Bilbao

Bilbao is a city in northern <a href="/facts/Spain/bIyrB8EY">Spain</a>, the largest city in the <a href="/facts/Provinces_of_Spain/nw4PG6nM">province</a> of <a href="/facts/Biscay/mLoosw3K">Biscay</a> and in the <a href="/facts/Basque_Country_(greater_region)/zFhbAKoh">Basque Country</a> as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the <a href="/facts/List_of_cities_in_Spain_by_population/PY5Lf20T">tenth largest city</a> in Spain, with a population of more than 347,000 as of 2023. The <a href="/facts/Bilbao_metropolitan_area/VM7p0a6P">Bilbao metropolitan area</a> has 1,037,847 inhabitants, making it the most populous <a href="/facts/Metropolitan_area/IKeV26lu">metropolitan area</a> in northern Spain. The <a href="/facts/Comarcas_of_the_Basque_Country/lje34x85">comarca</a> of <a href="/facts/Greater_Bilbao/jlImpPJP">Greater Bilbao</a> is the fifth-largest urban area in Spain. Bilbao is also the main urban area in what is defined as the <a href="/facts/Basque_Country_(greater_region)/zFhbAKoh">Greater Basque region</a>.
Bilbao is located in the north-central part of Spain, some 16 kilometres (10 mi) south of the <a href="/facts/Bay_of_Biscay/nlsdKMBg">Bay of Biscay</a>, where the economic social development is located, where the <a href="/facts/Estuary_of_Bilbao/arQEbu37">estuary of Bilbao</a> is formed. Its main urban core is surrounded by two small <a href="/facts/Mountain_range/L7vxtr7A">mountain ranges</a> with an average elevation of 400 metres (1,300 ft). Its climate is shaped by the Bay of Biscay low-pressure systems and mild air, moderating summer temperatures by <a href="/facts/Iberian_Peninsula/ztFXI8zt">Iberian</a> standards, with low sunshine and high rainfall. The annual temperature range is low for its latitude.
After its foundation in the late 13th century by <a href="/facts/Diego_L%25C3%25B3pez_V_de_Haro/sFx9doqY">Diego López V de Haro</a>, head of the powerful <a href="/facts/House_of_Haro/BnWA44gz">Haro</a> family, Bilbao was one of the commercial hubs of the <a href="/facts/Basque_Country_(autonomous_community)/TMhgnsH3">Basque Country</a> that enjoyed significant importance in the <a href="/facts/Crown_of_Castile/T1JrdPkx">Crown of Castile</a>. This was due to its thriving <a href="/facts/Port_of_Bilbao/p8sQjrEu">port activity</a> based on the export of wool and iron commodities extracted from the Biscayan quarries to all over <a href="/facts/Europe/DTAtrKfh">Europe</a>.
Throughout the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth, Bilbao experienced heavy industrialisation, making it the centre of the second-most industrialised region of Spain, behind <a href="/facts/Barcelona/8PWLdRbW">Barcelona</a>. At the same time an extraordinary population explosion prompted the annexation of several adjacent municipalities. Nowadays, Bilbao is a vigorous <a href="/facts/Service_sector/IbtKqotL">service city</a> that is experiencing an ongoing social, economic, and aesthetic revitalisation process, started by the iconic <a href="/facts/Bilbao_Guggenheim_Museum/gqrTwHKI">Bilbao Guggenheim Museum</a>, and continued by infrastructure investments, such as the <a href="/facts/Bilbao_Airport/DRJrUlzU">airport terminal</a>, the <a href="/facts/Metro_Bilbao/MUxxhoqU">rapid transit system</a>, the <a href="/facts/Bilbao_tram/aCImCSb5">tram line</a>, the <a href="/facts/Azkuna_Zentroa/1heFdkMU">Azkuna Zentroa</a>, and the currently under development <a href="/facts/Abandoibarra/BMdj0Ghd">Abandoibarra</a> and <a href="/facts/Zorrozaurre/S2CggghN">Zorrozaurre</a> <a href="/facts/Urban_renewal/xAKjesVQ">renewal</a> projects.
Bilbao is also home to <a href="/facts/Association_football/yttjeD0D">football</a> team <a href="/facts/Athletic_Bilbao/vPFHB0Hn">Athletic Club</a>, a significant symbol for <a href="/facts/Basque_nationalism/A1gpfdR9">Basque nationalism</a> due to its <a href="/facts/Athletic_Bilbao_signing_policy/xnCAmNQq">promotion of only Basque players</a> and being one of the most successful clubs in Spanish football history.
On 19 May 2010, the city of Bilbao was recognised with the <a href="/facts/Lee_Kuan_Yew_World_City_Prize/bD5u9WgJ">Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize</a>, awarded by the city state of <a href="/facts/Singapore/CQDkhUvD">Singapore</a>. Considered the Nobel Prize for <a href="/facts/Urbanism/Fxrf3LEU">urbanism</a>, it was handed out on 29 June 2010. On 7 January 2013, its mayor, <a href="/facts/I%25C3%25B1aki_Azkuna/jU8g8dTq">Iñaki Azkuna</a>, received the 2012 <a href="/facts/World_Mayor/NEmbGWC1">World Mayor</a> Prize awarded every two years by the British foundation The City Mayors Foundation, in recognition of the urban transformation experienced by the Biscayan capital since the 1990s. On 8 November 2017, Bilbao was chosen the Best European City 2018 at The Urbanism Awards 2018, awarded by the international organisation The Academy of Urbanism.

Bilbao open-in-new

Bilbao