Private tours in Bilbao

Bilbao was a grey industrial port until a titanium museum changed its mind about itself. The Guggenheim opened in 1997 and the city rebuilt around it: cleaned the estuary, added the metro and the footbridges, and kept the old town exactly as it was. Tour Travel & More organises 100% private tours of Bilbao with a licensed official tour guide, a luxury vehicle with chauffeur and a travel coordinator available 24/7.

The Guggenheim, inside and out

Gehry's building is sheathed in thirty-three thousand titanium tiles, each slightly curved so the light never sits still on them. Outside, Puppy stands guard in flowers that are replanted twice a year, and Louise Bourgeois's spider crouches over the river. Inside, the Richard Serra galleries are worth the visit on their own. A guide explains what the building did for the city, which is the more interesting story.

The Casco Viejo and its Seven Streets

Across the water, the old town is seven original streets, a covered market that is one of the largest in Europe, and the Plaza Nueva, where the arcades fill up every evening. This is where Bilbao eats, and the difference between a good pintxo bar and a tourist one is one street and nobody tells you which.

Pintxos, done properly

A pintxo is not a tapa: it is ordered, not given, and it is eaten standing, one per bar, moving on. The counter is a display, the good things are cooked to order on the blackboard, and the txakoli is poured from a height to open it up. Your guide knows the rotation, which is exactly what a first-timer cannot improvise.

San Sebastián, Getaria and the coast

An hour east, San Sebastián curves around La Concha, one of the great urban beaches in Europe. On the way, Getaria grills whole turbot over coals on the street and produces the txakoli that goes with it. With a private vehicle and chauffeur it is a comfortable day, and Biarritz is barely further.

With Tour Travel & More, Bilbao is the museum and everything the museum made possible. Send us your dates and a travel expert will design your private tour with an official guide and the driving taken care of.