St. Columb's Park is a perfect spot for a getaway in nature while still in close proximity of the city. Pack a picnic and, if you are lucky, there will be a fun event taking place at the St Columb's Park House. There is a children's playground at the bottom end of the park.

Plentzia is a happening resort just outside Bilbao, in the province of Biscay. Located atop a hill, its streets pour down the hillside leading to lovely sandy beaches. Plentzia is a popular weekend destination from Bilbao, as it takes a short 30 minutes to get there on the overground metro service from the centre of Bilbao. In the town of Plentzia, there are plenty of bars and cafés which serve locally caught fresh seafood. The town also has an indoor court for the sport of Basque pelota. Here you can watch this traditional game, which involves two teams of players who hurl a small hard white ball at a wall swinging at it with the full force of the palms of their bare hands.

Take a sneak peek at a day in the life of a local by going on one of the most typical and easily accessible hiking routes in the region. Reaching some 673 metres (2,208 feet) in height, Pagasarri is one of the smaller mountains that surround Bilbao and most locals will have tried this hike at least once before. There are buses from the city centre, with a few different routes starting from the area of Zabalburu or from Peñascal, on the outskirts of the city. At the top of the mountain, there is even a bar selling 'bokatas', the typical no-nonsense baguette rolls filled with your local delicacy of choice, from tortilla de patata to txistorra or chorizo. If you've reached the summit of Pagasarri, you're already halfway to Ganekogorta, a summit at 998 metres (3,274 feet) which is a little further away.