Bilbao is a well-established tourist destination, with an internationally recognised cultural, gastronomic and leisure offering. In a context of diverse and growing visitor numbers, having clear, attractive and up-to-date orientation tools is key to improving the tourist experience. With this aim, Bilbao Ekintza entrusted Geograma with the renewal of its tourist map, transforming it into a more modern, visual and functional piece.
The existing tourist map had served its purpose, but it no longer fully met current needs. The challenge was not only to redesign it, but to do so without losing its usefulness. A new proposal had to be created, capable of improving graphic clarity, better synthesising information and offering a more inclusive reading of the city. In addition, the new map had to give prominence both to the emblematic spaces of the city centre and to other tourist resources distributed throughout Bilbao, reinforcing a more complete vision of the destination.
Geograma approached the project by combining cartographic accuracy, graphic design and the integration of geographic information. To this end, the city’s tourist resources were inventoried and updated, the urban cartographic base was reviewed using official and up-to-date data, and a new, more modern, artistic and attractive visual language was defined.
The work included the creation of specific illustrations and iconography, the adaptation of content to different map formats and the incorporation of QR codes to expand the information available and connect the printed format with dynamic content. A specific enlargement of the Old Town was also developed, improving location accuracy and spatial readability in one of the areas of greatest tourist interest.
The result was a new tourist map of Bilbao that is clearer, more up to date, more visual and more useful for visitors. The project was delivered in four different formats, including printed versions for distribution to tourists and posters for tourist offices. Specifically, the following materials were produced:
• A4 format in two versions: Spanish/Basque and English/French.
• A3 format in four versions: Spanish, Basque, English and French.
• Two posters for display in tourist offices.
In addition, the new map incorporates a hybrid model that combines the usefulness of a physical format with the interactivity of QR codes, facilitating access to updated information. The project helped strengthen Bilbao’s tourism positioning and provided a more accessible, accurate tool aligned with the destination’s current communication needs.
