Sopela, what to see and what to do.

Sopela, one of the coastal towns par excellence of Bizkaia, invites us to enjoy its beaches and cliffs just a stone’s throw from Bilbao.

Sopela is synonymous with beach, is synonymous with cliffs. This small town of just over 13,000 inhabitants, is flooded in summer by thousands of people looking to enjoy the sun, sea and heat in some of the sandy beaches that give life to the cliffs of the town. The 3 beaches that we find on sopeloztarra soil, Barinatxe (popularly known as La Salvaje), Arrietara-Atxabiribil (the largest of them all) and Meñakoz (rural and stony), form a beautiful beach offer that satisfies the desires of all kinds of tourists. Many of the people who visit us, emphasize the impressive panoramic views that the coast of Sopela gives us even more than the beauty of its own beaches. Views that can be appreciated to perfection from any of the cliffs that protect the beaches that wind along the coast. But Sopela is not only beach and cliffs, the Iron Belt, culture, history or Basque gastronomy also play a fundamental role among the attractions of this town. And, believe it or not, the mountains that we find in its interior also hide treasures worth seeing and knowing.

The geographical location of Sopela, bordering the Cantabrian Sea to the north and less than 30 minutes from the center of Bilbao, makes this town a perfect base from which to get to know the historic province of Bizkaia. A quiet place, well connected and with all the necessary amenities, where the culture and history of the Basque people is still intact. We recommend you to visit Sopela in any getaway to Euskadi, you will not regret it.

Converted in recent years in one of the favorite destinations for surf lovers in Bizkaia, Sopela is making known the other attractions hidden behind those huge cliffs that welcome us from the sea. Some attractions, which provide that portion of history and culture necessary in any good destination that boasts.

We recommend you to enjoy the beach as much as the mountain. And it is here, in the mountains, where we find the great unknown of Sopela, the Iron Belt, the jewel in the crown of this Basque town. Today there are only the remains of this great military complex that defended the Great Bilbao, a space with a great sentimental and historical burden that we recommend you to visit if you like the history of the places you visit. If you are thinking of spending a few days in Bizkaia, this town is a must visit, here is everything you need to know about Sopela. Let’s start.

How to get there: Sopela is connected to the rest of Bizkaia by practically all existing public transport, but if we must highlight 2 of them, we would undoubtedly opt for the Metro Bilbao and Bizkaibus (the public bus company of Bizkaia). Bounded by the municipalities of Barrika, Getxo, Urduliz and Berango, this coastal town invites us to visit all the charms that we find scattered throughout Bizkaia settling within its boundaries. If you decide to do this, if you decide to choose Sopela as a starting point to know Bizkaia, we recommend you to use the most comfortable and practical means of transport: the Metro of Bilbao (Larrabasterra and Sopela stops). However, bear in mind that the metro does not connect all the places we recommend in this article. And, if we enter rural areas, if we want to visit a Txakoli winery or any other remote area, public transport is not the best option. It is here where private vehicles, cars, motorcycles and other motorized vehicles come into play, to get to Sopela the roads to take are the BI-637 and BI-634, two high demanded roads in summer in which tend to form some traffic jams at rush hour, be careful.

What to do: Paragliding, surfing, hiking, running and all kinds of sports await you in the land and sea areas of Sopela. This town in Bizkaia is a great option for lovers of sports and adrenaline, a type of experiences and activities that you can book from our reservation center, from here. Of all the active tourism disciplines mentioned above, we must highlight paragliding in Sopela, undoubtedly the star activity of this Basque municipality. On the other hand, the festivities of Sopela, most of them in summer (San Pedro June 29th, El Carmen July 16th and Santa Marina July 20th), fit perfectly with the rest of the plans that we recommend, beach, active tourism, gastronomy, history, culture, festive atmosphere and a good rest to visit again, with more strength if possible, some of the most majestic enclaves of our environment.

