The Euskalduna Conference Centre and Concert Hall is a vast multipurpose venue hosting conferences, meetings and shows, including the city's opera season. It is also the home of the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra. This stunning-looking modern building, which resembles a ship under construction, sits on the banks of the Nervión River on the site of the former Euskalduna shipyard. .
The cultural attraction’s centerpiece is the auditorium which has seats for more than 2,000 people and lays claim to having the second-largest stage in Europe. Book tickets for an opera, play, classical or modern music concert and much more. There is also a program of performances for children.
Pay the fee for a guided to tour to see more of the building. Tours take place every day and include as many areas as it is possible to visit. This can include the auditorium, rehearsal rooms, dressing rooms, congress halls and foyers. Tour itineraries are always subject to whatever else is going on in the center such as rehearsals, technical tests and meetings. Tours are conducted in Spanish or Basque. There is an extra charge for an English-speaking guided tour. Book and pay for your tickets online at the conference center's official website. This is also where you can read about upcoming shows.
While you are visiting the multipurpose center study the works of art that decorate some of its spaces. These works include Salvador Dalí’s Terpsicore, a large sculpture outside the building, and Allegory of Dawn, a painting by Juan de Aranoa. This Spanish painter was born in Bilbao at the turn of the last century.
The Euskalduna Conference Centre and Concert Hall is located in the heart of Bilbao opposite Doña Casilda Iturrizar Park and a few minutes’ walk from the Guggenheim Museum. Arrive by taxi or by tram, which stops outside the building. For drivers there is on-site parking for a fee.
