Come Alone by Meet & Mint Events you can go to on your own

Not a date · Bilbao

Meet people in Bilbao without a dating app.

Meeting people does not have to be a profile. In Bilbao we list 168 upcoming events built around an activity, so conversation starts with the activity.

See this week's picks How to go alone

Picks

Tonight and this week in Bilbao nobody on a date

Six upcoming events, soonest first, free ones preferred and a mix of categories. Check the official page before you go.

Mon16Nov
Free
CultureBilbao
17:30–22:30

Prohibido ser feliz, Palestinian puppet day, Txotena Gunea, Bilbao

TXOTENA GUNEA - Otxarkoaga

On Monday 16 November 2026 at 17:30 Txotena Gunea in Otxarkoaga, Bilbao, hosts Prohibido ser feliz, a day on Palestinian puppetry within the Bilbao TX Fest 2026 international puppet festival. The programme begins at 17:30 with an online workshop on making Palestinian puppets led by Nidal Khatib, which needs no previous experience. At 19:00 Mousa Khatib gives a talk on Palestinian puppetry, with photos and videos. At 20:30 there is a shadow puppet and video show with contemporary dance, ballet and Dabka, and at 21:00 a gathering with snacks. The Tantura puppet theatre company comes from Ramallah and has worked for more than 40 years. Entry is free, and contributions to support the initiative can be made during the day. The closing time is an estimate. A day like this is easy to attend alone, since the talk and the closing gathering invite conversation. «Charla sobre el títere palestino con Mousa Khatib, titiritero e hijo del creador de títeres» Starts 17:30, ends about 22:30. Source: Kulturklik — Basque Government / Open Data Euskadi (CC BY 4.0). The listing gives no end time, so the end shown is estimated. The Kulturklik listing gives the price as free and lists a four-part programme starting at 17:30.

Official page ↗See who's going in Meet & Mint
Tue17Nov
Free
CultureBilbao
20:00–21:30

Free participatory Basque-language theatre on friendship

Bilboko Kafe Antzokia

Four friends meet on stage to celebrate the promises and disappointments that bind them, in a playful piece that invites the audience into the game. The show at Kafe Antzokia is free and performed in Basque.

Official page ↗See who's going in Meet & Mint
Wed18Nov
Free
LearningBilbao
18:30–20:30

Reading corner on Katixa Agirre, La Sinsorga, Bilbao

La Sinsorga, kulturgune feminista

On Wednesday 18 November La Sinsorga, a feminist cultural space in Bilbao, holds a session of its new reading corner. Three sessions and three books make up the series, and Alaine Agirre leads the group. This evening's book is Barne zerbitzuak by the Basque writer Katixa Agirre. The idea, as the listing puts it, is a space to think and talk together from the reading, so you are expected to have read or at least started the book. Entry is free and the listing gives no booking information. The language is Basque. The session starts at 18:30 and the listing gives no end time, so we assume it finishes around 20:30. A small reading group in a community space is a good way to meet people in a new city while talking about a contemporary novel. «Irakurketa txokoa: "Barne zerbitzuak" (Katixa Agirre)» Starts 18:30, ends about 20:30. Source: Kulturklik — Basque Government / Open Data Euskadi (CC BY 4.0).

Official page ↗See who's going in Meet & Mint
Thu19Nov
Free
CultureBilbao
18:00–19:00

Dantza Plazetan: Ibai Arte Dantza Taldea, Zorrotza, Bilbao

Frontón de Zorrotza

On Thursday 19 November 2026 at 18:00 the Frontón de Zorrotza in Bilbao hosts the dance group Ibai Arte Dantza Taldea as part of Dantza Plazetan 2026. The page explains that Bilbao City Council runs this programme in different neighbourhoods, with Basque folklore as the protagonist. Over the year it lists 58 meetings offered free of charge, including romerías, kalejiras, displays of dances and parades of giants, with the aim of bringing Basque dances and folklore closer to residents and valuing them. Ibai Arte Dantza Taldea is one of the local groups named on the programme. The page says the programme promotes local culture in the spaces of the city districts and encourages citizen participation and social cohesion. The listing gives the price as free and does not describe any booking, and no end time is published, so about an hour is a reasonable estimate. An open neighbourhood dance gathering like this is easy to enjoy alone, since everyone watches the same performance together. «El Ayuntamiento de Bilbao pone en marcha una nueva edición de “Dantza Plazetan” coincidiendo con el inicio de 2026.» Starts 18:00, ends about 19:00. Source: Kulturklik — Basque Government / Open Data Euskadi (CC BY 4.0). The listing gives no end time, so the end shown is estimated. The listing gives the price as Gratis and the start at 18:00 at the Frontón de Zorrotza.