What to see: The Iron Belt, the views from Mount Munarrikolanda, the crags of Santa Marina, the cliffs, the beaches and the route of the sculptures of Sopela are just some of the spaces that this municipality offers. As you can see, there is a mixture of all kinds of spaces, urban and rural, quiet and bustling, spaces for all tastes and colors! Most of them are described in more detail in the following lines, don’t miss them!

Beaches of Sopela: As we already mentioned in our article on the beaches of Bizkaia, Sopela is one of the most important coastal towns of Bizkaia. Its 3 beaches and more than 4 kilometers of coastline, make it the town of reference when talking about the beaches near Bilbao. The beaches of this town are its letter of introduction, the gateway to the rest of its tourist attractions.

Sopelbus, the bus to the beaches: Sopelbus is a bus service that connects the different urban centers of Sopela with the beaches of Barinatxe and Arrietara-Atxabiribil, a municipal service that contributes to eliminate the existing distance between the center of the town and the coast of Sopela. The cost of the occasional ticket is approximately 0.30 € and there are vouchers that reduce the cost. If you are interested in using this bus line, we recommend visiting the Sopela tourist office for more information.

Sopela Motorhome Parking: The Sopela Motorhome Parking is the last tourist bet that has made this coastal town. Aware of the importance of providing a good service to all the people who visit us, the town council of Sopela has converted the parking lot of the sports center of Urko, in Ugeraga, near the metro station Larrabasterra, in a caravan parking with all the necessary amenities for these nomads of the road.

The area for parking and overnight stay for motorhomes is not the only one in the region of Uribe, but it is one of the most complete. Among its services we find containers, drinking water, grey water emptying, black water emptying, electricity, picnic area and many other services.

Sopela becomes with the incorporation of this new space in one of the key points for every trip in Motorhomes by Euskadi. Undoubtedly, good news for all the people who like to travel by motorhome.

Gastronomy: In Sopela, the bars and restaurants next to the beach are the ones that attract more people in summer time, but they are not the only ones. That is why we can differentiate between two areas of bars, those on the coast and those in the town of Sopela.

Although Sopela does not stand out especially for its good gastronomic level, there are places like Cervecera Sopela (a place with good value for money), Totó pizzeria (they make excellent homemade pizzas following the traditional Calabrian recipe), Brendans Isle (famous for its incredible milkshakes) or La dolce vita (they prepare some of the best ice cream in the Basque Country). Of course, if you are looking for a special place, high quality, small and coquettish, we recommend you to contemplate the possibility of tasting the dishes of the restaurant Regi in Urduliz, it is close and has no waste.

Txakoli Wineries: Txakoli, one of the most famous wines of Euskal Herria, has a great presence in the Biscayan coast. Although unfortunately in Sopela there is no winery that we can visit, the surrounding villages have a nice representation. The town where we find the highest concentration of wineries per square meter is Bakio, an urban center very famous for its prized Txakoli gorri, the red Txakoli. It is precisely in Bakio where we find the Txakolingunea, the Txakoli museum.

Tourist office: Sopela currently has two spaces to inform visitors. On the one hand, the tourist office of Sopela, next to the town hall, near the metro station of the same name, and the information point of Larrabasterra.

Route along the cliffs: The cliffs of Sopela give us a spectacle for the senses. And is that, bordering each of the beaches mentioned, along the Basque coast, we find a path that leads us to the two municipalities bordering Sopela (Getxo and Barrika), undoubtedly one of the most beautiful routes along the coast of Bizkaia.

We must mention that this route has no end point, it all depends on the desire and strength of each person. The Biscayan coast surprises us with an incredible route that connects all the villages that separate the towns of Getxo and Armintza, a walk between cliffs, beaches and villages, that makes us fall in love with its natural value and the landscape that we find on our way.

