Come Alone · English
You just moved to Bilbao. This page walks you through the first month: paperwork in order with official links, and events you can go to on your own and meet people.
Bilbao's district centres (Centros Municipales de Distrito) issue padrón certificates (certificado de empadronamiento), and non-EU residents without permanent residence can register, change address or renew their padrón entry there. You will need the certificate for the Basque health card, so ask for it as soon as you are registered.
Barik is the contactless card for Metro Bilbao, Bilbobus, Bizkaibus, the tram and Euskotren. The card costs €3 and needs a minimum top-up of €5; the anonymous card is sold at metro vending machines, Bilbobus and Bizkaibus booths and over 450 shops such as tobacconists. A zone-1 metro trip costs €1.02 with Barik against €2.00 for a single ticket, and monthly tickets need the personalised card from a CTB customer service office.
How Barik works (CTB) · Metro Bilbao fares (CTB) · Bilbobus fares (CTB) · Bizkaibus fares
Foreigner procedures are handled by Spain's National Police, whose e-office lists each one with its form: EX15 to be assigned an NIE, EX18 for the EU registration certificate (EU and EEA citizens staying more than three months) and EX17 for the foreigner residence card. Pick the exact procedure there and download its form before you apply.
The Tarjeta Individual Sanitaria (TIS) proves your right to public healthcare in Osakidetza and is used at health centres and pharmacies. Apply at the health centre nearest your home with your ID, your padrón certificate and the INSS document recognising your right to public health cover. Then book doctor appointments online with your 8-digit TIS number, first surname and date of birth.
Banks in Spain must offer a basic payment account in euros, and they cannot make it conditional on buying other products. It covers at least deposits, cash withdrawals, direct debits, card payments and transfers within the EU.
To apply for public housing, sign up on the Etxebide register of housing applicants: one application per person or household, renewed every 2 years, online with an electronic certificate (B@kQ, DNIe or ONA card) or on paper. If you are 18 to 35 and renting, check Gaztelagun, the Basque rent aid: in Bilbao the initial rent can be up to €900 a month, and you need 6 months of uninterrupted residence in the Basque Country.
Etxebide, how to register · Gaztelagun requirements (Alokabide)
Bilbao has 12 euskaltegis (adult Basque schools) approved by HABE; all are private and open to anyone over 16, with regular, intensive, summer and self-study courses. HABE also publishes grants for Basque learners and INGURA, an online learning environment.
HarreraGUNE, the public welcome service for migrants in Bilbao, gives information and orientation whatever your origin or status. You can also sign up for a course or workshop at your district centre, or go to one of the events below: they are picked because it is easy to go alone and talk to people.
Rules change: always confirm on the official page before you go.
Public services and district centres in Bilbao, each with its official page. Hours change: check the page before you go.
A public welcome service created by the Basque Government and Bilbao City Council, run by Zehar-Errefuxiatuekin: information and orientation for migrants from the EU and beyond who live in Bilbao or plan to settle there. Open in person Monday to Friday; check the hours page before you go.
The city's youth information office for people aged 12 to 29: municipal programmes, grants, cards, and cultural and sports activities. Open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 8:30–14:30, Wednesday 8:30–18:00.
Bilbao's district centres, in Deusto, Uribarri, Otxarkoaga-Txurdinaga, Begoña, Ibaiondo, Abando, Rekalde and Basurto-Zorroza. Besides paperwork, you can sign up there for the courses and workshops the centres organise: an easy way to meet neighbours.
Four friends meet on stage to celebrate the promises and disappointments that bind them, in a playful piece that invites the audience into the game. The show at Kafe Antzokia is free and performed in Basque.
The Salbatzaile dance group hosts a romería, an open-air Basque folk dance gathering, in Plaza Santiago in the Old Town, as part of the city's free Dantza Plazetan programme. Street dances like this are open to passers-by, so joining in alone is natural.
Company 7 grados performs La risa, a 70-minute comedy directed by Itziar Lazkano, as part of the city's touring neighbourhood circuit. Entry is free. Local community-centre theatre is relaxed and welcoming for solo visitors.
Bilbao's municipal wind band, conducted by Iñaki Urkizu, plays its season programme Caminos in the hall of the city conservatory. Municipal band concerts draw a broad local audience and are easy to attend alone; check the listing for ticket details.
A concert by Synchresis and Paula Palencia within Kuraia's 2026–2027 contemporary music encounters, held at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. The listing does not show a price. Contemporary music audiences are small and curious, which makes it easy to talk with neighbours.
The Dantzaldia festival presents three short pieces at the Fine Arts Museum, including 'El demà d'ahir', where Baroque and contemporary music meet movement inspired by poet Etel Adnan. It is free with registration. Watching dance in a museum is a calm outing alone, with an easy conversation starter afterwards.
An eleven-piece band revives the golden age of soul with songs associated with Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Otis Redding, Etta James and Nina Simone. Doors open at 8:30 pm and tickets are listed at 13 € or 15 €. A dance-friendly soul night in a busy café-theatre is easy to enjoy alone.
As part of Bilbao's Dantza Plazetan street-dance programme, the Ondalan giants troupe parades its towering figures through Calle Luzarra in Deusto on the morning of 31 December. It is a free open-air street event, so you can simply turn up and walk along with the crowd. Neighbourhood parades like this are a friendly way to feel part of the city's end-of-year mood.
As part of the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra's season, this chamber concert pairs two Romantic piano quartets: Schumann's Quartet in E-flat major and Brahms's First Quartet in G minor. It takes place at the Euskalduna conference and concert hall. Tickets are 12 euros, and a chamber recital is a calm, easy night out alone.
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Come Alone → Meet & Mint
Choose something this week from the list on this page — easy to join on your own.
See who's going. If the event isn't in the app yet, tap “+” to add it and gather a group.
Write in the event chat and agree where to meet before you arrive.
Walk in already knowing a name or two — a good start in a new city.
The app · Meet & Mint
Meet & Mint is our app: come-alone events and people to go with. It is not a government service. Many of the events on this page are also in the app.
Meet & Mint: Events & FriendsiPhone · Android
Who else is going?See it in the Meet & Mint app.
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