Spain / The Basque Country / Bilbao

Bilbao

The Guggenheim and the Pintxo Bars of the Old Town

2 daysIdeal stay₹8,520From / night₹3,200Food / day₹1,920Entry

A former shipbuilding city reborn around Frank Gehry's titanium-clad Guggenheim Museum and its riverside promenade, with a lively old town (Casco Viejo) of pintxo bars, the Fine Arts Museum and the funicular to Artxanda. The Vizcaya Bridge, the world's oldest transporter bridge, and the coastal chapel of San Juan de Gaztelugatxe (a film location, booked entry in season) are nearby. San Sebastián is 1h15 by coach. Mild and rainy all year.

Highlights

Guggenheim Museum and Jeff Koons' Puppy
Pintxos in the Casco Viejo
Artxanda funicular view
Vizcaya transporter bridge
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe's 241 steps
Fine Arts Museum

Things to do

Guggenheim MuseumMorning · 3h
Casco Viejo and a pintxo eveningEvening · 3h
Artxanda funicular and riverside walkAfternoon · 2h
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe climbMorning · 5h

Tours & tickets

Tours & tickets in Bilbaovia GetYourGuide Tours & tickets in Bilbaovia Klook

Tourisma may earn a small commission if you book — it never changes your price.

When to go

Best time: May – October

San Fermín (Running of the Bulls), Pamplona — Pamplona, about an hour from San Sebastián by bus, holds its week-long fiesta from the opening rocket at noon on 6 July: everyone in white with a red scarf, street parties day and night, and each morning the bull run through the old town. The runs are dangerous and the bulls are killed in the bullring in the evening, which many visitors choose to avoid. Pamplona's rooms sell out a year ahead; San Sebastián and Bilbao fill and raise prices too.

Getting there

Fly into Madrid (MAD), 323 km away

Then: Flight · 4h (Iberia / Vueling / Air Europa, MAD–BIO (non-stop))

Search flights to MAD from your city ↗

Flights from India

From Delhi (1 stop)from ₹23,500
From Mumbai (1 stop)from ₹23,000
From Ahmedabad (1 stop)from ₹24,500
From Bengaluru (1 stop)from ₹25,000
From Chennai (1 stop)from ₹25,000
From Hyderabad (1 stop)from ₹25,000

Fly into Barcelona (BCN), 468 km away

Then: Flight · 4h 6m (Vueling / Iberia, BCN–BIO (non-stop))

Search flights to BCN from your city ↗

Flights from India

From Mumbai (1 stop)from ₹22,000
From Delhi (1 stop)from ₹23,500
From Ahmedabad (1 stop)from ₹24,000
From Bengaluru (1 stop)from ₹25,000
From Chennai (1 stop)from ₹25,000
From Hyderabad (1 stop)from ₹25,000

Fares from India: one way, per person; typical fares, not live prices.

Entry rules

Your passport

Visa needed before you fly for up to 90 days, about ₹11,290

Apply for a Schengen short-stay (type C) visa at a BLS International Spain visa centre in India (Spain uses BLS, not VFS), 4-8 weeks before you fly, and at least 6 weeks ahead for trips from April to July, when appointments are scarce (no earlier than 6 months). Apply to Spain if it is your only or longest stay in Schengen, at the centre for the state you live in. The fee is €90 (about ₹9,600; €45 for children 6-11) plus the BLS service charge of about ₹1,500-2,000, and it is not refunded if the visa is refused.
At the appointment give your fingerprints and photo (skipped if you gave them for a Schengen visa in the last 59 months). Allow at least 15 working days for a decision, longer in summer or if other Schengen states are consulted.
If you have lawfully used two Schengen visas in the last three years, ask for a multiple-entry visa: under the EU's 2024 cascade rules for Indians you can be given a two-year visa, then a five-year one.
On your first arrival in the Schengen Area your fingerprints and face are scanned at passport control (the EU Entry/Exit System, in full use since April 2026) instead of a stamp. Allow extra time at Madrid and Barcelona airports.

Carry: Passport issued within the last 10 years, valid at least 3 months after you leave the Schengen Area, with two blank pages; Completed visa application form and two recent photos (35 x 45 mm); Travel insurance with at least €30,000 medical cover, valid in every Schengen country for the whole trip; Return flight booking and a day-by-day itinerary, with the trains or flights between cities; Hotel bookings for every night; Bank statements for the last 3-6 months, income-tax returns, and a leave letter from your employer (or business or college papers).

One Schengen visa covers Spain and every other Schengen country (France, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland and more) for up to 90 days in any 180, so a tour that adds Paris or Rome needs no second visa. ETIAS is only for visa-free travellers, so it does not affect you. Appointment waits and BLS charges vary by centre and season: check india.blsspainvisa.com for your city before you book flights.

Checked 2026-10; confirm with the embassy before you fly.

Also in The Basque Country

🍢 San Sebastián · La Concha Bay and the World's Best Pintxo Bars

Plan a trip to Bilbao

Flying in from elsewhere? Start at Madrid (MAD)