Bilbao Cruise Port Guide: What to Do in One Day
Before visiting Bilbao on a cruise, we weren’t entirely sure what to expect. Like many people, we knew about the Guggenheim Museum and had seen photographs of its striking architecture, but beyond that Bilbao wasn’t a destination we knew particularly well. In fact, if we’re being honest, we expected it to feel a little more industrial than some of the other Spanish ports we’d visited.
What we discovered was something quite different.
Bilbao felt modern, clean and surprisingly easy to explore independently. While you could easily spend several days here, it’s also a city that works remarkably well as a cruise stop if you have a rough plan before leaving the ship.
During our visit we skipped the cruise shuttle, used the Metro to reach the city centre, visited the Guggenheim Museum, rode the Artxanda Funicular and explored parts of the city on foot. By the end of the day, Bilbao had become one of those destinations that left us wishing we’d had just a little more time.
If you’re visiting Bilbao on a cruise, here’s how we’d approach the day.
Team Five Travels original photo: Puppy Guggenheim Bilbao
Is Bilbao Easy To Explore On A Cruise Stop?
One of the biggest surprises from our visit was just how straightforward Bilbao was to navigate. Unlike some cruise ports where attractions are spread across large distances or transport can feel confusing, Bilbao felt organised and easy to manage from the moment we left the ship.
Cruise ships normally dock in Getxo rather than directly in Bilbao city centre, which means you’ll need some form of transport to reach the main attractions. At first glance, that can make the city seem slightly more complicated than ports where you simply walk off the ship and start exploring. In reality, we found the opposite.
The transport links were excellent, the Metro system was easy to use and moving around the city felt surprisingly simple throughout the day.
That’s not to say you’ll see everything in a single visit. Bilbao is a sizeable city and, like many cruise stops, you’ll need to prioritise what matters most. However, compared to some major European cities, it felt far less overwhelming than we’d expected.
Team Five Travels original photo: Cruz Roja Bilbao en route towards the Metro station from the Cruise Terminal.
How We Got Into Bilbao City Centre
The cruise shuttle is the option many passengers choose. When we visited with Royal Caribbean, shuttle buses were available from the terminal and offered a convenient way to reach the city centre. However, once we’d looked at the cost and compared it with the alternatives, we decided to do something different. Instead, we walked to the Metro station.
The walk from the cruise terminal to Gobela Metro Station took around fifteen to twenty minutes and was considerably easier than we’d anticipated. The route was well signposted and also gave us a chance to see more of the local area rather than heading straight onto a shuttle bus.
What struck us immediately was how modern and well-kept everything felt. The waterfront, surrounding buildings and public spaces all contributed to a very positive first impression.
Once at the station, buying tickets was straightforward and the Metro journey into Bilbao city centre was quick and comfortable. For a family of four, it also worked out significantly cheaper than using the cruise shuttle.
If we visited Bilbao on a cruise again, we would probably use the same way to get in and out of the city. For us, it was one of the easiest independent cruise port transfers we’ve experienced.
The Guggenheim Museum Is Worth Visiting Even If You Don’t Go Inside
No visit to Bilbao feels complete without seeing the Guggenheim Museum. The museum is undoubtedly the city’s most famous landmark and, even if you’ve never visited Bilbao before, there’s a good chance you’ve seen photographs of the building.
What surprised us most wasn’t the size of the museum but the impact it has on the surrounding area. The architecture is genuinely impressive in person and immediately draws your attention as you approach along the river.
We didn’t go inside during our visit as with only a limited amount of time available, we decided to prioritise seeing more of the city rather than spending several hours inside the museum. That’s one of the realities of cruise travel. Sometimes you have to make choices between experiencing a major attraction in depth or covering more ground during the day.
Even without entering the museum, however, the visit felt worthwhile. The outdoor sculptures are attractions in their own right and the famous floral Puppy sculpture attracts a constant stream of photographers throughout the day.
One feature we particularly enjoyed was the mist installation surrounding the museum. At regular intervals, clouds of mist drift across the water and around the building, creating a completely different atmosphere and some fantastic photo opportunities.
Some of our favourite photographs from Bilbao came from this area alone.
Team Five Travels original photo: Guggenheim Bilbao and the mist.
The Best Views In Bilbao
While the Guggenheim is the attraction most visitors arrive to see, the highlight of the day for us was probably the Artxanda Funicular.
After spending time around the museum and riverside area, we made our way towards the funicular station and travelled up Mount Artxanda.
The journey itself is short, but the reward at the top is impressive.
From the viewing areas you can look across the entire city, with the river winding through Bilbao and the surrounding hills creating a dramatic backdrop. It also gives you a completely different perspective on the scale of the city.
What stood out was the contrast between Bilbao’s industrial history and its modern transformation. From above, you can see how successfully the city has reinvented itself while still retaining elements of its past.
If you’re deciding what to prioritise during a limited port stop, we’d place the funicular very high on the list.
Team Five Travels Original Photo: View from the top - Funicular de Artxanda
Exploring Beyond The Guggenheim
One of the reasons Bilbao left such a positive impression is that it feels like a city with far more to offer than a single attraction.
The Guggenheim may be the headline act, but there are plenty of other areas worth exploring if time allows.
Casco Viejo, Bilbao’s historic old town, is particularly popular and offers a completely different atmosphere to the modern riverside district. The narrow streets, traditional architecture and busy bars provide a glimpse into a different side of the city.
Unfortunately, like many cruise visitors, we simply ran out of time before we could explore everything we wanted to see.
That’s often the challenge with destinations like Bilbao. You can comfortably see the highlights during a cruise stop, but there’s always something left for another visit.
What We’d Do Differently Next Time
One of the questions we often ask ourselves when leaving a cruise port is whether we’d return. For Bilbao, the answer is definitely yes.
If we visited again, we’d spend more time exploring some of the neighbourhoods we didn’t reach during this trip rather than focusing solely on the headline attractions. A food tour would also be high on the list.
The Basque region has an outstanding culinary reputation and, looking back, it’s probably the part of the city we experienced least during our visit.
That’s one of the advantages of cruise travel. You rarely see everything, but you often discover places you’d happily return to in the future. Bilbao was one of those places for us.
Final Thoughts
Bilbao exceeded our expectations.
What we expected to be a largely industrial port city turned out to be a modern, vibrant destination that’s remarkably easy to explore independently from a cruise ship.
The combination of excellent public transport, impressive architecture and varied neighbourhoods makes it one of the more rewarding cruise stops in northern Spain.
If you’re visiting for the first time, we’d recommend using the Metro, spending time around the Guggenheim and making the journey up Mount Artxanda for the views across the city.
You won’t see everything in a single day, but you’ll almost certainly leave with a much better impression of Bilbao than you had when you arrived. And if you’re anything like us, you’ll probably leave with a list of things you’d like to come back and do next time.
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