I like to tell you again about my road warrior trails in my dear Spain. Again, found me some pictures in my cd rom vault that should be in my blog for you and me, Glad I did as these are from wonderful Bilbao (Bilbo) is the Capital of the province of Biscay and the Comarque of the Grand Bilbao. the most important city of the autonomous community of the Basque Country (Euskadi), and in my kingdom of Spain. Therefore, here is my take on the streets of Bilbao !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The Casco Viejo or Zazpi Kaleak is the oldest neighborhood and the nucleus originally in Bilbao. It is part of the district of Ibaiondo, and hosts the Plaza Nueva (see pics) and emblematic buildings such as the Arriaga Theater, the Stock Exchange, the Atxuri Station, and the churches of San Nicolás and Santos Juanes. Its commercial strength is reflected in about 700 establishments, where the Ribera market stands out, the largest covered market of Europe. This space presents a varied commercial offer with fashion designer stores, very diverse trade, but stands out as an area with a large number of galleries and exhibition rooms, art bookstores, gift products, antiques etc The Old Town, which had to be restored after the terrible floods in 1983, is one of the main leisure and shopping centers of Bilbao. Its pedestrian streets are lined with classic shops interspersed with innovative establishments and any amount of bars and restaurants in which to taste the best of Basque cuisine. Hence, every year millions of visitors walk through its streets. Any excuse is good to enjoy the gastronomic, commercial and cultural offer of the Old Town. The corners of the Old Town house Bilbao’s oldest churches and monuments: Santiago’s Cathedral, the Church of San Antón, the Archaeological Museum, the Basque Museum, the Bidebarrieta City Library and the Plaza Nueva Square, a leisure area that hosts many ludic and festival activities, such as the Sunday Market and Santo Tomàs Fair.
The Casco Viejo or Old Town is a perfect place to take a stroll and enjoy many of Bilbao’s monuments, such as the Cathedral of Santiago and the Church of San Antón. Near the Siete Calles, you’ll also find the Plaza Nueva ,the heart of the old town (casco viejo). It has a neoclassical style and has a rectangular shape with 18 arcs on both sides and 15 on the other two.It has an area of 3,400 meters and was inaugurated in 1851. Sundays, a market day for the public and collectors. Nice!, here as well the historic Ribera Market. The Old Town is undoubtedly one of the best places to go shopping in Bilbao, due to its wide variety of stores, from clothing brands to small artisan workshops. Also, if you’re looking for a place to go for tapas, the Old Town is an excellent place to sample Bilbao’s famous cuisine. Walking through the Old Town, you’ll also see its famous cárcavas, narrow spaces between houses that form small alleys that lead to streams of water. There are 16 cárcavas in total, and in many of them, you can see clothes hanging out to dry, protected by umbrellas, to combat Bilbao’s rainy weather. Furthermore, the Old Town was the birthplace of such illustrious and important figures for the people of Bilbao as the writer Miguel de Unamuno and the musician Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga, nicknamed the “Spanish Mozart.
Just over 700 years ago, the Castilian nobleman Diego López de Haro founded the town of Bilbao, next to the Nervión estuary. It would soon become the main commercial center in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. The newly formed town grew around three streets on the right bank of the estuary, surrounded and protected by a wall about six meters high. In the mid-15C, royal permission allowed Bilbao to expand, and four more streets were created, giving their name to what is now known as the Siete Calles de Bilbao or Seven Streets of Bilbao, These are Somera:”the street above.” It marks the starting point of Bilbao’s Old Town. Artecalle: “The middle street.” It housed most of the area’s businesses. Tendería: “The street of shops.” Local artisans had their establishments on this street, the third in the Old Town. Belosticalle: “The street above” or “The fishery street,” due to the influx of fish merchants that this street hosted. Carnicería Vieja: As its name suggests, this was the butchers’ street and the location of the town’s first slaughterhouse. Barrencalle : “The street below.” This is the oldest in Bilbao, and Barrencalle Barrena: “The street below there.” It is the last street in Bilbao’s Old Town and the one most affected by the constant flooding of the estuary.
Bilbao’s Old Town is served by the Zazpikaleak/Casco Viejo Station exit/salida Unamuno of the Bilbao Metro and EuskoTren, as well as by the Arriaga, Ribera, and Atxuri stops of the Bilbao tram exit/salida Arriaga or Unamuno, in addition to numerous Bilbobus lines.
The Local Euskadi region tourist office on the old town of Bilbao : https://tourism.euskadi.eus/en/cultural-heritage/old-town-seven-streets/webtur00-content/en/
The Local Euskadi region tourist office on the heritage of Bilbao : https://tourism.euskadi.eus/en/top10/towns/bilbao/webtur00-recursostop/en/
The merchant’s association of the old town (casco viejo) of Bilbao : https://cascoviejobilbao.eus/guia-comercios/
The Bilbao tourist office on things to see in the Casco Viejo: https://www.bilbaoturismo.net/BilbaoTurismo/en/edificios-emblematicos
The Biscay regional tourist office on the Casco Viejo of Bilbao : https://www.visitbiscay.eus/en/-/el-corazon-de-bilbao
There you go folks, another wonderful spot in my road warrior trails of my dear Spain, This is architecture, history and a lot more ; one of the gems of Bilbao, worth the detour , me think, Again, hope you enjoy this unique post on the streets of Bilbao !!! as I
And remember, happy travels , good health and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 