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Entrance of Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain

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Travel to Bilbao

Flying to Bilbao

Airlines operating flights to Bilbao from the UK include easyJet, Vueling Airlines, Spanair, Air France and bmi. Flights to Bilbao from the UK are generally not expensive; however during major holiday times such as Christmas you will need to book several months in advance to avoid high fares. Alternatively, for cheap flights, you can get very good deals flying with Ryanair to nearby Santander and getting the bus or train to Bilbao.

Flight times: 

From London - 2 hours; New York - 10 hours; Los Angeles - 18 hours; Toronto - 16 hours; Sydney - 26 hours.

Travel by road

Summary:

Bilbao traffic drives on the right and the minimum driving age is 18 years old. Speed limits are 120kph (74mph) on motorways and 50kph (31mph) within towns, unless otherwise stated. A valid driving licence and third-party insurance are required to drive in Spain. National licences from EU countries are accepted, although drivers are advised to obtain an International Driving Permit. A Green Card is strongly recommended for all visitors and is compulsory for those from outside the EU.

* The speed limit on motorways in Spain has temporarily been reduced to 110kph (68mph). The new limit will remain in effect until the end of June 2011 at the earliest. The slowdown is intended to save energy in response to the surge in oil prices sparked by the unrest in Libya and elsewhere in the Arab world.

Emergency breakdown service:

Real Automóvil Club de España (tel: 902 300 505).

Routes:

A network of motorways and highways converges on Bilbao. The city can be reached by the A8, which is connected to Donostia-San Sebastian and the French border at Irun, and by the A68, which connects with Barcelona and the A7 along the Mediterranean coast. Bilbao is connected to Burgos by the A68 and to Valladolid by the Autovía de Castilla (Castile Freeway). From there the Autovia del Norte (Northern Freeway) leads to Madrid. Bilbao is connected to Santander by the Autovía del Cantábrico (Cantabrian Freeway).

Driving times:

From Santander - 1 hour; Burgos - 1 hour 30 minutes; Valladolid - 2 hours 30 minutes; Madrid - 4 hours.

Coaches:

Bilbao's main bus station is the bus terminal Termibús, next to the exchange station of San Mamés. Termibús connects with the San Mamés metro station, the tramway and the Renfe short-distance rail lines.

Alsa (tel: (91) 327 0540; www.alsa.es) operates routes to most of the cities in Spain, as well as routes between Bilbao and cities in Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, UK and Switzerland.

PESA (tel: 902 101 210; www.pesa.net) operates the bus connection between Bilbao and San Sebastian, while La Union (tel: (94) 427 1111; www.autobuseslaunion.es) operates the routes from Vitoria, Pamplona and Logroño. Bizkaibus (tel: 902 22 22 65; www.bizkaia.net) is a bus road network connecting Bilbao to all the districts in Vizcaya.

Travel by rail

Services:

Bilbao is well connected by rail to other cities in Spain.


Bilbao has three railway stations, operated by three different companies: Abando Station, Concordia Station and Atxuri Station. All are within the city and are walking distance from old and new towns.


Operators:

Renfe (tel: 902 109 420 or 902 320 320; www.renfe.es), Spain's national railway company, offers services from Abando Station to a range of destinations including Alicante, Barcelona, Madrid, Málaga and Valladolid-Salamanca.

Feve (Ferrocarriles Españoles de Vía Estrecha), otherwise known as the Spanish Narrow Gauge Railway, (tel: (94) 425 06 15; www.feve.es), operates from Concordia Station to Santander and León.
Feve owns the longest narrow gauge line in Europe, stretching over 1,200km (745 miles).

Euskotren (tel: (94) 433 9500 or 902 543 210; www.euskotren.es), run by the Basque government, offers services from Atxuri Station, connecting with Donostia-San Sebastian and the coast of Biscay, via Gernika and Bermeo.

Journey times:

From Barcelona – 9 hours 30 minutes; from Madrid – 7 to 9 hours; Lisbon –15 hours; Paris - 16 hours; Milan - 25 hours; Frankfurt - 22 hours.

Travel over water

Summary:

The Puerto de Bilbao is 12km (8 miles) northwest of the city in the small fishing village of Santurtzi.

Ferry services:

P&O Ferries (tel: (94) 423 4477; www.poferries.com) links Bilbao with Portsmouth in the UK. There are two or three services weekly, departing from the Port of Santurtzi on the Pride of Bilbao. The crossing lasts 30 hours when travelling to the UK and 33 hours when travelling to Spain.

Brittany Ferries (tel: 0871 244 0744; www.brittany-ferries.co.uk) also run from Plymouth and Portsmouth to nearby Santander, from where you can get a bus or train to Bilbao. The fastest crossings take about 24 hours.

Nearest port:

Bilbao.

Transport to the city:

Travelling by car, take the N644 from the port which will quickly lead onto the AP-8, which runs directly to Bilbao. The Bilbao Metro also runs out to the port area; take line 2 heading north, and Santurtzi is the final stop.

Transfer distance:

1.5km (0.9 miles).

Transfer time:

10 minutes.

Recommended Sites:

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