3 Local Design Shops in Bilbao's Old Town: Jewelry, Ceramics & Prints

Bilbao's Old Town is a maze of narrow streets where real design finds hide between pintxo bars and historic buildings. Forget Chinese bull magnets—here they sell what local designers make. And everything is within walking distance: three shops, one route, thirty minutes max. Here's your plan:

Enter the Old Town via Areatzako Zubia bridge, walk along the Teatro Arriaga facade down Bidebarrieta shopping street. Just 70 meters in, on your left, you'll spot the tiny storefront of Basq Lore, occupying just 7 square meters in building number 5's entrance hall.

A hundred years ago, small shops in Bilbao were located exactly like this: right in residential building entrances. Today only four such historic shops remain, and Basq Lore is the "biggest" of them.

The shop's name is wordplay: "Basq" (Basques) + "Lore" (flower). Here you can choose jewelry, souvenirs, ceramics or home decor featuring traditional Basque symbols: Eguzkilore ("sun flower"), Lauburu ("Basque cross," also called "four heads"), or Baldosa de Bilbao—the relief tiles with their distinctive pattern that pave the city's sidewalks.

From Basq Lore, continue ahead and turn into the second alley on your left. Here on Calle Lotería you'll find the bright shop with the unexpected name Cabecita de Ajo—"little garlic head." But they don't sell garlic. The selection includes jewelry, posters, ceramics, lamps, bags and textiles from local Basque Country designers: Bea Aparicio, Balma Studio, Mikel Casal, Lapretada, BaRock Jewelry, QUE RICO, Irune Izer and many others.

The shop got its name from a local hero who lived over a hundred years ago—a strong man over two meters tall with a tiny head. Cabecita de Ajo possessed remarkable physical strength but showed kindness to everyone who approached him. The shop's creators saw in this figure a symbol of the old town—unusual, like no one else, yet familiar and loved by all.

After choosing your item at Cabecita de Ajo, return to Bidebarrieta street and continue along the square with the cathedral and fountain. Keep to the right side, and 40 meters past the square you'll see Lotune — a small boutique created by four local women designers.

Here you'll find handmade jewelry by Kiribiltxo in brass, silver and aluminum; decorative objects and children's toys by Palopalú; designer bags and accessories by Susana Santos; and playful unisex clothing for kids and adults by Lágrimas de cocodrilo. The four Lotune partners take daily turns in the shop, so if you want to meet each one—you'll have to come back more than once. But it's worth it.

All three shops fit in one line no longer than three hundred meters in the very heart of Casco Viejo, so the route from Basq Lore through Cabecita de Ajo to Lotune won't take much time or energy. And after shopping you can head to Plaza Nueva—the main square of Casco Viejo surrounded by arches and bars—or refuel at La Ribera Market (Erriberako merkatua in Basque)—Europe's largest covered market with a huge selection of fresh local snacks called pintxos.