Informacion Nuevos Estudiantes Bilbao Instituto Hemingway

INSTITUTO HEMINGWAY INFORMATIÓN
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Information for new students
Live life to the full!
At Instituto Hemingway we are sure that you are going to enjoy your time here with us. Our city is
beautiful and is situated in the perfect place for exploring some of Spain and for many activities. The
Spanish people are really friendly and you will witness the great environment in which they live –
ultimately: ‘live life to the full’!

Uribiarre district at night

Bilbao: the city and the people
Although Bilbao was simply an industrial town ten years ago, nowadays it is one of the most bustling and
cosmopolitan cities in the whole of Spain. It was Gehry’s Guggenheim museum that put Bilbao back on
the map again once more. However, it must be said that there is much more to Bilbao than just the
Guggenheim – in fact, our city boasts great architecture with a mix of both the old and the new. Also,
you only have to take a look around to see that the mountains and the river are right at hand.
The Bilbao people are very proud, especially when it comes to food and dress. The Bilbao cuisine is
renowned for being the best in Spain. You cannot let your stay in Bilbao pass without trying one of the
specialty dishes that this region has to offer: fish and seafood, in particular, is one thing and ‘pintxos’, a
Bilbao variety of bar tapas, is another. And all washed down with a glass of local ‘txakolí’ or Rioja wine.

Txakolí Pintxos Fish dishes

The Weather
Bilbao enjoys a milder climate than the rest of Spain and we don’t suffer from overly excessive heat
during the Summer months. Please take note that our climate comes from being situated so close to the
Atlantic Ocean and rain here is not a rare occurrence.

How do I get from the airport to Bilbao?
Bilbao International Airport is situated in Loiu, 10km from the city. Instituto Hemingway offers an airport
pick-up service. Please contact us if you would like this.
A frequent bus service operates from the airport to Plaza Moyua in the centre (correspondent with the
Moyua metro stop). It is a yellow Bizkaibus: number 3247. This is caught from the bus stop directly
outside the arrivals exit, on the right hand side.
Furthermore, there is the option of catching a taxi from the rank outside the airport. In this instance a
green light on top of the car indicates that the taxi is free.

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INSTITUTO HEMINGWAY S.L. | C/ Bailén nº 5, 2º dcha. - 48003 BILBAO (SPAIN) | +34 944 167 901 - info@institutohemingway.com

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Where is Instituto Hemingway?

Address: C/ Bailén, n 5 – 2 dcha., 48003.
The nearest metro and tram stop to the school: Abando
Directions from the Gran Vía exit (in the Plaza Circular, next to El Corte Inglés):
-Cross the road heading towards the BBK bank and take Calle Navarra towards the Arenal Bridge.
-Take the first road on the right after the ice cream shop, walking parallel to the river.
-You will go past the FEVE Bilbao to Santander train station on Calle Bailén
(see left).
-Walk up the street a short way. We are located on the left at number 5.

Public Transport in Bilbao and Creditrans
Bilbao has a modern public transport network and operates the tram, bus and metro.
And this is made easier by the Creditrans card which can be used for all three
modes of transport. It even makes the journeys cheaper. They are sold in
denominations of 5, 10 and 15 euros, so you can choose one to suit you.

Creditrans can be bought in metro stations and tram stops, or alternatively there is a ticket machine in the
FEVE station. Just touch the screen where it says Creditrans and choose your denomination. You can
either pay in notes or coins.
Metro: You need your Creditrans for access to the platform and again when you leave so that the journey
price (this is dependent on the number of stops) can be calculated.
Tram: There is one fixed price for tram journeys. Remember to validate your Creditrans at the machine in
the slots provided before traveling.
Bus (Bilbobus (red) and Bizkaibus (yellow)): The red Bilbobus also has a fixed price. When you board
the bus validate your Creditrans in the small machine next to the driver. The yellow buses travel to towns
further outside of Bilbao.
You can see how much credit you have left on your Creditrans by the last three digits on the last printed
line. For example, 30……084: shows that after your journey on the number 30 bus you have 84 cents
remaining and you should consider topping it up.
The bigger bus stops have screens that show how long you have to wait for the next bus, i.e. L30 B+09
shows that you have to wait 9 minutes before the next number 30 arrives.

