or in Spanish or or in

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

are different names for the medieval neighbourhood of

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

, part of the Ibaiondo district. The walled section of the town existed until the end of the 19th century and was known by the names Seven Streets or Old Town, respectively.

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'', "rapid street" *''Carnicería Vieja'', "old butchery" *''Barrenkale'', "lower street" *''Barrenkale Barrena'', "lower lower street" The "8th" street is ''Ronda'', which used to be the

patrol A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as law enforcement officers, military personnel, or security personnel, that are assigned to monitor or secure a specific geographic area. Etymology The word "patrol" is derived from the Frenc ...

street outside the walls. Later the town expanded northwards with the construction of the ''Plaza Berria'' or '' Plaza Nueva'' (new square) and the streets ''Santa María'' ("Saint Mary"), ''Bidebarrieta'' ("new ways"), ''Correo'' ("mail") and ''Askao''. Nowadays the neighbourhood also includes the Ribera ("riverbank") street, the Arenal ("sandy place") Park and Esperanza ("hope") street as well. The area is served by Casco Viejo station of the Bilbao Metro. File:Bilboko irudi historikoa.jpg, The seven parallel streets are visible in this picture from the 18th century. File:Bilbao1575.jpg, The medieval town, now Casco Viejo, as seen in 1575. File:Plaza nueva de Bilbao.JPG, Plaza Nueva File:Portal de Zamudio.JPG, Casco viejo, Portal de Zamudio File:Bilbao - Mercado de la Ribera 4.jpg, The market Mercado de la Ribera File:La Ribera.JPG, 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), a large food retail market ( Mercado de la Ribera), the public Arriaga Theatre, the seat of the Academy of the Basque Language (

Euskaltzaindia Euskaltzaindia (; often translated Royal Academy of the Basque Language) is the official academic language regulatory institution which watches over the Basque language. It conducts research, seeks to protect the language, and establishes stand ...

), a ball court, and a public

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

. It is connected to the rest of the city and

conurbation A conurbation is a region consisting of a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ...

by the subway, tramway and

buses A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

. Three public elevators also connect Casco Viejo to the neighbourhoods of

Begoña Begoña is a historical municipality of Biscay (Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, Spain) and is a neighbourhood and urban district of Bilbao. ''Begoña'', or more puristically but also more rarely spelled ''Begoina'', means ' ...

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. Geography of Bilbao Estuary of Bilbao Historic districts in Spain {{basque-geo-stub