El Botxo
Bilbao architecture
Bilbao was founded by a municipal charter in 1300, granted by Diego López V de Haro, Lord of Biscay. The opening of the Guggenheim Museum in 1997 sparked such a dramatic urban revival that planners around the world now call it the 'Bilbao effect.' Locals affectionately call their city 'El Botxo' — 'the hole' — because it sits in a valley ringed by mountains.
- 15Landmarks
- 1511Oldest · Basilica of Begoña
- 165 mTallest · Iberdrola Tower
- 12Architects
Map and Look Around
Tap a numbered pin to see that landmark from the street with Apple Look Around.
Eat and stay near
Restaurants
Hotels
From Apple Maps. Walking times are estimates from straight-line distance.
Before you go
- Fly intoBilbao Airport (BIO)
Bilbao Airport sits about 9 km north of the city in Loiu and is the busiest airport in the Basque Country and all of northern Spain. Its main terminal, opened in 2000, was designed by Santiago Calatrava and is an architectural landmark in its own right. The metro does not reach the airport yet, but an extension of Line 3 is planned.
- CurrencyEuro (€)
- LanguageSpanish & Basque
Spanish is the most widely spoken language in Bilbao, followed by Basque (Euskara), which is co-official across the Basque Country. According to the city government, at least half of residents can speak some Basque, and schools offer bilingual education models. You'll spot Basque names everywhere, from street signs to landmarks like Azkuna Zentroa and Isozaki Atea.
- Getting aroundMetro & Tram
The Bilbao Metro opened in 1995 with stations designed by Norman Foster, and its curving glass entrance canopies are nicknamed 'fosteritos' after the architect. Three metro lines now meet at Zazpikaleak/Casco Viejo, and a modern tram line has run through the city since 2002. A funicular climbs from the centre up Mount Artxanda for sweeping views over the estuary.
- Where to stayFind hotels in Bilbao on Expedia Vacation rentals on Vrbo
Stamped! may earn a commission when you book through these links.
- Tours and ticketsFind tours in Bilbao on GetYourGuide More tours on Viator
Skip-the-line tickets and guided tours of the landmarks. Stamped! may earn a commission.
15 landmarks in Bilbao
-
Photo: Naotake Murayama, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
Abandoibarra Etorbidea 2, 48009 Bilbao, Spain
Frank Gehry's titanium-clad museum is the building that reinvented Bilbao, rising from the old industrial riverfront of the Nervión in 1997. Its curving forms were designed to look random and catch the light, wrapped in some 33,000 paper-thin titanium plates that shimmer like fish scales. Gehry's team modelled the complex geometry with CATIA aerospace software, and the project was finished on time and on budget. In the 2010 World Architecture Survey, experts named it more often than any other building as one of the most important works completed since 1980.
- Built
- 1997
- Architect
- Frank Gehry
- Style
- Deconstructivism
- Today
- Museum
-
Photo: The original uploader was Leland at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Zubizuri
Campo Volantín – Uribitarte, Bilbao, Spain
Zubizuri — Basque for 'white bridge' — is Santiago Calatrava's tied-arch footbridge across the Nervión, opened in 1997. Its curved walkway hangs from steel suspension cables strung from an overhead arch, linking the Campo Volantín bank with Uribitarte. The bridge became a symbol of the city's new optimism, though it also sparked a legal row when a walkway to the neighbouring Isozaki Atea towers was added against the architect's wishes.
- Built
- 1997
- Architect
- Santiago Calatrava
- Today
- Footbridge
-
Photo: Fernando, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Iberdrola Tower
Euskadi Plaza, Bilbao, Spain
Designed by César Pelli as the headquarters of the energy company Iberdrola, this 165-metre glass tower is the tallest building in Bilbao and the Basque Country. It stands in Abandoibarra, the former shipyard and dock district whose regeneration also produced the Guggenheim and the Euskalduna Palace. Construction finished in 2011, and King Juan Carlos I officially inaugurated the tower in February 2012. Two residential buildings by Carles Ferrater flank the skyscraper, and its entrance opens onto Euskadi Plaza.
