BASQUE COUNTRY - France 2014 - page 826

fixed-pricedinner(starter,maincourse,dessert,andgoodwineserved20:30-23:00for€27
Sun-Thu and €32 Fri-Sat, Santa Maria 16, tel. [phone], www.restaurantekasko.com ) .
Eateries also abound on Jardines street, including the popular Berton (meals and
pintxos, at #11, closed Mon, tel. [phone]). Gorbea brings a splash of modernity
into the Old Town, with younger but professional wait staff serving generous portions
of modern cuisine and traditional Basque classics (at #3, tel. [phone],
www.restaurantegorbea.net ). La Deliciosa is just that, with a whopping eight choices for
each course (at #1, tel. [phone]).
Near the RENFE Train Station
(See “Hotels & Restaurants in Bilbao's Old Town” map, here .)
There's not much on the main facade to distinguish it, but stepping through La Granja 's
revolving doors is like entering a time machine. Founded in 1926, the interior seems more
like a dusty gentlemen's club than a restaurant. The food is simply presented with oh-so-
correct waiters and classic white tablecloths. It's a good spot to fuel up on coffee before
hopping on the tram to the Guggenheim (€13.50 fixed-price lunch, daily, at Plaza Circular
3 but look for rear entrance on Calle Ledesma, tel. [phone]).
Bilbao Connections
From Bilbao by Bus to: San Sebastián (2/hour, hourly on weekends, 6:30-22:00, 1.25
hours, arrives at San Sebastián's Amara Station), Guernica (4/hour, fewer on weekends,
40 minutes), Lekeitio (hourly, 1.25 hours), Pamplona (5-6/day, 2 hours), Burgos (8/day,
fewer on weekends, 2-3 hours), Santander (hourly, 1.5 hours, transfer there to bus to
Santillana del Mar or Comillas ). These buses depart from Bilbao's Termibús Station
( www.termibus.es ).
By EuskoTren to: San Sebastián (hourly, long and scenic 2.5-hour trip to San Se-
bastián's Amara EuskoTren Station, €9.15 round-trip ticket saves €1.50, EuskoTren info:
tel. [phone], www.euskotren.es ), Guernica (2/hour, 50 minutes, take Bilbao-Bermeo
line, direction: Bermeo). These trains depart from Bilbao's Atxuri Station, just beyond the
Old Town past the Ribera Market.
By RENFE Train to: Madrid (4/day, 5 hours), Barcelona (2/day, 6.5 hours), Bur-
gos (3/day, 2.5-3 hours), Salamanca (3/day, 6 hours), León (1/day, 5 hours). Remember,
these trains leave from the RENFE station, across the river from the Old Town (tram stop:
Abando). A planned new train line (coming in 2017) will connect Bilbao to other cities in
a snap (30 minutes to San Sebastián, 2.25 hours to Madrid, 5.5 hours to Paris)—but it's
still slow trains for now.