You will have found yourself facing the question more than once: what is there to do with children in Bilbao? Thinking up things to do with children is not always easy, for want of ideas. Which is why it never hurts to go back over the best of what the city has to offer. Read on: we have put together a full guide to things to do with children in Bilbao with hundreds of options:
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Things to do with children in Bilbao
The capital of Bizkaia gives you plenty of options for a day out with children: unusual things in the city itself, boat trips, the beaches nearby, or Bilbao seen from above. Whether they suit you depends on a few things: the children’s ages, what sort of thing they like, the time of year and the family budget.
So here we have put together the best ideas for a day out with the children in and around Bilbao — and for enjoying it as much as they do, or more. Sounds about right.
Bilbao is full of things to do for anyone willing to dig around a little.
Beyond the Guggenheim, which everyone knows about, there is seeing the city from its highest viewpoints — Kobetas and Artxanda — or doing any number of things as a family, large family or not. With everything it offers, Bilbao has a name as one of the best cities for children’s birthdays.
Below you will find a guide full of ideas for days out near Bilbao. It has places to enjoy with children in Bilbao. Download it free with the button below:
On top of that, as we said, Bilbao and the country around it offer hundreds of things to do with children. Luckily, at GoRandom we have already done the work of finding every activity for children in Bilbao and Bizkaia.
Activities with children in Bilbao and Bizkaia
Go Yellow: calm activities for every age, inexpensive and in the city itself. They work at any time of year, whatever the weather, rain included — the easy, flexible option. Things like Laser tag in Bilbao, a climbing wall, virtual reality for children and plenty more.
How? You can do it online by clicking here, choosing one of the three packs (Go Yellow for calm activities) the number of people, the date and the province of Bizkaia. It does not get simpler.
Once that is in, we show you the activities that could come up and give you the option of removing the ones you would rather not do (no explanation needed: if you do not fancy one, or you have already done it, click on it and it is gone). Simple, and it works for the whole family.
Then enter your contact details and complete the purchase.
Over the following days we get in touch and tell you how the organising is going. Less than 48 hours before it starts we email you the activity you got and all the details: exactly where, what time, what to wear.
And of course the organising is ours, and the activities include everything needed to run them safely and well: an expert instructor, the kit, the insurance.
The ideas below also work if you are after things to do with children in Vitoria or San Sebastián — just pick the corresponding province (Álava and Gipuzkoa respectively) and follow the steps above. What is available varies, but you get all the detail during the booking process.
If booking online is not for you, or you have a question, you can call us or message us on WhatsApp to book your activity with the children.
Cheap things to do with children in Bilbao
You almost certainly already go out for a walk with the children or to the park near the house. But we are fairly sure there are corners of Bilbao you do not know yet and that work well as a family.
It is about as cheap as a day out gets , since it costs nothing beyond the transport — and if you walk, not even that.
You will have a very pleasant morning or afternoon. One suggestion, though: when you plan it, look at the forecast , because it rains a fair amount here and the day is easily washed out.
Another good way to spend an afternoon with them is to go out and play a team sport. The time goes quickly. You can play any number of sports as a family: basketball, football, skating, cycling… there is no shortage of options.
Things to do with children in Bilbao when it rains
So: Bilbao and the country around it have plenty of good things to do with children in Bilbao, but what if the day is wet , or the famous Bilbao sirimiri is coming down? In that case, Houston, we have a problem : Bilbao with children and rain means changing the plan and getting inventive.
You get used to it and you prepare for it. After all, it rains in Bilbao on 124 days a year on average, mostly from certain times of year onwards, which is why you need autumn plans (we have written a piece on autumn in the Basque Country) and winter ones. Sowhat do you do with the children when it is raining in Bilbao?
In that case have a look at our section on activities in the city for a list of things we have put together for wet days , so that you can spend it under cover. Get in touch through the contact form if you want to book something indoors and we will help you put together the right day out with the children.
As we said, the Go Yellow category on our site (activities with children in Bilbao) will go down very well, and it is made for the wettest days in Bilbao and Bizkaia.
You can also spend the day at a shopping centre such as Ballonti or Megapark. Places that size offer a great deal to do, and at this time of year the galleries usually have structures set up for children, special lighting and decoration, workshops and games — often free.
And you get to spend the day somewhere warm, away from the cold and the rain that this time of year brings anywhere in the Basque Country.
You do not have to worry about lunch either, because there is usually a wide range of places to eat, not least for children.
And if that is not enough, you could go to the cinema and see an animated or children’s film the whole family can enjoy , taking advantage of the family deals cinemas usually run.
What do you make of this selection? One of them will have appealed. You can of course leave this page, search for it and book it somewhere else — but then you would be missing the discounts on activities with children that we run at GoRandom. And the rest of it: not having to organise anything, and being in the hands of people who know how to put a family day out together.