- Built
- 2011
- Architect
- César Pelli
- Height
- 165 m (541 ft)
- Stories
- 41
- Today
- Office
-
Azkuna Zentroa
Arriquibar Plaza 4, Bilbao, Spain
Ricardo Bastida's Alhóndiga opened in 1909 as the city's municipal wine warehouse, a sturdy Modernist block in the heart of the Ensanche. After decades of neglect, designer Philippe Starck reimagined the interior as a culture and leisure centre that opened in 2010. Inside, the brick shell shelters a cinema, library, gym and auditorium. It was renamed Azkuna Zentroa in 2015 in honour of the late mayor Iñaki Azkuna.
- Built
- 1909
- Architect
- Ricardo Bastida & Philippe Starck
- Style
- Modernism
- Today
- Cultural Centre
-
Photo: Jean-Pierre Dalbera, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Euskalduna Conference Centre and Concert Hall
Abandoibarra Avenue 4, Bilbao, Spain
The Euskalduna Palace rises beside the estuary on part of the land once occupied by the Euskalduna shipyards. Architects Federico Soriano and Dolores Palacios began work in 1994, and the building was inaugurated in February 1999. It houses a concert hall, an opera auditorium and conference facilities, and is home to the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra. With the Guggenheim just upstream, it anchors the riverside regeneration of Abandoibarra.
- Built
- 1999
- Architect
- Federico Soriano & Dolores Palacios
- Today
- Concert Hall
-
San Mamés Stadium
Rafael Moreno Pitxitxi Kalea, Bilbao, Spain
The new San Mamés replaced the historic 1913 ground of Athletic Bilbao and was inaugurated in September 2013. Designed by IDOM with architect César Azkarate, the all-seater stadium holds 53,331 spectators, making it the largest in the Basque Country. The stadium was completed in stages, with the full bowl finished in August 2014.
- Built
- 2013
- Architect
- IDOM & César Azkarate
- Today
- Stadium
-
Photo: Pedro J Pacheco, CC BY-SA 3.0 es, via Wikimedia Commons Teatro Arriaga
Arriaga Plaza, Bilbao, Spain
Bilbao's opera house opened in 1890 on the bank of the Nervión, a grand Neo-Baroque work by Joaquín Rucoba, who also designed the City Hall. It is named after Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga, the Bilbao-born composer once hailed as the 'Spanish Mozart.' The theatre has survived both a fire and a flood, each followed by a major reconstruction. Today it remains the main stage of the Old Town's riverfront.
- Built
- 1890
- Architect
- Joaquín Rucoba
- Style
- Neo-Baroque
- Today
- Opera House
-
Photo: MuseoBBAABilbao, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Bilbao Fine Arts Museum
Doña Casilda Iturrizar Park, Bilbao, Spain
Set entirely within Doña Casilda Iturrizar Park, the Fine Arts Museum occupies a neoclassical building of stone and red brick by Fernando Urrutia and Gonzalo Cárdenas, completed in 1945. A crisp modern wing of metal and glass followed in 1970, and a link between the two was finished in 2001. The collection spans from medieval art to El Greco, Goya, Gauguin and Francis Bacon. A new expansion by Foster + Partners opened in 2026.
- Built
- 1945
- Architect
- Fernando Urrutia & Gonzalo Cárdenas
- Style
- Neoclassical
- Today
- Museum
-
Photo: José Luis Filpo Cabana, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Bilbao Cathedral
Done Jakue Plazatxoa 1, Bilbao, Spain
The Cathedral of Saint James began life between the 14th and 15th centuries as Bilbao's main parish church, making it one of the oldest buildings in the city. Its Gothic cloister and main vault contrast with the showy Gothic Revival west front and spire by Severino de Achúcarro, completed in 1887. Pilgrims on the Northern Way of the Camino de Santiago pass through, and in 2015 the church joined the route's UNESCO World Heritage listing. Look up at the buttresses to spot stone carvings of local merchants.
- Built
- 1887
- Architect
- Unknown (medieval builders) & Severino de Achúcarro
- Style
- Gothic & Gothic Revival
- Height
- 64 m (210 ft)
- Today
- Cathedral
-
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Etxeorratz assumed (based on copyright claims)., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Basilica of Begoña
Begoña, Bilbao, Spain
The Basilica of Begoña is dedicated to Our Lady of Begoña, patron saint of Biscay. Work on the three-nave church began in 1511 to a design by Sancho Martínez de Arego, and vaulting it took the better part of a century. Its arched main entrance shows the shift from Gothic to Renaissance, while the current tower was added between 1902 and 1907. The bell tower holds 24 bells cast in Switzerland.
