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Bermeo
«Bermeo es uno de los puertos pesqueros más importantes.»Bermeo is one of the most important fishing ports.
Bermeo is located on the coast of Biscay, in a sheltered bay, and is one of the most important fishing ports in the Cantabrian Sea. It was the capital of the Señorío de Vizcaya for more than a century, before the title passed to Bilbao in 1602, and its fleet used to hunt whales.
Did you know
The Game of Thrones rock.
The islet of San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, connected to the mainland by a spectacular stone staircase, was chosen as a filming location for the television series Game of Thrones.
How they talk in Bermeo
Euskera is very present and the Bermeo dialect retains marked Bizkaian traits. «Arrantzale» means fisherman and recurs continuously in a port city.
agur
Greeting used to take leave and, depending on the context, also to say hello. Short greeting formula in Basque, very recognizable in the daily life of the Basque Country.
Everyday life in Bermeo
The «bonito» fleet on the high seas
Bermeo still has a fleet that goes tuna fishing on the high seas for weeks: when the boats return the village knows, and the families go to the pier to wait for them.
«Hoy vuelven los barcos.» — Today the boats return.
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe and its steps
A hermitage on a crag is reached by a stone bridge and two hundred and forty steps, and at the top you ring the bell three times to make a wish.
«Hay que tocar la campana tres veces.» — You have to ring the bell three times.
«Bermeo» in euskera above all
Here the language of home, the street and the bar is Basque: Castilian is used with those who come from outside, and children grow up speaking euskera among themselves.
«Aquí se habla euskera en la calle.» — Here Basque is spoken in the street.
What to eat in Bermeo
Bonito con tomate
White tuna from the Cantabrian Sea cooked slowly in tomato and pepper sauce.
Marmitako
Tuna soup with potatoes, onion and choricero pepper, born right on the local boats.
Txangurro
Spider crab shelled and cooked with onion and tomato, put back into the shell.
Festivals in Bermeo
Madalenas
22 July
The boats go to the island of Izaro and they throw a roof tile into it: that is how Bermeo claims the island, once a year, for five hundred years.
Andra Mari eta Santa Eufemia
from 7 to 16 September
The «Xixili» opens the festival, and the fishermen carry the patron saint in procession to the port from which they leave for the tuna.
What to see in Bermeo
Puerto viejo
The old port enclosed by houses, with colourful boats and nets spread out.
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe
A hermitage on top of a crag, reached by two hundred and forty-one steps on a stone bridge.
Torre Ercilla
The medieval tower-house that houses the fisherman's museum.
Iglesia de Santa Eufemia
The Gothic church where the lords of Vizcaya swore to respect the fueros.
Where Bermeo comes from
Capital of the Lordship for three and a half centuries
1236
The villa
It receives the villa charter: it is one of the oldest ports on the Basque coast.
1476–1602
The capital
It is the capital of the Señorío de Vizcaya, before the title passes to Bilbao.
16th–18th century
The fishing
Whalers first, then tuna boats: the Bermeo fleet is the largest on the coast.
20th century → today
The port
It remains one of the most important fishing ports in the Cantabrian Sea.
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