Travelling further afield:
At San Mamés there is a coach station with coaches traveling all over Spain.
There are several EuskoTren stops in Bilbao too that travel around the BilbaoCountry.

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What you have to see…

Within the FREE ACTIVITIES that Instituto Hemingway schedules in the afternoons you can see some of
the best museums, beaches and views in the BilbaoCountry.

Art in Bilbao:
The Museum of Fine Arts has the second largest collection of classic art in Spain, after the Del Prado
museum in Madrid. There are more than 6,000 works that include paintings, decorative arts and
sculptures, dating from XII.
The Guggenheim Museum houses a collection of modern art with temporary collections, although the
building is as much of a work of art in itself as the art inside.

Cultural Museums:
The BilbaoMuseum offers permanent and temporary collections that cover Bilbaoarcheology and the
ethnohistory of the BilbaoCountry.
The Bullfighting Museum is located in the local Bullfighting Ring and has a permanent exhibition that is a
collection of the history of bullfighting in the BilbaoCountry and Bilbao.
The Bilbao Maritime River Museum explores the modernization along the river.

Architecture: Zubi Zuri Bridge The Guggenheim The San Begoña Basilica

Zones: Plaza Nueva, Casco Viejo Uribiarre The Town Hall

Stroll through the Plaza Nueva and the Seven Streets of the Casco Viejo, and have a drink and pintxos
in a bar or two. This is a great zone with a lively atmosphere.
Other zones include Uribiarre around the Guggenheim and the beautiful riverside walk past the town hall,
the university and more.

Views:
Take the funicular to the top of the Artxanda mountain in order to see some extraordinary views of the
whole of Bilbao and out to sea.

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View in funicular
Sopelana
Beaches: There are numerous beaches on the metro line towards Plentzia and you can be there in
just 20 minutes from Bilbao. Algorta and Plentzia are pretty coastal towns. Also on offer are infinite
leisure possibilities, in particular water sports i.e. surfing. To see some big waves go to Larrabastera or
Sopelana.
Or for one of the top ten surfing spots in the world, travel that bit further to Mundaka.

Further out of Bilbao
San Sebastián, Santander and Vitoria are an hour away and make for great day trips. Guernika is a
tiny town steeped in history after Hitler’s Condor Legion bombed it in the Civil War. Today it is far from
grim and offers visitors the chance to reflect in the Peace Museum. There are also some lovely seaside
towns including Portugalete, Mundaka and Lekeitio. For those who love wine – don’t forget the Rioja
vineyards.

Shopping
Bilbao offers world class shopping with the opportunity to spend lots of money! A good place to start is the
Gran Vía, home to all the main names like El Corte Ingles, Zara and Massimmo Dutti. The Zubiarte
centre has everything under one roof and is on the tram line at Abandoibarra. But don’t ignore the little
boutiques that are all over the city. There are some wonderful shops for pastries, gifts and delicatessen
products.
NB. Commercial Hours in Bilbao:
-Usual opening times: 10.00am - 1.30/2.00pm and later 4.30/5.00pm - 8.00/8.30pm.
-Larger establishments such as El Corte Inglés on the Gran Vía and ZARA and MANGO remain open from
10.00am until 10.00pm.
-Nearly all stores close on Sundays.
Banks, embassies, ministries and official organizations are usually only open in the mornings until 2.00pm.

Places to go out
The Social Life
The social life in Spain is very active and Bilbao is no exception. Friday and Saturday nights are
particularly busy when people go out for dinner with friends and family or go to the cinema or to the
theatre. The Arriaga Theatre in Bilbao offers many great plays, musicals etcetera. There are many
cinemas offering Spanish and worldwide films.

The Nightlife in Bilbao
This starts late with discobars and nightclubs – with distinct atmospheres and different aged crowds.
The Casco Viejo and Abando districts are full of places to go out.

Fiestas
Bilbao’s ‘Semana Grande’ lasts for a week in August and there are near to 400 different acts: street
theatre, concerts, firework displays… As well as this you can try churros (Spanish equivalent of a donut)
and the typical fiesta drink: kalimotxo – a mix of red wine and coke. There will always be people dancing
in the streets into the early hours.

