Free Things To Do In Bilbao, From The Casco Viejo To The Guggenheim Riverside

Free Walking Tours In Bilbao You Can Join This Week

Eighteen free, pay-what-you-want walks cover Bilbao across four themes, in Spanish, English, French and Portuguese.

Basque Free Tours, Old Town

Casco Viejo · 2 hours · English and Spanish

★ 4.78 · 13,154 GuruWalk reviews

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Guggenheim 360, 1 Hour 45

Casco Viejo · 1 hour 45 minutes · English and Spanish

★ 4.83 · 1,533 GuruWalk reviews

Free, pay what you want

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Noir Dark Secrets, English And Spanish

Casco Viejo · 2 hours · English and Spanish

13 GuruWalk reviews

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Radio Guide Included, 2 Hours 30

Casco Viejo · 2 hours 30 minutes · English and Spanish

★ 4.64 · 1,788 GuruWalk reviews

Free, pay what you want

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English Local Walk, 2 Hours 30

Casco Viejo · 2 hours 30 minutes · English

★ 4.76 · 392 GuruWalk reviews

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Secrets Walk, English And French

Ensanche · 2 hours 15 minutes · English and French

★ 5.0 · 20 GuruWalk reviews

Free, pay what you want

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Every walk listed here is free, pay what you want, and runs with an independent guide. There are 18 of them across GuruWalk and freetour.com, spread over four themes: the old town, the Guggenheim and modern Bilbao, legends and mysteries, and history and hidden stories. Most run in Spanish; a smaller set runs in English, and some guides also work in French or Portuguese.

The walks split into broad groups. Old town history dominates, with several runs through the Siete Calles and Casco Viejo meeting at Plaza Arriaga. Modern Bilbao and the Guggenheim area form a second group, including the 360-degree exterior tour by Basque Free Tours BILBAO, rated 4.83 of 5 across 1,533 GuruWalk reviews. A third strand goes dark: myths, legends, mysteries and murder stories, such as the Bilbao Noir walk by Maite, in English and Spanish from Plaza Miguel de Unamuno. A fourth mixes local life and neighbourhood history.

The English options include the flagship Old Town walk by Basque Free Tours BILBAO, the Anglotourismo walk called Walk Like a Local, and the Guggenheim 360 tour. Nuria's Feel Bilbao walk runs in English and French from Moyua Square, at the Iruna bar entrance, for 2 hours 15 minutes. Each walk page carries its own rating with its platform scale, so you can compare like with like before reserving.

Languages matter when choosing. Spanish carries the largest share of the 18 walks, including Belén's walk on the seven streets, rated 4.97 of 5 from 141 reviews, and Ronaldo's historic-centre walk in Spanish and Portuguese. English options include Walk Like a Local by Anglotourismo and Feel Bilbao by Nuria, the latter also in French. GuruWalk rates its walks out of 5 and freetour.com out of 10, so a 9.2 of 10 is a different scale from a 4.97 of 5.

Where Are The Free Things To Do In Bilbao?

Bilbao's free side maps onto a simple geography: the east bank old town, the bridges over the ria, the Abandoibarra waterfront and the hills that ring the city.

Most of the free side of Bilbao sits on the east bank of the Nervion, in the Casco Viejo, or along Abandoibarra between Plaza Euskadi and the Puente de la Salve. The Siete Calles, Plaza Nueva and Paseo del Arenal are all open streets. Cross the Zubizuri and the modern side begins, with the Guggenheim exterior, Puppy and Maman free to see from outside.

The Casco Viejo on the east bank holds the densest cluster of free ground. The Siete Calles, Plaza Nueva, Paseo del Arenal and the climb up the Calzadas de Mallona to the Basilica de Begoña are all public and free, the basilica closed to sightseeing only during religious celebrations. Two bridges carry pedestrians for nothing: the Zubizuri and the walkway on the Puente de la Salve. The Vizcaya Bridge further out is different, with its high walkway at 11 euros round trip and its gondola at 0.60 euros a crossing for pedestrians.

Further out, the hills frame the city. Monte Pagasarri, Monte Avril and Kobetamendi are free to walk, and the path up to the Artxanda viewpoint costs nothing on foot. The Funicular de Artxanda is a separate, paid option at 3.50 euros one way or 6 euros return. Every walk lists its own meeting point, so you can anchor a day around Plaza Arriaga or Moyua Square and walk from one stop to the next.

