03Places

Biscay

Bilbao and La Concha

This is the one Atlantic coast in the journey, so the Mediterranean shore is not walked again. Bilbao is the largest city in Biscay and in the Basque Country. It had 347,342 residents in 2024, the municipality covers 41.50 square kilometres, and the centre sits at about 19 metres. The Nervión runs through it to the Cantabrian Sea, and the lower course after the meeting with the Ibaizabal is known as the Bilbao estuary. The climate is oceanic, with rain through the year and no clear dry summer. The wettest months run from October to April, and November is the dampest. The Guggenheim Museum stands on the estuary. Frank Gehry designed it, and it opened on 18 October 1997. The metal surfaces are curved, each piece set on its own to follow the arc. The city’s airport handled 7,062,681 passengers in 2025. San Sebastián, also called Donostia, is on the Bay of Biscay, 20 kilometres from the French border. It had 188,487 residents in 2024, covers 60.89 square kilometres, and sits at about 6 metres. La Concha is an arc of sand and water between two hills, seen from Mount Urgull as in the photograph: a beach, boats, and a rocky headland. The two cities are two days, not a week of sea: a museum and an estuary, then the bay and a walk on the promenade.

0 residents in 2024.

Bilbao’s population

0 residents in 2024.

San Sebastián’s population

0.50 square kilometres.

Bilbao’s area