Bilbao Old Town
Downtown Bilbao
Arriaga Theatre, Casco Viejo
Palacio Euskalduna
Bilbao City Town Hall
Guernica
Fine Arts Museum
Guggenheim
© FMGB Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa, Bilbao 2027. All rights reserved.
Azkuna Zentroa
La Selve Bridge-
Guggenheim and Nervion River
La Ribera Food Market
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Casca Viejo (old town) at night
Old Town
Calatrava Bridge
Pinxtos bar
Tour highlights:
Frank Gehry’s amazing Guggenheim Museum
Bilbao’s superb modern architecture – Calatrava, Gehry, Foster, Zaha Hadid
Old Bilbao and the excellent Museum of Fine Arts
A tasty “pinxtos” tour of the old town’s famous bars
Bilbao is a city reborn, thanks largely to a single building that kickstarted the revival – Frank Gehry’s 1997 Guggenheim Museum, built in a rundown port area – that was hailed as a masterpiece of the 20th century. It has led to a series of buildings by world-famous architects, some of which we will see on this superb tour in the company of Dr Peter Higginson, not forgetting the city’s older artistic, architectural and culinary heritage.
Available Departures |
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| 26 - April - 2027 | £ 2995.00 | Travel Info Book Now |
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Provisional Timings London Gatwick Departing: 26th April 2027 at 09:20 Returning: 30th April 2027 at 18:10 |
Day 1: Bilbao
Fly from London Gatwick to Bilbao and transfer by coach to the hotel for check-in for four-night stay. Afternoon at leisure. Evening welcome drink at the hotel followed by our first lecture from Dr Peter Higginson: 'Bilbao: from its origins to the Guggenheim Effect', followed by dinner with wine.
Day 2: Guggenheim and Casco Viejo
We start our day with guided walking tour to see the Casco Viejo (old town) and La Rivera food market. Walk along the Bilbao Art District area to the shimmering Guggenheim Museum. Designed by architect Frank Gehry the museum was opened in 1997 by King Juan Carlos I, made of titanium, glass and limestone at its opening it was hailed as the most important building of its time. The museum hosts permanent and temporary exhibitions of 250 contemporary works of art, though the building is the star attraction for most visitors. During our visit, we take an exclusive guided tour to explore areas of the building not normally open to the public (subject to museum scheduling). Evening at leisure.
Day 3: Museum of Fine Arts, Ensanch-Abandoibarra neighbourhood and Modern Architecture tour
A morning visit to the excellent Museum of Fine Arts which includes works by El Greco, Goya and Gauguin. In the afternoon we have a guided architecture tour of the 19th century Ensanch-Abandoibarra neighbourhood which shows the urban development of the area, followed by a visit to Azkuna Zentroa, a striking blend of historic industrial design and bold contemporary creativity. Evening free at leisure.
Day 4: Maritime Museum, Pinxtos tour and time at leisure
This morning we visit the Maritime Museum for a guided tour which puts Bilbao’s history into context. We continue the day with a guided walking tour of the old town including pinxtos and drinks enroute. Pinxtos are the Basque form of tapas and the bars a Bilbao institution that no visit to the city is complete without experiencing. The rest of the afternoon is at leisure for you to explore the city independently. This evening we will have a second lecture from Dr Peter Higginson – ‘Picasso’s Guernica and its legacy’ – followed by a farewell dinner with wine.
Day 5: Guernica and home
This morning we visit the town of Guernica, destroyed by relentless bombing in the Spanish Civil War, which inspired Picasso’s renowned painting of the same name. We will have a guided tour of the town and the Peace Museum. After free time for lunch (own expense) we transfer to Bilbao Airport for the return flight to London Gatwick.
NB: Exact order of excursions may vary according to local conditions and tour manager's discretion.
Please note the maximum group size on this tour is 20 passengers.
Tour Grading: Please note that this tour has been graded as demanding due to the amount of walking involved, and lots of standing for viewing at attractions. Please visit the mobility page on our website for further information, or call our friendly team with any questions prior to booking.
INCLUDED
NOT INCLUDED
Hotel Catalonia Gran Via, Bilbao
Opened in 2021 the four-star Hotel Catalonia Gran Via Bilbao is located in the centre of the city opposite Dona Casilda Park and very close to the Guggenheim Museum plus in a great location for a wide range of local bars and restaurants. The hotel offers an indoor and outdoor swimming pool and terrace, urban garden, wellness and spa and gastrobar. Bedrooms are comfortable with all modern amenities including TV, telephone, wifi and a hairdryer.
