An industrial center since the Roman era, Bilbao (Bilbo in Basque) is a combination of ancient roots and ultra-modern architecture that’s certainly worth exploring. When you tire of wandering around, laze on a beach on the outskirts of the city, or pop into a one of the cozy restaurants or bars for a break.

Due to the level of quality that Basques demand when it comes to food and drink, dining out can be slightly more expensive here than in some Spanish cities, but there are plenty of affordable options to be had, even in Bilbao’s popular old town.

Here are our favorite tips to stretch your Euros further without missing out on anything important.

Getting to Bilbao

From all around Europe, fly budget airlines like easyJet, Ryanair, and Vueling directly into the Bilbao airport starting around €100 for round-trip flights. Make your plans as far in advance as you can manage, and go carry-on only for the best deals. SYou can search for affordable flights on EuroCheapo. If you’re already in Spain, there are also plenty of trains and buses from the big cities. The train trip takes under 5 hours from Madrid and around 6.5 hours from Barcelona.

Wandering the streets of the Old Town in Bilbao. Photo: dbaron

Free entertainment and attractions

Treat yourself to a self-guided tour

Stroll the city, getting to know Bilbao’s eclectic mixture of old and new when it comes to architecture. If you prefer historic buildings, roam the old town in search of the elegant Arriaga Theatre, statues of Hercules guarding the renaissance style Arana Palace, the gothic city cathedral, and the art nouveau Ribera Market. Prefer the sleekly modern? Snap shots of the Guggenheim and the large-scale outdoor sculptures that surround it (there’s no charge for gawking at it from the outside). Then follow the Rio Nervión riverwalk to the soaring Isozaki Atea skyscrapers and the glass-bottomed Zubizuri Bridge.

Spend time in nature

Make your way to Doña Caslida Iturrizar Park and wander in the shade of hundred-year-old trees and feed the ducks. Or pack a picnic and a towel and hop the metro to Las Arenas or Barinatxe-La Salvaje beaches, easily reached via Bilbao’s metro system.

Free museums

The Guggenheim is never free, but a fair number of the city’s other institutions are free at least once a week. On Wednesdays, you can admire masterpieces by great artists like El Greco, Gauguin, and Goya in the second largest museum in Basque country, the Museo de Bellas Artes without paying the €7 admission fee. On Thursdays, choose between exploring Bilbao’s seafaring and industrial history at the Museo Maritimo, housed in a former shipyard and learning about Basque culture and traditions at the Euskal Museoa Bilbao free of charge.

Related: Five tips for visiting Bilbao on a budget

Cheap food & drink

Basque country is known throughout Spain — and the world — as an amazing place to eat. This reputation comes from Basque’s focus on the purity and freshness of ingredients used in cuisine, which doesn’t always translate to low prices. Even so, there are still inexpensive eats to be had around Bilbao.

Pintxos: The Basque version of tapas

Want to try local cuisine without breaking the bank? Opt for pintxos, the local version of tapas, small bites served on toast  and speared through with toothpicks, typical in bars and cafeterias around Basque country. Most often, pintxos are served on the honor system where you make your selection at the counter, and pay by presenting the toothpicks from the pintxos you ate before you leave. The best place to snack on a wide selection of pintxos on the cheap is El Figon (c/Obispo Orueta, 1) where all pintxos are priced at the same unbelievable price — €1.

Filling fare for less

For more filling fare there are sandwiches and fixed price menus. If you’re willing to wait in line for it, at Bar EME (c/Concha Jeneralare, 5), there’s a wide selection of filling sandwiches to be had for €4 or less or head to The Bite (c/Buenos Aires, 15) for set daily menus starting at €5.99, including two courses with a drink, not to mention Bilbao’s cheapest beer pitchers!

For a more formal Basque meal, up your budget just a bit with a weekday menu of one or two courses with dessert and drinks for €10-15 at Restaurant Pentxo (c/Belostikale, 20).

Related: A Trip through the Basque region 

The view from a room with a balcony at Hotel Casual Curea. Photo: Courtesy of the hote

Affordable accommodations

Bilbao, like many Spanish cities, has a good selection of budget hotels and guesthouses on offer with private rooms starting around €50 per night. Stick to centrally located lodging to save money and time on transit and getting around the city. For extra savings, try staying at hostels, where prices start around €10 per person for a bed in a shared room.

We recommend budget-friendly options that don’t sacrifice on location or creature comforts like private bathrooms such as Ibis Bilbao Center, Casual Gurea, and Hotel Sirimiri.

