Category
Culture
10 articles
CultureAste Nagusia and the Words Bilbao Never Translates
The same museum renders the giants as Gigantes de Bilbao and leaves kalejira untouched. Nine August days with a vocabulary and a free museum.
CultureHow Much Basque You Actually Need in Bilbao
None to get around, and six words to avoid a closed door. The harder question is which of a place's two names is the official one.
CultureThe Basque Museum in Bilbao Is Free Every Wednesday
Euskal Museoa charges nothing on Wednesdays and shuts entirely on Tuesdays, which is the opposite pattern to almost every other museum in the city.
CultureThe Basque Words on a Bilbao Timetable
Itxita means closed, doakoa means free, and -tik to -ra marks the range on every timetable. Eleven words cover a station board and a museum till.
CultureBilbao Metro Lines and the Tram Nobody Tells You About
Three metro lines follow the two banks of the estuary. A tram runs along the surface past the Guggenheim, where no metro station reaches.
CultureBilbao or Bilbo, and Why Everything Here Has Two Names
The Basque Language Academy sets Bilbo as the Basque form while the official name stays Bilbao. Type the wrong one and the timetable will not load.
CultureGetting Around Bilbao and Bizkaia on One Card
One anonymous €3 card covers up to ten people at once, works on sixteen different services, and keeps working as far as San Sebastián and the French border.
CultureHow to Say Getxo, Gaztelugatxe and Zazpikaleak
Four letters carry a different value in Basque, and they account for almost every name on the Bilbao metro map. The Academy's own rule says nobody will correct you.
CultureThe Barik Card in Bilbao, and When It Is Not Worth It
The airport bus fare in Bilbao is officially defined as the price for people without a Barik card. That wording tells you how the whole system is designed.
CultureBilbao Airport to the City Centre, and the 10pm Cut-Off
There is no metro to Bilbao Airport. One bus line covers it, running every quarter of an hour, and the direction you need stops earlier than you would expect.