Casco Viejo
Bilbao's medieval old town — the Zazpikaleak (Siete Calles, 'Seven Streets') laid out in the 14th century, still a car-free grid of narrow cobbled lanes crammed with pintxo bars, a Gothic cathedral, an arcaded neoclassical square, and Europe's largest covered market on the river's edge. The heart of the txikiteo bar-crawl ritual and, after 7pm, the loudest, most crowded, most convivial food-and-drink theatre in the Basque Country.
Who it's for: First-time Bilbao visitors — this is where you learn what a pintxo is and how a txikiteo works. Food travelers who want the full elbow-to-elbow bar-hopping experience. Anyone who values medieval urban texture (short pedestrian streets, small squares, church bells) over grand boulevards. Basque-culture-curious travelers — the museum, the cathedral, the Basque-language academy, and the flea market are all here.
Things to know
- Casco Viejo is pedestrianized — the closest Metro stops are Zazpikaleak/Casco Viejo (L1/L2) and Unamuno (L3); the tram stops at Arriaga and Ribera. There is no need for a car and no place to put one.
- The txikiteo (bar crawl) starts around 7:30–8pm and peaks 9–11pm on Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Sunday lunchtime (1–3pm) is the second peak. Monday–Wednesday early evening is quieter but many bars still open.
- Cash-friendly. Cards work at most pintxo bars but a €20 note in hand speeds things up at the counter, especially when the bar is three-deep.
- How pintxos work: cold pintxos sit on the bar — you take a plate, help yourself, keep the toothpicks (they count them at the end). Hot pintxos are ordered from a blackboard behind the bar. Ask the bartender which is the day's specialty — 'la especialidad de la casa' — and follow that lead.
- Standard order at each bar: 1–2 pintxos plus a zurito (small draft beer) or a txikito (small glass of red wine) or a caña of Txakoli. Visit 5–8 bars in an evening; that's the whole point.
- Sunday morning flea market on Plaza Nueva (~9am–2pm): books, coins, stamps, vinyl, collectibles. Turn up before 11 for the best browsing before pintxo crowds arrive.
- Mercado de la Ribera closes at 2:30pm most days and 2:30pm on Saturdays; the market itself is closed Sundays but the food court upstairs runs into the evening.
- Basílica de Begoña sits on a hill above Casco Viejo — access is via the Begoña Metro exit (elevator), the Mallona funicular from Plaza Unamuno, or the 313-step Calzadas de Mallona staircase (it will take about 15 minutes, and you will feel it).
- Language: signage is bilingual Euskera/Spanish; most bar staff speak Spanish and often English; older regulars sometimes prefer Euskera. Learning 'zurito' (small beer) and 'kaixo' (hello) is enough to pass.
- August is not the ghost town Madrid becomes — Bilbao's Aste Nagusia (Semana Grande) festival, the third week of August, is the loudest week of the year with concerts in Plaza Nueva every night.