Your lecturer and tour guide - Dr Peter Higginson
Dr Peter Higginson specialises in the art and culture of early modern Europe, and the modern period. He has taught numerous university courses abroad and has wide experience in leading cultural tours to different parts of Europe including Bilbao, Rome, Venice, Florence, Paris and further afield to Cuba. His enthusiasm, knowledge and commitment have earned him rave reviews from the many clients who have travelled with him on a Travel Editions’ tour over the years.
I think my “excellent” choices couldn’t be any better! It was such a privilege to be accompanied by Peter Higginson …. A real bonus to an excellent tour overall.
Review by Anonymous who travelled 15-March-2023
Peter Higginson was an excellent leader and the local guides were very good too.. The visit to Guernica was rather long, possibly due to the long film show in the Peace Museum. We would have liked more planned time at the Guggenheim. Maritime Museum was surprisingly interesting. We enjoyed the Pintxos bar crawl! Overall- it was a fun and informative trip.
Review by Anonymous who travelled 15-March-2023
I am not sure that the visits were necessarily in the right order! Should definitely have been on an earlier flight and gone to the Guggenheim on the first morning when fresh rather than at 4pm the next day following a late night travelling. We were tired before we began what was, to us, the main attraction. Lectures should have been in the evening rather than wasting valuable "viewing" time. Pinxtos visits could easily have been on a weekday rather than a really crowded Saturday. Peace Museum = narrow corridors and very crowded for a group of 25 to move about in en masse - should have been divided into 2 sub-groups. Very claustrophobic. No English translations to read so somewhat frustrating (same in the Fine Art Museum). Peter was an excellent guide/manager. Hotel extremely comfortable. A full-on tour and much culture enjoyed!
Review by Maughan who travelled 15-March-2023
Very disappointed that we didn't get to the Guggenheim until 4pm, as I (and I think many others) were tired from walking about in the morning, and early afternoon. No explanation given; it would have been much better to done the days schedule in reverse. I would have preferred a visit to Vizcaya Bridge rather than both of the stadiums, and the visit to Maritime museum was far more interesting than I expected. Peters talk at the Modern Art Museum was second to none, his insight into the works was very enlightening. The visit to Gerinka was interesting, especially the Basque parliament but I don't think we needed to sit through every audio visual display in the Museum.
Review by Wiffen who travelled 15-March-2023
A very enjoyable holiday. The tour manager Peter was very knowledgeable and pleasant and the city of Bilbao was an absolute delight to explore - so much to see. My only slight disappointed was the 2 evening meals at the hotel, they were buffet style and a lot of the food was tepid and a bit over cooked. The breakfast on the other hand was excellent which made the evening meal even more of a disappointment
Review by Morris who travelled 15-March-2023
Bilbao was a revelation. It was a wonderful city and a terrific tour and tour leader. The only downside of it was the late departure from Gatwick to Bilbao. Since I live in Shropshire I have to get to the London airports first and as yet at Travel Editions you do not offer the option of going from regional airports. I felt really elated by the experience of the Basque Country.
Review by Anonymous who travelled 15-March-2023
Review by Shippobottom who travelled 15-March-2023
Review by Shippobottom who travelled 15-March-2023
24 in total. Didn’t go up that far . Didn’t want to come home. Great crowd, so much to see and learn. Wine and local beer superb and cheap…
Review by Archer who travelled 15-March-2023
We enjoyed this tour immensely. We were kept enjoyably busy nearly all the time and thought Peter was an outstanding guide and lecturer. I think some thought could be given to tweaking the progamme a little so that we could have spent more time (and had more energy) to look around the Guggenheim. The visit was on the first day which was the earliest start of the tour and followed a late arrival the previous night. It was preceded by a lecture, a walking tour of the old town and a lengthy walk to the gallery, so by the time we arrved and had Peter's introduction we didn't have much energy left to look around the gallery on our own.
Review by Adams who travelled 15-March-2023
Dr.Higginson made the tour extra special
Review by LONGMAN who travelled 15-March-2023
On Thursday we had a lecture from Peter which was excellent. We then walked round the old town and then walked to the Guggenheim Museum for our 4.00 pm entry time. By then everyone was totally exhausted and all I saw of the interior was the entrance foyer as I was too tired to walk any further. It would have been better to have the talk then go straight to the Guggenheim Museum and then walk round the old town in the afternoon.
Review by Vincent who travelled 15-March-2023
I enjoyed the tour very much. Peter, our guide was excellent, very knowledgeable and also very kind and considerable. I will certainly travel with him again. The trip was well organised, though busy, and we had a comprehensive tour of Bilbao.
