverside and old town on foot.
- Getting around
- Bilbao's centre is walkable, with a metro and tram network connecting the Guggenheim area to the old town.
- Currency
- Euro (EUR)
- Language
- Spanish and Basque. English is common in tourism.
- Timezone
- CET (UTC+1, UTC+2 in summer)
- Current trends
- Bilbao's culinary reputation continues to grow beyond its Michelin-starred restaurants, with the riverside Mercado de la Ribera and the city's assortment of pintxos bars increasingly drawing dedicated food travellers.
Other neighborhoods in Bilbao
- Abandoibarra (Guggenheim area) — The riverside district transformed by the Guggenheim Museum and contemporary architecture.
- Ensanche — The city's elegant 19th-century expansion district, home to upscale shopping and dining.
Read the full Bilbao guide