So do get in touch: we will look at what you need and put together an activity built around a family day out, and around what you do with the children in Bilbao this weekend.
Still not convinced about do an activity with the children with us? Then here is something rather more unusual. Read on.
Things to do with children at home
Children are the first to enjoy going out, to the parks and gardens, but rain and other constraints mean you also need things to do indoors for the rest of the day. Run out of ideas for keeping them entertained? Here are some activities to do with children at home that you can set up right away and that work both body and mind:
- A treasure hunt
- An obstacle course
- A storytelling session
- Cooking together
- Origami
- A family karaoke afternoon
Here is each of the indoor plans we have thought up for you:
A treasure hunt
Before you start, hide an object — which can double as the prize for whoever finds it: a bag of popcorn, a chocolate bar. The game begins with the first clue you give them and carries on through a series of riddles that take them from one end of the house to the other. Thinking and moving in the same game. It will keep them busy for a good while.
An obstacle course: one of the best things to do with children at home
Turn the living room into a gym: they have fun and they move about. Use the sofa cushions, a mat, knitting wool, string and whatever else is to hand. A couple of towels on the floor will do for forward rolls, sit-ups and leg exercises. Run the wool across the room like a spider’s web and they have to get through without touching it. Strips of tape make a crawling course. It is all a matter of invention — and if a challenge does not go to plan, back to the start. They will enjoy it and sleep well afterwards.
A storytelling session
This time you are not the one reading. Each of the txikis — the little ones — picks their favourite story and tells it to the rest of the family. It is a very good way of getting them to take part in something that builds their speaking and their taste for reading. If they are too young to read, get them to invent their own story: with a bit of help, they use their imagination and everyone enjoys it.
Cooking together
Origami
Origami is a Japanese art thousands of years old: you fold paper into shapes. YouTube has an endless supply of tutorials for frogs, cats, doves and the rest, from small pieces of paper. This is exactly the right activity for teaching the txikis a bit of patience.
A family karaoke afternoon
It may not be your neighbours’ favourite, but the children will love it and it does their coordination and their taste for music no harm. If you have a smart TV there are YouTube videos to run the contest with; otherwise a phone or a computer will do.
Activities with children at the Guggenheim Bilbao
Families in Bilbao have plenty to do all year round. One of the options people come back to, and which suits everyone, is the children’s activities at the Guggenheim.
Through the year the Guggenheim Bilbao runs events and sessions aimed not only at keeping children entertained but at getting them interested in art. For families it is a very good alternative to the other children’s activities in the city, because the museum’s workshops are not only fun but genuinely educational, which makes for a very good day.
It works in sun or rain, and on a wet day it is a lifeline for parents who have run out of ideas. It is worth looking at the Guggenheim’s official site for the programme of activities and to buy tickets in advance.
Things to do with children in Bilbao at Christmas
Christmas is a particular time of year for children and for the whole family. The youngest live it with enormous excitement, while the older ones can get bored without their usual after-school sport or language classes. It is a time that calls for the best ideas for things to do with children in Bilbao at Christmas
So we have put together a set of Christmas plans that will go down well with the txikis, and that turn small moments into stories you keep telling.
Among them: the largest eco ice rink in the country, in Bilbao
As we said in the best things to do at Christmas in the Basque Country, over Christmas the city has the largest eco ice rink in Spain. The capital of Bizkaia likes things done on a scale, and so do the people who live in it. The rink is on the Arenal quay, in the centre of Bilbao. The youngest — and not so young — get the most out of it. Made for them, a large ice slide takes them down onto the rink.
What more do you want? You and your family get the largest eco ice rink in the country at Christmas. They will want to go back again and again , and they come home ready for a shower, dinner and bed.
You can get tickets for the rink and the slide at the ticket offices next to the rink itself.
If you live in Bizkaia there is no excuse not to go; and if you live elsewhere, it is always a good moment to see Bilbao at Christmas!
And right next to it, also on the Arenal, you can walk under what look like thousands of small stars settled on the trees — what they have called the Forest of Lights.
And Christmas is the season of presents, of Olentzero and of the Three Kings, which adds a good deal of work and stress to what the aitas and amas — the mums and dads — already have. Do not panic: we have thought it through.
Here are some Christmas plans with children, because we are quite clear that there is no better surprise than giving an activity to do as a family , and letting them try laser tag, an escape room or a virtual reality headset for the first time — all of it, with the best possible extra: your own company.
Not enough? Wait until it is over and surprise them with an experience voucher they can redeem whenever they like, on something completely different.
In short, at GoRandom we want to take the work of a family day out off your hands. So if you have any question, get in touch and we will organise your next weekend in Bilbao with the children, or the day trip out of Bilbao you have been meaning to do.