Review by Lewis who travelled 15-March-2023
Peter Higginson the tour guide/manager was an excellent guide - from the moment, on arrival, as the transfer coach left the airport for the hotel Peter was giving information of the design of the airport itself; and this really was how the whole tour continued; Peter shared a lot of information of not only the obvious: the Guggenheim and its contents but of buildings/history/culture of Bilbao; the additional guides for the Bilbao Maritime Museum and the 'Peace Museum' in Guernica, a sobering and moving visit, again were excellent covering not only the subject matter in hand, but – especially - the guide in Guernica - added personal memories of life, as a child, during Franco’s time; quite an eye-opener. My only slight twinge is that I wished we had visited the Guggenheim in the morning when I felt more energetic – by the time we did reach there – mid-afternoon – my energy was waning a little (lots of steps to climb!). The hotel was comfortable; the staff were very helpful and the food was more than adequate.
Review by McDade who travelled 15-March-2023
Most enjoyable and informative visit to Bilbao. Peter Higginson gave us a couple of very interesting lectures and the local guides were also excellent.
Review by Anonymous who travelled 15-March-2023
An exciting programme packed with action and stimulation and led with enthusiasm, knowledge and commitment. Terrible weather intervened but didn't halt the success. A friendly group created a good atmosphere for solo travellers. It was just a pity that an awkward virus has held me back from filling in this form till now!
Review by Grimshaw who travelled 13-November-2019
A wonderful holiday in spite of heavy rain and a hail storm. We braved the elements to stand outside to look at buildings. Peter was once again superb in his dual role as tour manager and cultural guide. He is so caring and thoughtful about everybody's needs, and he shares his knowledge and incites in an inspiring and captivating way. The local guides were also excellent.
Review by Anonymous who travelled 13-November-2019
Abundant rain did nothing to dim the pleasure of being introduced to the vision and creativity that has produced the C21 st. reincarnation of Bilbao. Our tour was well-paced from an excellent location and Dr. Peter Higginbottom shared his wonderful knowledge with passion, patience and pizazz. I learned so much and was wowed by the intellectual spirit of Bilbao , and was humbled by Guernica. On a lighter note, the Pintzos bar crawl was a genius idea as an end to the tour. I would recommend that everyone should take the fuernicula ride from just behind the hotel as it reinforced all we had learned. We had visited so much! Thank you.
Review by Cooper who travelled 13-November-2019
Rain was persistent which meant that spare time was more difficult to fill. This gave the overall impression that the tour did not have quite enough content. More time at Azkuna Zentroa would have been welcome and perhaps less time at Guernica where the local guide was charming but rather dull.
Review by Pickup who travelled 13-November-2019
Bilbao exceeded our expectations and this was in no small part due to Peter's enthusiasm and tour management skills. The sightseeing tours would have warranted an excellent if it were not for a couple of minor points. The visit to the Maritime museum, which focussed largely on the historic development of Bilbao would have been better earlier on the programme. It was important background information but Peter had already covered it in one of his evening lectures. We loved the scenery around Guernica (we may return for a walking trip) and found Javier's information fascinating but could the next tour have the lunch break earlier - with the early flight many were in dire need of food before we visited the Peace Museum. We would have preferred to make our own way around the latter - the guide was clearly more used to taking school children round. Shame about the weather the last 2 days, I found the organised lunch on the last day a bit of an ordeal because of the cramped conditions and the noise - my own fault - I should have opted out and gone somewhere quieter. Overall a very good holiday which I will recommend to others.
Review by Anonymous who travelled 13-November-2019
This was a very interesting trip and I have good impressions of Bilbao and it's wonderful buildings. My only criticism would be of the Peace Museum in Gernica where the guide was very preachy. Bilbao is an easy city to walk around and so clean.
Review by Anonymous who travelled 13-November-2019
Review by Jones who travelled 13-November-2019
Review by Anonymous who travelled 13-November-2019
Only my second Travel Editions tour, but this was even better than the first. Even the heavy rain did not dampen our enthusiasm for a splendid, and particularly well paced, tour. I doubt the tour would be as good without Peter Higginson as our leader. Terrific enthusiasm, charming personality and so knowledgeable and happy to share it.
Review by Caws who travelled 13-November-2019
Brilliant tour.Peter was superb and itinerary was perfect. Local guide excellent. Everything went like clockwork. Addition of Guernica was a bonus. Hotel food was not brilliant especially considering the reputation of the area for food.
Review by arnott who travelled 13-November-2019
