Portugalete

The elegant seaside village Portugalete is one of the most important urban areas in the left side of the Bilbao's river.

As its main representative monument, the Bizkaia Bridge or Hanging Bridge -declared UNESCO's World Heritage in 2006- stands near the mouth of the river.

First opened on July 28th 1893, the bridge is completely built in iron and connects Portugalete with Getxo, at the right side of the river. It was designed by Alberto de Palacio and today it has become the flagship of the village.

The medieval narrow and steep streets of Portugalete's old town are full of interesting buildings. At the highest part of it we can visit the Salazar Tower (15th c.) or the basilica of Santa María, in gothic-Renaissance style, which keeps an altarpiece with wooden relieves inside. The convent of Santa Clara, La Ranchería Square, the Muelle de Hierro or the Town Hall are also worth a visit.

To complete our route through the old town we cannot miss the statue to Don Lope García Salazar, first historian from Bizkaia, or the monument to Víctor Chávarri, an engineer who had an important influence in the industrial development in Bizkaia This is located next to the Industry Museum Rialia, -which shows the process of industrialisation throughout the ria-.

Festivals and festivities

We can't forget the International Folk Festival, held every summer for 40 years at the same date of San Santiago's festivity. Music and dancing groups from all over the world meet here to show their homelands' different cultures.

Portugalete's main festivities, San Roque, take place between the 14th and the 17th of August, whose most relevant event is the Diana Portugaluja, on the 15th of that month. However, one of the most pleasant festivities is La Virgen de la Guía, which takes place every July 1st at the Old Town, concretelly in Coscojales Street. The chupinazo marks the beginning of this celebration early in the morning. Then the Dominguines (two cloth dolls) are raised and next some flowers are offered to the virgin. On the other hand, San Nicolas and La Cruz are also relevant festivities.