Search over 75 hotels in Bilbao on EuroCheapo.

The post A Budget guide to Bilbao, Spain appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

1. St. Peter Line to Russia

The news last week that over 60 ships were trapped in thick ice in the Baltic for some days is probably no great incentive to go and book some ferry trips. But Baltic spring ice does melt–eventually–and this year sees some interesting new options for Baltic travel by ship.

Cypriot-owned St. Peter Line last year launched a thrice-weekly service from Helsinki to St. Petersburg and back. And next month the company expands its offering with twice-weekly sailings from Stockholm to St. Petersburg (on Wednesdays and Saturdays) and a weekly departure from Tallinn to St. Petersburg (on Sundays).

2. Brittany Ferries to Bilbao

French operator Brittany Ferries has long been one of the most adventurous operators in the Western Channel with a raft of routes linking England and Ireland with northwest France. Later this month, the company opens a new service from Portsmouth to Bilbao in Spain, so reviving a long established ferry connection that abruptly disappeared when P&O pulled off the route last September.

Last Saturday, Brittany Ferries also reinstated its Poole to Cherbourg service. This is a very useful short link from England’s south coast to Normandy’s Cotentin peninsula. At the moment, Brittany advertise sailings just to October, so the long-term future of the route is still in doubt.

3. Maltese Connections

Virtu Ferries are one of several operators serving the Maltese market. The company had a welcome dose of free publicity in late February as Virtu’s smart white catamarans were featured on many news reports as the vessels evacuating foreign workers from Libyan ports. Virtu operates a year-round fast-ferry link between Pozzallo in Sicily and Malta. This year the company will also offer a Saturday catamaran service from Catania to Malta, starting on May 7, 2011.

Virtu’s latest Australian-built catamaran hit the headlines in September 2010 when it encountered Somali pirates on its delivery voyage to Malta. Virtu prides itself on speed, and reports say that the pirates were easily outpaced.

4. Scotland-Northern Ireland: Kintyre Express

Not for many years has there been any direct ferry link across the North Channel between the Mull of Kintyre (in western Scotland) and Northern Ireland. The last operator to offer a service was the splendidly named Argyll & Antrim Steam Packet Company which turned out to have rather flaky finances, and the service stopped in 2000.

Now Kintyre Express will fill the gap with a new fast passenger ferry from Campbeltown to Ballycastle. Services start on May 27, 2011. The route will be operated by fast RIBs with a heated cabin, so the 90-minute crossing is surely going to be a whole lot more fun than the average ferry journey. We reserve judgment on whether this is an inspired idea by Colin Craig, the man behind Kintyre Express, or whether perhaps it might be the balmiest idea in the history of European ferry transport.

We hope it is a great success, but Kintyre Express really needs to get its act together in terms of publicity and having a functioning online booking system on its website. This new ferry link creates a raft of new travel opportunities allowing visitors to Kintyre and Islay to make an easy hop over to the most beautiful part of the coast of Northern Ireland. The Antrim Glens and the Giant’s Causeway are both within easy reach of the Ballycastle ferry terminal.

The post European Ferries: 4 interesting new options for 2011 appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Gorgeous landscapes, sumptuous food and unique cultural heritage are but just a few of the reasons to trek up north. I spent two glorious weeks in September traveling through the Basque country. Here are a few highlights.

San Sebastian’s harbor

Donostia/San Sebastian

The stunning seaside town of San Sebastian is a true gem that deserves every praise it gets. The city of 180,000 radiates from the conch-shaped bay filled with crystal-clear water. Delightful green squares dot the narrow streets and pedestrian zones.

Getting around is a breeze, as the city has a good public bicycle rental program and extensive paths. When you’re ready to take a break, take the funicular to the top of Monte Igueldo, from where you’ll have a breathtaking vista of the sea, city and surrounding landscape.

Bilbao

What used to be a gritty industrial town is undergoing a cultural, economic and culinary renaissance. The famed Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Gehry, is a must-see, but so is Bilbao’s lovely city center.

Cod croquettes or shrimp brochettes go perfectly with a drink of txakoli, the region’s sparkling wine.

Even if you’re not a public transportation geek like me, it’s worth taking a ride on its one-line tram that traces the waterfront from the bus station, past the Guggenheim and to the historic old town. You’ll see how marvelously the futuristic experiments interact with Bilbao’s traditional cityscape.

