Category
Nature
5 articles
NatureBilbao's Hills Start 1.1 km From the Guggenheim
Can you go hiking straight from central Bilbao? Yes: a signposted 38.1 km trail circles the city, and one of its eleven marked entrances leaves from Plaza Euskadi, the square beside the museum, joining it in 1.1 km. It crosses five forest parks with 18 picnic areas, and only Artxanda has a funicular, three minutes for €3.50.
NatureThe Artxanda Funicular, Bilbao's Three-Minute Viewpoint
Is the Artxanda funicular worth it? A rack railway from 1915 climbs to the viewpoint that explains the whole city in three minutes, and what you pay depends entirely on what is in your pocket: €3.50 one way without a card, €0.73 with Barik. It runs until 10pm, later on summer weekends, and buses A7 and E5 reach the same summit.
NatureBizkaia's Other Funicular, Larreineta, in Full
Is the Larreineta funicular worth riding? It is not the tourist funicular but a commuter line up a mining hillside in Trapagaran, with a gap of under 50 mm between platform and car. It costs €1.02 with a Barik card, under-15s ride free and each car has room for bikes or pushchairs. Some weekends a bus replaces it.
NatureOma Painted Forest Is Free, Booked and 2.8 km Uphill
Do you need to book the Oma Painted Forest? Yes: no car reaches it and no ticket is sold, yet a booking is compulsory, on +34 94 465 16 57. Thirty-four painted groups across roughly 800 living pines by Agustín Ibarrola, 2.8 km on foot from Santimamiñe, about 50 minutes each way. Not suitable for wheelchairs or pushchairs.
NatureThe Public Lifts and Funiculars of the Bilbao Estuary
Which public lifts around Bilbao are free? Three panoramic lifts in Getxo cost nothing, and the Old Port and Usategi cars run seventeen hours a day, 7am to midnight. Crossing the same stretch of water ranges from 40 cents on the Portugalete boat to eleven euros, and the Artxanda funicular costs €0.73 with Barik or €3.50 without.