Old road of Lezama and Pikotamendi.

Vía Vieja de Lezama and Pikotamendi, an old railroad line and the best viewpoint in Bilbao.

The Vía Vieja de Lezama, an old railroad line that linked Bilbao with the town of Lezama, has become one of the most striking leisure areas of the capital of Bizkaia. However, it is still one of the most unknown. A space that stands out for its history, its recent remodeling and the incredible views it offers. And is that Pikotamendi, the recreation area that we find at the end of the Vía Vieja de Lezama, is one of the best viewpoints of Bilbao. This area of just over 22 hectares, has tables, fountains, garbage cans and other equipment that make it perfect to spend the day with the family. Would you like to visit the Vía Vieja de Lezama and Pikotamendi with us?

Many people who visit Bilbao are looking for little known places with a lot of charm. Well, the Vía Vieja de Lezama and Pikotamendi meet these conditions. And it is that it is a very interesting space for tourists as well as for the own bilbaínos and bilbaínas.

How to get to Pikotamendi.

You can get to Pikotamendi both by public transport and private transport. And you should know that, although on this occasion we recommend public transport, the metro, there is a parking lot 800 meters from the viewpoint that we present today (accessed from Enekuri or Santutxu, BI-3741 road). If you choose to take the metro, you must get off at the Zurbaranbarri stop, on Vía Vieja de Lezama (line 3).

Walk along the Vía Vieja de Lezama.

If we access Pikotamendi from the Vía Vieja de Lezama, we have a walk of approximately 1 hour (round trip). A familiar route, which runs through the Bilbao neighborhood of Zurbaranbarri to reach the vicinity of the viewpoint. At the beginning, the route runs between houses, without views, without great attractions. A profile, that changes when arriving at the bridge that passes over the funicular railway. And it is that about 100 meters from this bridge we find the first viewpoint. A space that we are sure you will love. After enjoying the views, about 400 meters, we reach a track, this is where we leave the Vía Vieja de Lezama to enter the domains of Pikotamendi. After reaching the first detour we have to continue to the right. We are already close. After about 150 meters, we reach a second detour, this time we turn left, we go down. After passing a playground and tables, we reach our destination, the viewpoint of Pikotamendi.

Video.

As usual in all our publications, we have created a short video about the Vía Vieja de Lezama, an audiovisual, with which we intend to show you in a more real way what awaits you in your next destination. If you like this kind of videos, we encourage you to subscribe to our YouTube channel to discover all the places and experiences that we recommend in Euskal Herria, we are waiting for you!

Viewpoint of Bilbao.

Bilbao has several natural viewpoints from which to contemplate the city. And Pikotamendi is one of them. A space, from where we can enjoy the 8 districts of Bilbao at a glance. A marvel. If you are looking for an alternative place to better known viewpoints such as Artxanda or Kobetamendi (where the BBk Live festival is held), we encourage you to walk along the Vía Vieja de Lezama to Pikotamendi. Remember that you can find more places like this in our article on what to see in Bilbao.

Funicular.

During the walk along the Vía Vieja Lezama, before reaching Pikotamendi, we find a bridge. Under it passes the funicular that connects the center of Bilbao with Artxanda. A transport, which was inaugurated in October 1915. Since then, there have been many bilbaínos and bilbaínas that have gone up to Artxanda to enjoy this great leisure area. We must remember that Artxanda, in addition to the swimming pools, the skating rink and the restaurants that we find today, came to house txakolis, a casino and even an amusement park. Being of great importance for the city between the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. If you are interested in this space, we recommend you to read our article about Artxanda.

History of the Vía Vieja de Lezama.

This street owes its name to the old railroad line that linked the neighborhood of Begoña with the town of Lezama. The Begoña Lezama line was inaugurated in 1894 while the Bilbao Begoña line was inaugurated in 1895. It did not take long for this line to become active. A few months after its inauguration, in 1895, before reaching the Calzadas de Mallona, the train derailed, leaving a devastating toll: more than 10 dead and 15 injured. As a consequence of this accident, an alternative route was created, which meant the end for the line. Hence the name Vía Vieja de Lezama.

Family routes.

The profile of this route is familiar. With hardly any elevation gain, with an incredible reward-effort ratio. A type of routes that abound in Euskadi. If you like hiking and discovering the Basque Country at the same time, we encourage you to read our article about family routes in Euskadi. Remember that we update it constantly, we advise you to be attentive to our social networks to learn about new proposals. We hope you find it helpful.

Experiences in the Basque Country.

If you like active tourism and experiences, we encourage you to take a look at our reservation center. A section where you will find all kinds of proposals. In any case, we leave you some of the most attractive experiences in Bizkaia and Euskadi. We hope they will be of help.

The old road of Lezama represents one of the best viewpoints of Bilbao. A space full of history that has been converted into a leisure space. In case you have any doubts, we encourage you to use the comment system that you will find below these lines. We will try to respond as soon as possible. Ondo pasa!