La Vieja is Bilbao’s oldest working-class neighborhood. Today it’s transformed into a cool and vibrant neighborhood filled with street art, galleries, design, hip cafés and creative restaurants. With high ceilings, you can breathe in a true bohemian vibe mixed with multicultural local life.
The guide to La Vieja in Bilbao is updated in March 2026. It was originally published in April 2020.
On the left bank of the Nervion River you’ll find Bilbao’s hippest neighborhood, La Vieja, not to be confused with Bilbao’s old town, Casco Viejo, which is located on the opposite side of the river, by the San Antón bridge. At the other end, La Vieja is connected to the Abando neighborhood.
La Vieja, which consists of three smaller neighborhoods, La Vieja, San Francisco and Zabala. The neighborhood was once inhabited by sailors and later the center of Bilbao’s iron industry and miners. It also had a tarnished reputation as a cabaret party district until it hit rock bottom in the 1980s and 1990s when it was invaded by crime, drugs and prostitution.
Now young, creative entrepreneurs have moved into La Vieja (locally known as Bilbi), alongside many of the city’s multicultural residents. They’ve transformed La Vieja into Bilbao’s artists’ quarter, constantly generating new ideas that intermingle with the daily lives of locals.
The architecture of La Vieja is also worth a visit. Colorful. It’s filled with a charming mix of beautiful, colorful buildings with glass balconies from the 1800s, concrete buildings from the 1960s and 1970s and old industrial buildings. Today, the old, rough working-class district has become Bibao’s hippest neighbourhood.
Here, remnants of the neighbourhood’s chequered history mingle with young art, design and architecture, just as young people have transformed old, worn-out bars into hip cafés. So hip it’s compared to Brooklyn’s Williamsburg, La Vieja is a colourful mix of raw past and young future.
Things to do in La Vieja Bilbao
Guided bike tour in the underground culture
Hop on your bike and join local cultural expert Laura for a ride around Bilbao’s hip underground neighbourhoods. The tour is a great introduction to La Vieja and Bilbao’s creative underground.
Laura from bike rental shop Tourné is passionate and knows where Bilbao’s alternative artists hang out. You’ll cycle along the river and pass through La Vieja, where you’ll see street art on the walls of the Muelle Manzana. You’ll also see a gigantic street art piece at La Salve bridge, the avant-garde ZAWP cultural venue in the old industrial buildings of the Zorrotzaurre peninsula.
I loved the bike ride with Laura. She was both knowledgeable and fun to be with. If you want a guided bike tour in La Vieja, you can book the bike tour with Tourné in advance.
Tourne Bilbao, Villarias Kalea 1
La Viejas street art
After the bike ride, there’s still plenty of street art waiting in La Vieja. The walls of Bilbao’s artists’ quarter are dotted with everything from graffiti, paste ups and crochet to large gable paintings. The works are created by local and international street artists such as SUSO 33 from Madrid, José Ramón from Bilbao and Eltono from Paris.
Many of the works were created during the BLV-Art festival, and there’s a lot of street art around Tres Pilares square and San Francsico street.
In several places there are references to La Vieja’s past as a mining district. Here are several works that depict mines. In the street, Bilbo Zaharra, is a gateway that was the entrance to a former mine, now transformed into a street art gallery with tags, paste ups, stickers and crochet.
Art in the butcher shop
Bilbao’s artists’ quarter is dotted with small art galleries worth exploring, and new ones are popping up all the time. One of my favourite galleries is Okela, behind a pair of striking red and white wooden doors in one of the neighbourhood’s most pulsating streets, San Frantzisko.
The nonprofit gallery is housed in an old butcher shop, where a group of avant-garde artists focusing on Basque contemporary art moved in 2014. Here, artists can produce their works, network and sell their work.
Okela holds regular exhibitions, workshops and art discussions in the raw butcher’s premises with white tiles on the walls and the metal door to the former cold room intact.
Okela Sormen Lantegia, San Frantzisko Kalea, 11
Innovative contemporary art
Another gallery worth checking out is SC Gallery, where you can explore local contemporary artists in particular.
Opened in 2008, the gallery has a strong focus on innovation. The exhibitions change five times a year and the artists include Kiko Miyares, Nieves González, Julia Santa Olalla and Sebas Velasco.
The gallery is also involved in the creation of some of La Vieja’s many street art pieces. These include works by artists SUSU, Fermín Moreno and Grip Face.
SC Gallery, C/ Cortes 4 Lonja
Concert in the old church
An old 17th-century church in Bilbao, located on the bridge separating La Vieja from Bilbao’s old town, now serves as a cultural centre. Here you can go to a rock or pop concert under a sky-blue dome in the old church hall with seating for 800 people.
The Bilborock is run by the municipality and is also used for theatre performances, film screenings, art exhibitions and lectures. During the day, it serves as a rehearsal space for young local musicians and hosts creative workshops. Every year Bilborock organises a pop and rock competition.
Check out the concert schedule on Bilborock’s Facebook page.
Bilborock, Muelle La Merced
Remnants of La Vieja’s history
The iron mines were in the 19. and 20th century located on the hills of the outskirts of La Vieja. On a hilltop in Saralegi Square, the remains of a kiln sit surrounded by pastel-colored apartment buildings and a sports center, symbolizing La Vieja’s period as an important industrial district.
The furnace belonged to the San Luis mine, which closed in 1960 and was one of the largest with the most ferrous resources in the area. It was used to calcinate the ore before the iron was transported to the ships at the mouth of the river.
