Bilbao is the largest city in the
Basque Country province of
Spain.
Bilbao is located in northern Spain near the Gulf of Biscay and the French border. It can be reached by car or bus on the Autopista del Cantábrico, or A-8. Bilbao also has its own airport, just northeast of the town. Its population is just over one million people and has been growing fast for the past decade. The architecture, infrastructure, and industry of Bilbao have kept up with its population making it a showpiece city of Basque country.
Bilbao has a temperate, maritime climate, though the humidity can spike during the summer months. The average winter temperatures are around 46 degrees and the average summer temperature is about 68 degrees. Bilbao gets around 60 inches of rainfall a year.
Bilbao is full of cultural attractions. It hosts one of the three Guggenheim Museums worldwide. It also has the Fine Arts Museum. This museum features world-renown artists such as Goya and Gauguin as well as brilliant Basque artists. There are also museums on Basque history, bullfighting, religious art, and Bilboa’s maritime history.
There are an opera company and a symphony resident in Bilbao. You can also find theatre and dance at the Arriaga Theatre. The downtown area has been revitalized and offers over 400 places to shop and eat. Walking through downtown Bilbao can be an event in itself. It is a mixture of 700 year old buildings and some of the biggest names in 20th century architecture.
Bilbao also hosts over 500 national and international conventions annually at the Euskalduna Concert Hall and Convention Center.