Coastal villages

There are so many reasons to brave the jagged roads and drive along the region’s sapphire coast. The delightful port city of Lekeitio boasts a fairytale center and a postcard-perfect beach. Zarautz, once an exclusive playground, is now an affordable surfing destination.

Guernica, infamous for the brutal air raids by Hitler and Franco, is immortalized by Picasso’s painting (installed at the Reina Sofia in Madrid) and the town continues to draw visitors.

An annual festival in Mutriku

Plenty of other towns like Bermeo, Mutriku and Zumaia are also great places to spend an afternoon eating good pintxos and enjoying the sound of Euskara (Basque), Europe’s only language isolate.

St. Jean de Luz

If you want a break from Spain, hop on a train from San Sebastian. An hour later, you’ll find yourself in the lovely French town of St. Jean de Luz.

A traditional fishing port, it is also hailed as the capital of French Basque cuisine. Don’t forget to try gateau basque, a buttery cake filled with cherries or cream. Though it has its share of tourists (mainly from France and Spain), there’s plenty of space on the calm beach. It’s also a great place to shop for foodstuffs to take home as souvenirs.

The post Spain: A trip through Basque country appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Bilbao is an immediately attractive city with green parks and a pleasingly well-heeled atmosphere. There are so many exciting things going on in Bilbao that it’s hard to know if the focus should be on the new or on the old.

Architectural draw

Santiago Calatrava’s Campo Volantin Footbridge.

The city has become a magnet for those thrilled by contemporary architecture. Gehry’s museum is a masterpiece, and Santiago Calatrava’s imprint on the city is also undeniable. His Campo Volantin Footbridge is a marvel, and Bilbao’s Sondika Airport, also designed by Calatrava, is dramatic and grand.

But lovers of older styles shouldn’t sit Bilbao out. The city’s Casco Viejo (Old Town) is dripping with old world charm. The Gothic Catedral de Santiago, at the center of the Old Town, is gorgeous; elsewhere, there are plenty of Neoclassical and hybrid eclecticism buildings to admire.

A touch of tension

Yet despite Bilbao’s palpable prosperity and many charms, there’s tension in the air. Upon observing a protest adjacent to the Arriaga Theatre led by men and women in their sixties and seventies, many holding signs written in Basque, I asked a local what the protests were about. I assumed that the protesters were holding a vigil for those murdered by separatist terrorists.

Bilbao’s Casco Viejo (Old City).

In fact, the man on the street told me, the silent protest was not for the victims of Basque terrorism at all. Those holding signs were the parents of convicted terrorists demonstrating for the transfer of their children to prisons inside the Basque Country—away from the prisons, elsewhere in Spain, where they are currently housed.

All of this, while very interesting, no doubt gives a misleading impression of the placid and quite wealthy city. In fact, Bilbao is very safe. The various skirmishes over language, culture, and politics in the Basque Country are mostly invisible to visitors.

What tourists see is an omnipresent Basque language, as well as tourist shops selling Basque flags and t-shirts.

Bilbao on a budget

Here are five tips for saving money in Bilbao.

1. Cheap savories.

One word: pintxos (pronounced “pinchos”), or: the Basque version of tapas. Pintxos come in all sorts of forms. There is a lot of cod, shrimp, and mayonnaise involved. All good, and all pretty cheap. Three pintxos and a glass of wine shouldn’t set you back more than €7. Stroll the Casco Viejo (Old Town) to find a pintxos popping perch.

2. Cheap sweets.

Refuel with cheap and filling pastries. Try the local rice tart with coffee. We like the old school feel of New York Café, at Calle Buenos Aires 12.

Take the Bilbobus!

3. Hubbing it.

Bilbao makes a great hub for exploring other cities in the Basque Country and beyond. The exquisite city of San Sebastián is about 90 minutes away by bus (roundtrip around €18), while Santander in the neighboring region of Cantabria is roughly the same distance to the west (roundtrip beginning at €13).

4. Museum switch.

We can’t seriously recommend that you not visit the Guggenheim. But if innovative interiors are less important to you than broad permanent art collections, restrict your explorations of the Guggenheim (admission €13) to the remarkable building’s exterior and check out the Museo de Bellas Artes (admission €5.50) instead.

5. Cheap sleeps.

Bilbao has a good range of affordable beds. We like Hotel Sirimiri, right next to the Atxuri tram station, where a double room runs just €60. The word “sirimiri” means a faint yet continuous mist, a type of precipitation common to Bilbao throughout much of the year.

The post Bilbao on a Budget: Five Tips appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.