Shopping in Bilbao during Spanish courses

During my stay at the Spanish school in Bilbao I have gone on a few shopping trips. Here is some advice about shopping in this city.

In Bilbao you can find everything you need here in the hundreds of shops located in the centre of the city.
In the shopping centre, Zubiarte, located just 15 minutes from the school, there are several shops to choose from. If you’re interested in fashion you can find popular high street chains such as Zara, G Star, Pull and Bear, Bershka and Habitat. However in my personal opinion there could be more diversity in the kind of clothing shops within this shopping centre. In terms of accessories there are only two shops: British chain Accessorize and the French Bijou Brigette. However if you’re looking for an outfit to a fancy dress party or perhaps Carnival in the middle February where everyone dresses up there is a great shop called Party Fiesta which holds a range of outfits and accessories.

The shopping centre does not have much in terms of cosmetics and toiletries and offers only Marionnaud and Perfumería Douglas. However there are several sports shops such as Nike, Billabong and Quicksilver.

If you get hungry there is a wide range of food outlets to choose from. I would personally recommend Krunch due to the selection of typical fast food such as hamburgers and chips alongside more typically Spanish food such as tortilla. There are also more typically international fast food restaurants such as Burger King and McDonalds and for desert there is a great Ben and Jerry’s cafe.

However, if you only go shopping in one place I would highly recommend Gran Vía de Don Diego Lopez de Haro, the main shopping street located just 5 minutes from the school. On this street you will find several typical high street shops much like those in Zubiarte. However the shops on Gran Vía de Don Diego Lopez de Haro are significantly bigger with more choice. There are also a few shops with a different kind of style such as Friday’s Project, Mango and Desigual- a colourful brand which may not be to everyone’s taste but which is very popular here in Bilbao.

For music, film and books, the large Fnac just off Gran Vía provides a great selection. Here you can also find electrical items such as Ipods and cameras.

Close to Fnac is El Corte Ingles- a large department store where you can buy almost anything. On the ground level there are cosmetics, handbags and accessories along with a small pharmacy. On the other floors you can find menswear, children’s wear, ladies clothing where there are brands ranging from French Connection to Burberry and young ladies fashion with brands such as Miss Sixty and Diesel along with more high street brands such as Naf Naf and Kookai. On the top floor there is even a food department.

If you get bored of Zubiarte and El Gran Vía there is also a small shopping centre in Deusto which contains many shops specialising in cheap handbags and footwear. There is also Calle San Martín which is known for shops specialising in high fashion and Casco Viejo which has a selection of small speciality shops which I have yet to discover.
So if you come to study Spanish in Bilbao you will have the opportunity to speak Spanish and do some shopping...

Naomi Rendell
Student at the University of Edinburgh, currently in Bilbao