Planning a corporate seminar in Bilbao: seasons, venues and ideas

Bilbao offers your teams a city of architecture and character, where the Guggenheim, the bridges and the ría quays form a striking backdrop for a seminar. The nearby Basque Country adds the sea, gastronomy and wine.

Bilbao airport (BIO, Loiu) lies about 9 to 12 km north of the centre. Our teams arrange the welcome on arrival and the transfers: the Bizkaibus reaches Plaza Moyúa in 20 to 25 minutes, and we arrange a private transfer for your group to the hotel.

The city hosts working seminars in the heart of Abando, dinners in the Casco Viejo, and seaside programmes in Getxo or Portugalete. Each venue is chosen according to the size of your group and your programme.

Bilbao can be visited all year round. Spring and autumn are the best seasons for a seminar, with mild temperatures and a city at its most comfortable pace.

• Spring and autumn: pleasant days for working sessions and city visits.
• Summer: the city comes alive and the coast is very lively, for festive evenings and outdoor outings.
• August: the Aste Nagusia, Bilbao's great festival, brings the city to life with concerts, food and street shows.
• September and October: the Rioja Alavesa harvest is the high point for cellar visits, to be discovered as a group.

We align your dates early to secure the best availability, both at the hotels and at the programme venues.

The Barceló Bilbao Nervión, on the ría bank, offers ten multi-purpose rooms that combine from workshop to plenary. The largest set holds up to 350 people theatre-style, for complete seminars under one roof.

The Meliá Bilbao, a few minutes on foot from the Guggenheim museum, has seven meeting and event rooms. A combined configuration can host up to 250 people, between the ría and the old town.

In Getxo, the Palacio Arriluce, a neo-Gothic palace from 1912 converted into a 49-room hotel facing the estuary, offers an exceptional setting for an executive stay, as a member of The Leading Hotels of the World.

In Elciego, in Rioja Alavesa, the Hotel Marqués de Riscal, designed by Frank Gehry, faces the estate's cellars. It suits executive groups who want to combine a luxury stay with a wine-focused programme.

Nerua, the restaurant of the Guggenheim Bilbao museum, led by chef Josean Alija, holds a Michelin star and faces the ría. A dinner here after the museum visit makes for an exceptional evening for your group.

Zortziko, the restaurant of chef Daniel García, occupies a late 19th-century mansion near the Guggenheim. The venue can be privatised for an executive dinner.

In Donostia-San Sebastián, Arzak welcomes food lovers on Avenida Alcalde Elósegui. We are happy to arrange a group lunch or dinner at this landmark address.

For conviviality, Ganbara, in the Parte Vieja of Donostia, has been a pintxos bar for more than thirty-eight years: a lively stop that groups love.

Later in the evening, Sala Marquee, a Bilbao nightclub on calle General Concha, carries your group's celebration on.

• Group visit to the Guggenheim museum, on a reserved slot, with your own guide or a guided tour.
• A pintxos tour of the Casco Viejo, bar by bar, with pintxos and drinks, to taste the Basque pintxo culture.
• A Basque cooking class with a visit to the Ribera market, then a workshop with a chef from the Basque Taste school and a shared meal.
• A cellar visit at Marqués de Riscal, in Elciego, in the Ciudad del Vino, with a tasting suited to your format.

The budget for a seminar in Bilbao depends on the season, the hotel category chosen, the size of the group and the number of transfers between the city, the coast and Rioja Alavesa. Our teams negotiate group rates and build a tailored proposal around your dates.

We organise everything: accommodation, rooms, transfers, dinners, activities and on-site support. You have a single point of contact, from the first exchange to your team's departure.

Tell us your objectives, your dates and the number of participants. We reply within 48 working hours with a detailed proposal, ready to be refined with you.