Horno de calcinación de la mina San Luis, Saralegi Plaza 7
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Where to eat and drink in La Vieja Bilbao
Marzana 16
A must is a coffee or a drink with a river view at the hip Bar Manzana 16, where Bilbao’s bohemians meet for a drink from the afternoon until late at night. In summer, the few tables on the café terrace are crowded. So many people bring their drinks and sit along the pier, which is an extension of Marzana 16.
The view of Bilbao’s popular old town and the beautiful modernista food market, La Ribera, is the best in town. The bar, which dates from the 1950s, has retained its historic charm. Only the walls have been painted and a few modern elements added. In addition to coffee, tea and drinks, cake, sandwiches and burgers are also served.
Marzana 16, Martzana Kalea 16
Agape Restaurant
Agape has become one of my favorite places to eat in La Vieja. Partly because I always feel as welcome as at a dinner with my friends. The waiters remember their guests, so if you come back, you’ll be welcomed with a big reunion smile.
The food at Agape is equally welcoming, simple and made with love for traditional Basque food. Seasonal ingredients take center stage and dishes are given a modern twist and an international touch.
The map consists of four menus. I have tried the Agape menu. Here you can choose from two starters, two main courses and a selection of desserts. The dishes change according to the season.
For starters, I tried a salad with squid and vegetables.
For the main course, I had both oven-baked hake with choricero peppers and beef sirloin with potato-bacon gratin and cheese. The portions were generous and tasty. Fish and meat cooked to perfection and vegetables well prepared.
For dessert, I tried the house Basque cheesecake, which is highly recommended.
The Agape menu is served with the local red wine Montecillo Rioja Crianza, which matches the food well. You can also be allowed to switch to white wine if you prefer.
Restaurante Àgape, Hernani 13
Peso Neto
It’s impossible to miss La Vieja’s hottest hipster bar, Peso Neto, located on San Frantzisko Street.
Formerly a meeting place for working-class men, the bar is decorated in trendy hipster style, with tables and chairs in a variety of styles and quirky busts and sconces in glass cases. There are also old photographs from La Vieja’s days as a fishing quarter.
Peso Neto is divided into a bar area, surrounded by colourful armchairs and coffee tables, and a dining area. It’s a great place to enjoy pintxos and a drink at the bar or outside on the terrace facing a small square, where you can soak up the local life at the same time. If you’re hungrier, there’s a three-course menu of the day. The food is classic with a modern twist.
Peso Neto, San Frantzisko Kalea 1
Bar Nervion
As the day draws to a close, the bar Nervion, or in Basque, Nerbion, is always full. So full that many choose to take their drink outside and sit and enjoy it on the edge of the river.
Bar Nervion is located on the edge of the river at the entrance to the neighborhood. Inside, you can also enjoy river views from the large windows.
It’s a great place to enjoy your morning coffee with a croissant or a beer and pintxos during the day.
Nervion’s great cocktails are known throughout the neighborhood, so it’s lively and full of atmosphere late into the night on weekends. Nervion is also one of the neighborhood’s many LGBT+ friendly places.
Bar Nervion opened in 1973 and the decor is in a cozy retro style. A large map of the neighborhood adorns one wall and there is a special local soul and atmosphere.
Bar Nervion, Naxa Kalea 7
Where to shop in La Vieja in Bilbao
Something Special
In the charming street of Dos de Mayo, Something Special carpet shop is located on the ground floor of a beautiful burgundy building with glass balconies. Here you have the opportunity to shop for a unique souvenir to take home to your home.
The bright basement shop is lined with Moroccan wool and kilim rugs and Berber cushions from floor to ceiling. Everything is handmade by Berber women from the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, and the shop’s owners, sisters Maider and Mireia, have handpicked the store’s stylish selection with great care. The rugs and cushions are available in a variety of colours and patterns, and in both brand new and vintage models. The shop also has a small selection of stools, baskets and bags.
Something Special, Calle Dos de Mayo 5
Rasto 2 de Mayo flea market
Bags, scarves, dresses, shoes, vinyl records, books, kitchenware and delicacies line up the first Saturday of every month on tables and stepping stones in the street Dos de Mayo at the vintage market, Rasto Dos de Mayo.
Here you can shop for everything from old, worn-out rubber shoes to exclusive vintage items and new designs. There is also a fine selection of local delicacies such as jams and honey.
The atmosphere is great and many of the street’s small artists and craftspeople also open the doors to their workshops and shops, where you can also chat to local creatives and see how they work.
Rasto 2 de Mayo, Calle del Dos de Mayo
Librería – ANTI – Liburudenda
I love bookshops, especially those with a wide range of art and culture on the shelves. They do at bookseller ANTI, where the shelves are packed with books on design, illustration, music, street art, film, art, photography, fashion, architecture and philosophy.
Although the titles are in Spanish, it’s worth checking out even if you don’t speak the language. Because the visual universe of the books is amazing to explore. The bookshop has a large selection of beautifully illustrated children’s books, and I fell in love with the biography of David Bowie.
ANTI is deeply involved in the social and cultural life of the neighbourhood and regularly organises lectures, concerts, exhibitions and workshops. The bookseller also likes to showcase the works of local street artists.
Librería – ANTI – Liburudenda, Maiatzaren Biko Kalea 2
More travel tips for Bilbao
You’ll find more tips for great experiences in my city guide to Bilbao.
If you need tips for hotels in Bilbao, I can recommend the 4-star Ercilla Hotel in the city center.
Read also the guide to art exhibitions in Spain in 2026, where Bilbao is also on the list.
