Casco Viejo

The seven parallel streets are visible in this picture from the 18th century.

File:Bilbao1575.JPG

The medieval town, now Zazpikaleak, as seen in 1575.

Zazpikaleak is the Basque name for Las Siete Calles or El Casco Viejo in Spanish, different names for the medieval neighbourhood of Bilbao. The names mean Seven Streets or Old Town respectively and it used to be the walled part of the town until the end of the 19th century.

The Seven Streets

The name Zazpikaleak or Las Siete Calles (The Seven Streets) come from the oldest part of the neighbourhood which included exactly 7 streets and some much more narrow alleys connecting them, called cantons (kantoi, cantón). The historical seven streets of Bilbao are:

• Somera, "upper"
• Artekale, "middle street"
• Tendería, "shopkeeper's"
• Belostikale
• Carnicería Vieja, "old butchery"
• Barrenkale, "lower street"
• Barrenkale Barrena, "lower lower street"

The "8th" street is Ronda, which used to be the patrol street outside the walls. Later the town expanded northwards with the construction of the Plaza Berria (new square) and the streets Santa María ("Saint Mary"), Bidebarrieta ("new ways"), Correo ("mail") and Askao. Nowadays the neighbourhood also includes the Ribera ("riverboard") street, the Arenal ("sandy place") Park and Esperanza ("hope") street as well.

• 
  Plaza Nueva
• 
  Casco viejo, Portal de Zamudio
• 
  The market Mercado de la Ribera
• 
  La Ribera

Tourism

The area is probably the most colorful part of Bilbao, including many shops and taverns, several historical churches (San Antón, Santos Juanes, the Cathedral, San Nicolás), the largest food retail market of Europe (Mercado de la Ribera), the public Arriaga Theatre, the seat of the Academy of the Basque Language (Euskaltzaindia), a ball court, a public library. It is connected to the rest of the city and conurbation by the subway, tramway and buses. Three public elevators also connect Casco Viejo to the neighbourhoods of Begoña and Solokoetxe, which otherwise demand a rather intense uphill walk.

There is a tradition of middle-age men doing a tavern crawl drinking short glasses (chiquitos) of wine and singing choral songs.