| If you love shopping, then you'll be spoilt for choice in | | | | recommend as the best place to go for some |
| Bilbao. Whether you prefer atmospheric surroundings | | | | amazing bargains on clothes. If you need a rest from |
| and classy boutiques, the top high street names or a | | | | carrying all your bags, there is a variety of cafes and |
| modern shopping centre with great restaurants, | | | | restaurants on the first floor of the shopping centre, |
| there's something for everyone. | | | | as well as a cinema and an indoor karting centre. |
| The main shopping street is Gran Via, which runs | | | | You could also visit Megapark in Barakaldo. It is an |
| from Abando station across the city centre, through | | | | enormous retail park, covering 137 000m2, with an |
| Plaza Moyua. There you can find all the big brands | | | | Ikea, Decathlon, El Corte Inglés, Toys ‘R' Us, |
| such as H&M, Zara, Stradivarius and Pull and | | | | and many more. It also has an IMAX cinema and a |
| Bear. Gran Via is also home to Bilbao's main branch of | | | | gym, as well as several restaurants and bars. The |
| El Corte Inglés, a huge department store which | | | | nearest metro stop is Bagatza, a 15 minute walk |
| covers 10 floors and sells just about everything, from | | | | away, or you can go by bus – Bizkaibus services |
| clothes to jewellery to lighting to textiles, as well as | | | | A-3136 and A-3144 both run from Bilbao to within a 5 |
| having its own supermarket on the top floor. If that's | | | | minute walk of the retail park. |
| not enough, the books, stationery, music and DVD | | | | Back in the city, one of the biggest shopping centres |
| department is just a few doors down on the other | | | | is Zubiarte, which is near the Guggenheim. It also has |
| side of the road. | | | | a cinema, and there are restaurants upstairs with a |
| Casco Viejo is another great place to go for | | | | great view across the river. You could also wander |
| shopping, with a mixture of high street names | | | | over to Deusto, where there is another shopping |
| (H&M, Zara) and independent boutiques, all in the | | | | centre, Bidarte. |
| historic and picturesque surroundings of Bilbao's old | | | | The shopping centres are open from around 9am to |
| quarter, with its labyrinth of medieval streets. It's also | | | | 9pm (Ballonti stays open until 10pm, and its |
| a great place to stop for lunch, with literally dozens | | | | restaurants until 2am at weekends), but smaller |
| of cafés and bars. | | | | shops tend to close for the siesta at about 2pm and |
| If you want to get out of the city, take the metro | | | | don't usually open again until at least 4.30pm, so |
| to Portugalete and head to Ballonti, a brand-new | | | | places like Casco Viejo tend to be very quiet in the |
| shopping centre which only opened in April 2008. As | | | | afternoons. In the evenings the shops usually stay |
| well as several fashionable outlets for clothes, shoes | | | | open until about 8pm, sometimes later. Everything |
| and jewellery, an enormous Eroski supermarket and a | | | | closes on a Sunday though, even the big shopping |
| pet shop, it is most notable for being home to one | | | | centres (though some of their restaurants may stay |
| of only six Spanish branches of Primark, which we | | | | open). |