The grand covered market on the river's edge in the old town — one of the largest in Europe — rebuilt in the 1920s in a striking Art Deco style with stained glass and ship-like lines. Downstairs is the working market of fish, meat, and produce; upstairs a gastronomic floor turns the catch into pintxos and plates. It is both Bilbao's larder and one of its finest buildings.
Location
Casco Viejo, Bilbao
Map
Insider Intel
Browse the fish stalls downstairs in the morning, then eat upstairs on the gastronomic floor — pintxos and a glass of txakoli or wine with the river through the windows.
Morning for the working market at full tilt, or midday on the upper floor for lunch. Closed Sunday; quieter Monday.
On the Ribera quay at the foot of the Casco Viejo. The ground floor is a real market with shopping hours; the upper gastronomic floor keeps later, more relaxed hours for eating and drinking. Free to wander.