Things To Know Before You Go to Bilbao

Getting There
There are no direct flights to Bilbao from North America, but it's easy enough to get there with connections through Amsterdam, London, Paris, Madrid, or other European cities.

U.S. citizens do not require a visa to visit Spain—or the Basque Country.

Where To Stay
Slate's correspondent stayed at the Hotel Gran Domine Bilbao, which overlooks the Guggenheim Museum. Designed by Javier Mariscal and Fernando Salas and opened in summer 2002, the Gran Domine is a design-lover's dream, with an open central atrium and several rooms with incredible views of the Guggenheim. One of the best places to photograph Frank O. Gehry's lens-loving building is from the Gran Domine's seventh-floor terrace, where the sumptuous breakfast buffet is served.

Books and Movies
Among the best guides to the Basque Country and Northern Spain are Footprint Bilbao, which combines up-to-date and reliable practical resources, intelligent background information, and useful recommendations, all in a handy back-pocket-sized format; Cadogan's Bilbao & the Basque Lands; and Hachette's Vacances: The Basque Country. For reliable background on Basque origins, history, culture, and cuisine, you can't beat Mark Kurlansky's smart and sympathetic The Basque History of the World; Rodney Gallop's Book of the Basques, originally published in 1930, is especially strong on the folk traditions of the region. For an outsider's guide to tauromachy, young Scottish novelist A.L. Kennedy's On Bullfighting is indispensable. Few authors writing in Euskara see their works translated into English, but one notable exception is Bernardo Atxaga, whose Obabakoak is the most widely read modern Basque novel. His shorter, more accessible novels The Lone Man and The Lone Woman, both of which deal with individuals' connection with radical Basque separatist organizations, are also available in English editions, though the translations—from castellano (Spanish) rather than the original Euskara—are rather lackluster.

Many of Spain's best young filmmakers hail from the Basque Country—including Julio Medem, Alex de la Iglesia, and Daniel Calporsoro. Almost any of these directors' works offer insights into Basque culture, but in particular Medem's brilliant Vacas travels through Basque history and includes fascinating scenes of traditional rural sports; de la Iglesia's Acción Mutante is a wild satire on radical politics; and Calporsoro's Pasajes offers scenes from unglamorous lives in a post-industrial Basque town.

Tips
You don't need to know Euskara, the Basque language, to get around; everyone speaks castellano (Spanish), and in tourist-economy cities like Bilbao and San Sebastian, many people, especially in hotels and restaurants, speak English.

Many Basque towns and cities are known by two different place names—the castellano and the Euskara versions—which often have very little in common. Some examples: Bilbao/Bilbo, Guernica/Gernika, Pamplona/Iruña, San Sebastian/Donostia, and Vitoria/Gasteiz.

Aste Nagusia (Big Week), Bilbao's annual nine-day fiesta, begins the Saturday after Aug. 15. The tony seaside resort of San Sebastian celebrates its more low-key version of Aste Nagusia the week before.

Bilbao's Metro system is a marvel, but it's a small city. Unless you are traveling alone or are planning to ride out to Getxo, it will probably cost less to take a cab to your destination. Don't be afraid to use buses to travel among the Basque cities; they're very comfortable and definitely the cheapest way to go. A round-trip from Bilbao to San Sebastian costs 15.50 euros (though, frustratingly, the bus companies insist passengers buy one-way tickets in the town they're departing from, and it isn't always easy to locate the ticket booth).

Bilbao's official Web site can be frustrating to navigate, but it's full of useful information.