On the west bank, Abandoibarra stretches along the ria as open promenade, past the Guggenheim exterior and toward Parque de Doña Casilda Iturrizar. Azkuna Zentroa sits in this part of the city too: the building and its public atrium can be walked into, and free guided building visits run on set days with pre-registration, though the pool, cinema and most exhibitions are priced. Further west still, Kobetamendi is a free public hill park on ordinary days, though the BBK Live festival that occupies it in July is ticketed.

What Do Free Things To Do In Bilbao Actually Cost?

Every walk on this site is free, pay what you want, so the only prices to plan for are the paid sights and services around them.

The walks themselves cost nothing to reserve and nothing fixed on the day: free, pay what you want is the whole price model, on GuruWalk and freetour.com alike. There is no entry fee, no deposit figure to quote and no minimum to state, because none exists.

Pay what you want means exactly that. You reserve on GuruWalk or freetour.com for nothing, join the walk, and at the end you hand the guide whatever you think the tour was worth. No fixed amount, no minimum, no deposit, and no price is published because none exists. The 18 walks all work this way, from the 13,154-review flagship to the newest small listing. It is the cleanest pricing model in the city, and it sits beside the genuinely free public ground: streets, plazas, bridges, parks and viewpoints that never charged anyone.

Walk counts are the free walks' meeting points within 1 km of each place, measured from their coordinates.

The Guggenheim galleries cost 15 euros for adults; the exterior, Puppy, Maman and the riverside around them are free to see. Catedral de Santiago charges 10 euros, while the Basilica de Begoña is free to enter as a place of worship. The Vizcaya Bridge walkway is 11 euros and the gondola 0.60 euros, though the view from the street is free. Pintxos and pintxo-pote are paid, with prices that vary from bar to bar.

Around them, the paid neighbours state their figures. The Guggenheim galleries cost 15 euros for an adult, though under 18s, members and a needed disability companion enter free. The Catedral de Santiago charges 10 euros general, and it is not a free church despite looking like one. The Artxanda funicular is 3.50 euros one way or 6 euros return, the Vizcaya Bridge walkway 11 euros round trip for an adult. From 1 January 2027, overnight guests also pay a per-person, per-night tourist tax for up to six nights, with under-18s exempt.

The Free Side Of The Guggenheim And The Abandoibarra Riverside

The Guggenheim district works on a simple split between a sculpture-studded public outside and a ticketed inside, with a free riverside walk threaded between the two.

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao splits neatly into a free outside and a paid inside. The building exterior, Puppy, Maman and the riverside around them cost nothing to see, at any hour the public space is open. The galleries are paid for adults at 15 euros per the official page, free only for visitors under 18, Museum Members and the companion of a visitor with a disability who needs one. There is no general free day.

Puppy, the flower-covered dog, and Maman, the towering spider, stand in open public space beside the museum, and the building exterior can be seen from outside without any ticket. The Abandoibarra riverside promenade around them is free at all hours, so the most photographed stretch of modern Bilbao costs nothing to explore on foot. Behind the museum quarter sits Parque de Doña Casilda Iturrizar, public parkland free to walk and sit in, its Christmas market stalls in December being the only paid element noted for it on this site.

The Abandoibarra stretch around it is a walk in itself. Zubizuri, Puente de la Salve and the riverside along the Nervion are free public space, and Parque de Doña Casilda Iturrizar sits just behind the museum quarter. To put the district in context, the Guggenheim 360 walk by Basque Free Tours BILBAO covers the modern side from Plaza Arriaga, 1 hour 45 minutes, rated 4.83 out of 5 across 1,533 GuruWalk reviews, in English and Spanish.

The galleries are another matter. Adult entry costs 15 euros, students 18 to under 26 pay 7.50, seniors over 65 and pensioners pay 7.50, and a combo ticket with Bilbao Museoa costs 20 euros for an adult. Free entry applies to visitors under 18, Museum Members and the companion of a visitor with a disability who needs one. There is no general free day for adults, so plan the inside around those conditions rather than hoping for one.

Free Parks, Viewpoints And The Walk Up Artxanda

Parks and hills cost nothing in Bilbao, and the one famous viewpoint stays free as long as you use your legs instead of the funicular.

The parks cost nothing. Parque de Doña Casilda Iturrizar, Parque Etxebarria and the riverside along the Nervion are open public space, free to walk and sit in. The hills around the city, Monte Pagasarri, Monte Avril and Kobetamendi, are free too, on foot. That last phrase matters: walking is the free way up.