- Built
- 1511
- Architect
- Sancho Martínez de Arego
- Style
- Gothic
- Today
- Basilica
-
Photo: Javier Mediavilla Ezquibela Esta imagen tiene una licencia libre (que puedes ver abajo), pero si la usas fuera de los pr, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Vizcaya Bridge
Portugalete – Las Arenas (Getxo), Biscay, Spain
Built in 1893 at the mouth of the Nervión, the Vizcaya Bridge is the world's oldest transporter bridge, carrying a suspended gondola across the water between Portugalete and Las Arenas in Getxo. It was designed by Alberto Palacio, a disciple of Gustave Eiffel,. The 160-metre span hangs 45 metres above the river, and lifts inside the towers let visitors walk along the top. Locals still call it the 'Puente Colgante,' the hanging bridge.
- Built
- 1893
- Architect
- Alberto Palacio
- Height
- 45 m (148 ft)
- Today
- Transporter Bridge
-
Photo: Jordi Payà from Barcelona, Catalonia, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Bilbao-Abando railway station
Gran Vía 1, 48001 Bilbao, Spain
Bilbao-Abando, officially Abando Indalecio Prieto, is the city's main railway terminus, with the first station on the site opening in 1863. The present building was commissioned by Renfe and opened in 1948. Its showpiece is a vast stained-glass window above the platforms — 15 metres wide and 10 metres tall, made of 301 pieces — crafted by Jesús Arrechubieta from a sketch by Miguel Pastor Veiga. It is the first thing many travellers see when they arrive in Bilbao by train.
- Built
- 1948
- Today
- Railway Station
-
Photo: Spike, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Bilbao City Hall
Ernesto Erkoreka Plaza 1, 48007 Bilbao, Spain
Bilbao's City Hall was completed in 1892 by Joaquín Rucoba, the same architect behind the Teatro Arriaga, on the former site of a convent on the right bank of the estuary. Its eclectic, Baroque-inspired façade faces the river across a bascule bridge. Inside, the highlight is the Arab Hall, a lavish Neo-Mudéjar room modelled on the decoration of Granada's Alhambra, used for official receptions and weddings.
- Built
- 1892
- Architect
- Joaquín Rucoba
- Style
- Eclectic
- Today
- City Hall
-
Photo: Zarateman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Isozaki Atea
Uribitarte, Bilbao, Spain
Isozaki Atea — 'Isozaki Gate' in Basque — is a pair of 83-metre residential towers designed by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki and completed in 2008. They are the tallest residential buildings in Bilbao and the Basque Country, framing a staircase that serves as a gateway from the Zubizuri footbridge into the city's Ensanche. The twin towers anchor a five-building complex whose lower blocks rise six to eight floors. Their lower levels house shops, with apartments above.
- Built
- 2008
- Architect
- Arata Isozaki & Iñaki Aurrekoetxea
- Height
- 83 m (272 ft)
- Stories
- 22
- Today
- Residence
-
Photo: PA, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Mercado de la Ribera
Casco Viejo, Bilbao, Spain
Facing the Nervión on the edge of the Old Town, the Ribera Market was designed by architect Pedro Ispizua and dates from 1929. With about 10,000 square metres of floor space, it is often described as the biggest covered market in Europe. Fishmongers, butchers and greengrocers fill its stalls, along with a section reserved for local farmers' produce. A refurbishment begun in 2009 renewed its structure and stalls for a new century of shoppers.
- Built
- 1929
- Architect
- Pedro Ispizua
- Today
- Market
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
._Portada_principal.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
The app's quiz · 10 questions
How well do you know Bilbao?
The same quiz as in Stamped!: name the landmark, its architect, its style or the year it was finished. Every round is different.
Know Bilbao well?
Locals know their city best. Suggest a landmark we're missing or a fix to one we have. Every suggestion is checked against a source before it goes into the app.
Stamp all 15 in Stamped!
Fly through Bilbao in photoreal 3D, take its 10-question quiz, plan your days and earn a passport stamp at every landmark. Free on iPhone and iPad.
Download on theApp Store