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Whether you’re looking to enjoy a leisurely summertime stroll through Casco Viejo or a scenic winter holiday in the Basque countryside, there’s no wrong time to book your flight to Bilbao.
Peak Season:
Flights to Bilbao tend to fill up for the summer season, when the Spain seashore provides a brief retreat from the heavy humidity. Semana Grande (or Aste Nagusia in Basque), the week in which Bilbao hosts a colourful festival celebrating Basque culture, draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each August. If you’re hoping to be one of the many coming to the city for the festivities, be sure to book your Bilbao flights and hotels well in advance so you don’t miss out on the lively parades and memorable concerts.
Off-peak Season:
Cheap flights to Bilbao are plentiful in the winter months after the holidays, when visitors shy away from checking out the Basque capital in the rain and snow. Try booking your flight to Bilbao for the month of April: Holy Week festivities draw hefty crowds to all major cities in Spain, but the following weeks are usually quiet after the bulk of the tourists leave town.
Bilbao is the capital city of Spain’s Basque province, home to some of the most unique artistic traditions in the world. Located in Northern Spain along the Nervión River, Bilbao played an important part in the industrial revolution in Spain, particularly in the production of steel, and is an essential contributor to the Spanish economy.
Bilbao’s close proximity to the beach resorts of Santander and San Sebastián attracts visitors to Bilbao in droves, as the city is a major transportation hub for northern Spain and a popular jumping-off point for travel within the province. Though the cold, industrial quality of this bustling centre of commerce is apparent, the streets of Bilbao offer up ample opportunities for visits to the city’s famed museums, palaces, architectural wonders and cultural events.
As home to the illustrious, luminous glass walls of the Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Museum and the celebrated Museum of Basque Archaeology, history buffs, art addicts and architectural enthusiasts are snapping up flights to Bilbao to see the manmade wonders of this city whose streets are as innovative and industrious as its history.
Courtesy of the winds wafting off the Bay of Biscay, Bilbao experiences an oceanic climate that doesn’t suffer from extreme heat or cold. The humidity in Bilbao can be tough to deal with during the summer when temperatures can rise as high as 27 degrees C. Winters in Bilbao are rainy with little snow and temperatures huddling close to 5 degrees C, on average. The transitional seasons of spring and fall are ideal times to visit due to the comfortable weather and infrequent precipitation.
Bilbao has a very efficient public transportation system. The bus system, Bilbobus, has night buses on Fridays until 2:30am and all night Saturday. The tramway, Euskotran, stops running around 11pm each night. If you’re just passing through, continue your Spanish adventure to Madrid, Barcelona or Burgos by hopping aboard Renfe, Spain’s national rail line, or any number of buses.
Shuttle buses outside the arrivals terminal at Bilbao Airport (BIO) can take you to Termibús, the main bus terminal in the city centre. From there you can take a bus, tram or train to anywhere you want to go.