Bidegorri: Although as we have mentioned above the most authentic and beautiful path of Sopela is the one that runs between its cliffs, we must also mention one of its most striking bidegorris (specific type of road for bicycles and pedestrians), the one that connects the towns of Getxo and Sopela. An inland walk, which can be useful on occasion.

Mountains: Sopela is not a town where the mountains predominate, but in its interior peeks some other summit of low altitude. An example of this is Munarrikolanda, a walk of little difficulty, which surprises us with the dolmens and settlements that we find on our way. The background of this route has incredible panoramic views of Sopela, Berango and Getxo.

In this section, we must make a special mention of the Peñas de Santa Marina, an enclave that Sopela shares with the neighboring town of Urduliz and where in addition to climbing, you can also contemplate the landscape from its impressive hermitage buried on the rocks.

Surfing and active tourism: Surfing is one of the great attractions of Sopela, a way of life that extends along the coast. The surf schools and surf stores located in Sopela attest to the great culture of surfing in the town. A sport that coexists with other disciplines such as paragliding, one of the star experiences of Sopela, which is based on the cliffs surrounding La Salvaje. A diamond in the rough for adventure enthusiasts. We recommend reading our article on active tourism experiences in the region of Uribe.

Iron Belt: As we already mentioned in our article on the Iron Belt between the towns of Sopela and Berango, the defenses located in Arene and Urkomendi correspond to the secondary line of the easternmost end of the Iron Belt. A great offensive barrier that defended Greater Bilbao from Franco’s army by means of machine-gun nests, sharpshooters’ shafts and fortified groups. A nice walk through the history of our town that can be completed with a visit to the Berango Iron Belt Memorial.

Green spaces: The green spaces of Sopela are of great importance for the leisure of the little ones, among them, the most important is the Iturrieta park, a large space where we find the emblematic pond of “La Ballena”.

Sculptures and statues: Sopela has a route of sculptures and statues that takes us to know all the urban nucleus by means of a pleasant and very interesting visit. Here are all the works of art that we can currently find in the streets and squares of Sopela:

This small route through the sculptures of Sopela serves as an excuse to wander through the streets and get to know in detail each of the corners of the town. What do you think? It is a very attractive activity, especially for families visiting this Basque coastal town.

Views and sunsets: The sea, the cliffs and the wide view we have from the coast of Sopela, makes this Basque space one of the best places to watch the sunset. There are many people who, before sunset, gather in the parking lot of La Salvaje, on the wall that winds along the cliff that surrounds it, a perfect area from which to sit and enjoy this impressive natural event.

Buildings: Although it is not one of the attractions that most attracts the attention of our visitors, we must point out that in Sopela we can enjoy the popular Basque architecture through the baserris that we find scattered along the coast. In turn, in the interior, near the center of Sopela we find religious buildings of great architectural value as the church of San Pedro (XVI century), the Carmen Basaliza, San Andres Basaliza or Santa Marina Baseliza.

The Geoparke of the Biscayan coast: Although it is not catalogued as such, although there is no entity or organism that manages it as in the Gipuzkoan coast(Geoparkea), in Bizkaia the passage of time is also visible in the rocks that make up our mountains and cliffs. An example of this are the points of geological interest found on the beaches of Sopela, where you can see the Flysch among many other geological phenomena.

Where to sleep: Although the offer of Sopela in this aspect is very small and unremarkable, there are 4 establishments that give us the possibility to stay in this coastal town: Casa rural Telleri, Hotel Modus Vivendi, Hotel Goizalde and the camping of Sopela. It all depends on your taste and budget.

What to see near Sopela: Near Sopela we find spectacular places to which we recommend that you dedicate some of your time. Among all of them we highlight:

Videos: Once again, as in the rest of the articles we publish lately, we add some of the videos of Sopela and surroundings that we have in our YouTube channel.

As you have been able to see, Sopela has a lot to see and do, especially in summer, when the sun offers us all kinds of outdoor plans. What do you think? We are waiting for your opinions, doubts and recommendations about Sopela, everything is welcome.