Best time to visit Bilbao

July is the best month in Bilbao, scoring 86 out of 100, with January the weakest at 43. The 43-point spread means timing is worth planning around without being decisive. The good window runs June to October — 5 months within ten points of the best.

August is the warmest month at 24.1 °C and February the coolest at 12.4 °C — a 11.7 °C spread across the year.

There is a real wet season here. January and November carry the rain — up to 17 wet days in a month — while June to September drop as low as 8. That 9-day gap is the biggest single difference between a good month and a bad one in Bilbao, and it moves further than the temperature does.

The sea is comfortable for swimming in August — 21.9 °C at its warmest against 12.5 °C at its coldest. The water peaks a month or two after the air does, so the best swimming falls later in the year than the best weather. Daylight runs from 9 hours in winter to 15.4 in summer, enough to notice on a sightseeing itinerary.

The three strongest months are July, August, June. The one to think twice about is January. Each month below has its own page with rainfall reliability, extremes, daylight, sea temperature and crowd levels.

Bilbao month by month