Shopping in Casco Viejo during Spanish courses

After spending some time shopping around some of Bilbao’s main shopping areas such as Gran Vía de Don Diego Lopez y Haro and Zubiarte I decided to explore the older part of Bilbao, Casco Viejo which is located just five minutes from the school.

In my opinion Casco Viejo is the most beautiful part of the city due to its beautiful architecture and its location right next to the river. There is plenty to do here with many shops, bars, restaurants and several historical churches. Today however I will give some advice on shopping in this charming part of the city.

In terms of clothing, Casco Viejo is home to several typical high-street stores although they are slightly harder to spot as brands such as H and M, Zara and Blanco have been careful to blend in with the authentic style of the buildings. There are also several smaller boutiques and designers dotted along the streets of Casco Viejo. For men there is Juan Garte which specialises in suits and smart clothing, Cardinal which is a more casual store which stocks popular brands such as Fred Perry and Ben Sherman and many others. For ladies there is Itziar and Punto Roma for classic ladies wear along with more unusual boutiques such as Amelie, Coco Farah and Cop Copine among many others. For children there are a few small shops such as El Angel and Carlangas. If you’re feeling creative you can even buy material from Rafael Matías and Kriss Kross allowing you to make your own clothes or customise what you already have. To accessorise there are several small jewellery shops throughout Casco Viejo such as AG Tendencias and Joyería Eloy. Dotted along the streets there are also several small stalls set up alongside the shops which sell a variety of things including handbags, shoes, music and toys.

At the beginning of January until around the end of February you can find some great bargains in all of these shops during the winter sales.

For example in my second week in Bilbao I found a really original dress in Amelie at 50% off. After these finish however you can still find some great buys in the Mango outlet store which sells old stock from the brand at a heavily discounted price. I managed to take advantage of this by buying a great pair of shorts for summer at a fraction of the original price. Just now, at the beginning of March the shops have moved onto their spring/summer collection. This year there is a great emphasis on nautical-inspired clothing with blue and white striped patterns embellished with gold buttons and anchors. I also noticed that more neutral colours such as grey and light pink tend to dominate the new collections.

There are also a few shops specialising in beauty products. Sephora provides a wide range of perfume and cosmetic brands along with a large selection of premium beauty products by brands such as Clinique. If you’re looking for something cheaper, Schlecker has a great selection on basic hair and beauty products and provides all the essentials from shampoo to tissues.
It’s also worth mentioning that there are two main bookshops in Casco Viejo: the large bookshop Elkar and the slightly smaller Ukar. There is also a small petshop, a pharmacy and a sports shop which stocks apparel from the local football team, Athletic Bilbao.
If you fancy snack in between shops there are several food outlets such as Bocatta and KFC along with several cafes and restaurants. If the weather allows it, I would highly recommend Plaza Nueva.

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