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There are also fiestas in nearby towns and cities throughout the whole Summer!
Apart from the Summer there are fiestas in Bilbao to celebrate Christmas and Easter.

Semana Santa (Easter) in Bilbao Bilbao’s ‘Aste Nagusia’ Semana Grande fiesta

Sports
The pride of Bilbao is its premier league football club ‘Athletic’. Games are held regularly at the stadium at
San Mamés.
There is a Bilbao sport called pelota which is very avidly supported.
For actually doing sports, the bicycle and running/jogging lanes keep on growing and
will soon reach 30 kilometres. Many people also rollerblade on these paths along the
river.
‘Polideportivos’ have swimming pools for the Summer months and you can also just
enjoy strolling through the streets and parks.

Of course the coast offers surfing and other watersports. We organize surf lessons, horse riding lessons
in the mountains and so on. Please ask us for more information.

Mail
For sending letters and postcards use the yellow mail boxes on the streets.
For urgent letters use the red mail boxes or alternatively take them to a post office (found in nearly every
neighbourhood, a yellow ‘Correo’ building is what to look for).
You can buy stamps in estancos (small tobacco shops) or at the post office. The prices are the same for
postcards and letters if you don’t exceed the weight or size limits.

Making Phone Calls
-You can make phone calls from the public phones with coins or a phonecard (5 or
10 euros), that we sell at Instituto Hemingway. -Some public phones
also accept credit cards.
-Try to use the booths on the streets as bars and cafes charge more.
-To enter the international phone net you have to dial: 00 + country
code + desired number -NB. Phonecalls are
cheaper in the afternoon and the evening.
–If you plan a long stay in Spain a prepaid sim card for your cellular phone is a good
idea. You can buy these in one of many phone shops and they come with credit.
Vodafone and Movistar are popular.

Internet
Instituto Hemingway offers you free Internet access during our opening hours.
Monday – Friday: 9.00am-2.00pm, 4.00pm-8.00pm.

Money
The official currency of Spain is the Euro.

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You can exchange money in any of the regular banks or savings banks (open 9-2). You can also
exchange travelers’ cheques. To do this you need identification documents. There are also exchange
offices at the airport, at the railway stations and in some hotels. However, these tend to charge you a high
commission rate.
There are ATMs everywhere for withdrawing money from your card. In most establishments you can pay
by credit card. NB. You will always need to show ID.

Spanish Customs. Tips
In restaurants a service charge is often included but it is custom to leave around 5% tip.
We recommend to give 1 Euro to the hotel porter/ valet car park and 5% of the taxi fare.
Spanish eating times are very different to many other countries.
Breakfast is usually between 9 and 11 and is reasonably light.
Lunch is the biggest meal of the day consisting of two dishes and a dessert. This eaten between 1.30-
3.30 and can last for hours. After lunch is an optional siesta.
Dinner is always lighter and eaten between 8.30-10.30pm. Many people read the newspaper or watch TV
afterwards and Spaniards don’t generally go to bed before 11.
Talking
Spaniards often use a lot of body language and this is just their way of being civil. They also have a
tendency to speak very loudly in public places such as bars and on trains.
There are many small things that make up the personality of the Spanish. You will soon work these out for
yourself and we encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity you are presented with in order to
acquire a greater knowledge not just of the language, but of the Spanish culture and customs.

Always carry with you
-A photocopy of your passport -Your medical insurance card
-The address of your accommodation -The following numbers:
Emergency Services: 112
Instituto Hemingway:
Office: (00 34) 94 416 79 01
Don José A. López- Director: (00 34) 647 040 645
Don Alfredo Orive- Academic Director: (00 34) 619 015 152
Do not hesitate to get in contact with us if you deem it necessary.

We hope this provides you all the information that you need to start you off and we wish you a pleasant
journey over here. See you next Monday!

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Informacion Nuevos Estudiantes Bilbao Instituto Hemingway

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Informacion Nuevos Estudiantes Bilbao Instituto Hemingway