Parque de Doña Casilda Iturrizar is open public space at all hours, and Parque Etxebarria on the old town slope is the same, free to walk and rest in. Beyond the city, the green belt hills are public ground: Monte Pagasarri carries free mountain trails, Monte Avril has free hill and green belt paths, and Kobetamendi is a free public hill park on ordinary days, though the BBK Live festival takes it over in July with ticketed entry. None of these hills needs a booking or a fee to set foot on.

Artxanda is the classic viewpoint, and it carries the same split. Walking up to the viewpoint is free. The Funicular de Artxanda is paid, at 3.50 euros one way or 6 euros return.

Artxanda is the viewpoint most visitors want, and the split is clean. The hill park, the paths climbing from the city and the Mirador de Artxanda itself are open public ground, free at all hours, with restaurants at the top being the only paid element noted there. The funicular is the paid route: 3.50 euros one way, 6 euros return, or 0.44 euros with a Barik Kide card, on a ride that lasts 3 minutes. Children ride free per the operator.

Where Do Bilbao Free Walking Tours Meet?

The meeting points for Bilbao's free walking tours cluster around a handful of well-known spots, mostly at the edge of the old town.

Plaza Arriaga is the anchor. A cluster of walks meet at the Arriaga Theatre there, some in front of the main facade, one at the back facade and one on the steps, so read the meeting point on each walk's own page before setting out. The theatre square sits at the edge of the Casco Viejo, which makes it an easy base for a day in the old town. From Concordia Station, the SPAIN FREE TOURS walks start on the esplanade in front of the main facade.

Plaza Arriaga dominates the list, but the wording differs from walk to walk, and the difference matters. Some listings say the front of the Arriaga Theatre, one says the back facade, another says the steps, and one says simply next to the theatre entrance. A guide waiting at the front will not see you at the rear, so confirm the exact phrase on the walk page before you leave your hotel. The square sits beside the Casco Viejo, so arriving early costs you nothing and gives you time to wander.

Most of the walks gather at Plaza Arriaga, by the front or back facade of the Arriaga Theatre, which puts walkers at the edge of the Casco Viejo and the Siete Calles. Others set off from Concordia Station, Moyua Square or Mercado de la Ribera. Check the exact meeting point on each walk's own page on GuruWalk, or on freetour.com for its walks there, before you set out.

Away from Arriaga, the SPAIN FREE TOURS essentials walk gathers on the esplanade in front of the main facade of Concordia Station, a short walk from the old town across the water. The Power Free Tours historic and modern walk meets at Plaza Euskadi 9, on the corner of Alameda Mazarredo, right in the Abandoibarra district near the Guggenheim. Loren's walk on the founding of the villa starts at Bilbao-Abando Station, in the Abando area.

When To Go: Free Things To Do In Bilbao By Season

Bilbao's always-free sights run all year, while the big free events, the fiestas, the Christmas lights and the coastal hermitage, each carry their own timing rules.

The seasons change how Bilbao feels, though the free things do not change much themselves. The riverside along the Nervion, the Casco Viejo and the Siete Calles cost nothing whenever you arrive, and the parks are open through the year. What shifts is the light on the ria and the mood of the plazas, so pick the season that suits your pace.

The baseline is constant. The riverside promenade of Abandoibarra, the Zubizuri bridge, the Siete Calles of the Casco Viejo, Plaza Nueva, Doña Casilda park and the paths up Monte Pagasarri cost nothing in any month. Beaches at Getxo, Sopelana, Plentzia and Bakio are free to use whenever the weather invites. This means a full free day exists in Bilbao regardless of season, built from streets, parks, viewpoints and riverbanks alone.

Aste Nagusia has ended for 2026 and the city has settled back into quieter rhythms. Looking at the Christmas lights costs nothing, and walking through the market is free, though stalls, food and the rink are paid. Dates for the lights and market are not confirmed yet, so treat any dates you see elsewhere with caution until the city confirms them.

Aste Nagusia is the high point of the free calendar. Most of its 500-plus municipal activities, including concerts, parades, folklore, the children's programme and fireworks over the ria, are free to attend, while food and drink at the txosnas are paid. The 2026 edition ran from 22 to 30 August and has ended, and no 2027 dates have been announced. Until the city publishes the next programme, treat any dates you see elsewhere as unconfirmed.

Free Things To Do In Bilbao FAQ

Straight answers on what is genuinely free in Bilbao, from walking tours and museums to bridges, pintxos and the new tourist tax.