Official page ↗See who's going in Meet & Mint
Fri27Nov
Free
MusicBilbao
20:00–22:30

Local bands TROS_18 and SOMAK, Bilborock, Bilbao

Bilborock

On Friday evening 27 November the Bilborock music venue on Muelle de la Merced in Bilbao hosts a double bill of two local groups, TROS_18 and SOMAK. The Kulturklik listing, which takes its information from the city's youth portal Bilbao Gazte, is brief: it only says the bands will play in the Bilborock hall, without describing their style, so this is an evening for people who like to discover young local music rather than follow a famous headliner. Entry is free according to the page. The language is given as mixed, including Basque. The concert starts at 20:00; the source gives no end time, so we assume it ends at about 22:30. The venue is on Muelle de la Merced in the city centre. «TROS_18 + SOMAK» Starts 20:00, ends about 22:30. Source: Kulturklik — Basque Government / Open Data Euskadi (CC BY 4.0).

Official page ↗See who's going in Meet & Mint
Sat28Nov
Free
SocialBilbao
20:00–21:30

Basque Folk Dance Romería in Plaza Santiago

Plaza Santiago

The Salbatzaile dance group hosts a romería, an open-air Basque folk dance gathering, in Plaza Santiago in the Old Town, as part of the city's free Dantza Plazetan programme. Street dances like this are open to passers-by, so joining in alone is natural.

Official page ↗See who's going in Meet & Mint

Formats

Where you talk without pressure

These formats give you a task or a topic, so you never have to open with small talk. Pages for Bilbao:

How to go alone

Five steps for your first time

  1. Choose a single event with a clear start time and a host. "Prohibido ser feliz, Palestinian puppet day, Txotena Gunea, Bilbao" is a good candidate.
  2. Open the official page and check the date, price, language and whether you need to book.
  3. Be early. Say to the host that you are new; introducing newcomers is part of their job.
  4. Bring one easy opener: ask what brought people here, or whether they have been before. Give yourself a one-hour minimum, then decide.
  5. Return to the same group once more before deciding; regulars make it easier, and Meet & Mint shows who plans to attend.

Alternatives to dating apps

What actually works, compared

A neutral comparison of five ways to meet people through shared activities. None needs a profile; the last column shows what we list for Bilbao.

FormatWhy conversation startsWorks well if youTypical costCommitmentIn Bilbao now
Dinners with strangersA shared table and a host who seats youLike longer one-to-one conversationThe price of a mealOne evening, often booked aheadnone in our data yet
Run clubsYou move at the same pace and talk on the movePrefer doing something active to small talkOften free or low costWeekly; talking is optionalnone in our data yet
Language cafésEveryone is practising, so starting a chat is expectedWant a ready-made reason to talkFree or the cost of a coffeeDrop-in3 listed
Game nightsThe game provides the topic and something to doEnjoy light competition or puzzlesFree or a small table feeDrop-in, two to three hours1 listed
VolunteeringA shared task and a teamWant to meet people with similar valuesFreeRegular shifts matter more than one visitnone in our data yet

Questions people ask

What is a good way to make friends in Bilbao that is not an app?

Join something recurring with a host and a task: a language café, a game night, a walk or a class. For Bilbao we currently list 168 events, for example "Prohibido ser feliz, Palestinian puppet day, Txotena Gunea, Bilbao" and "Free participatory Basque-language theatre on friendship".

Is it weird to go to an event alone in Bilbao?

No. Many of the formats we list, such as language cafés and game nights, are designed for people who arrive alone, and hosts expect newcomers. Tell the host you are new and they will usually introduce you.

Is this a way to find a partner?

No, they are ordinary group activities where nobody is on a date. That is the point: pressure is low, and if a connection happens it grows out of shared interest, not out of a profile.

Does meeting people in Bilbao cost money?

Often not. 32 of 168 listed events in Bilbao are free (22 within 30 days). Paid formats such as padel sessions or board-game cafés state the price on their page.

I'm new to Bilbao and shy. Where do I start?

Pick something where you do things rather than only talk, such as a game night or a guided walk. Commit to one hour. In Meet & Mint you can chat with the group before you arrive, which makes the first minutes easier.

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How it works

Meet & Mint in Bilbao: how it works

  1. Find an event on Come Alone or in the Meet & Mint map and open the official page for the details.
  2. Join alone in the app: you see how many people are going and can read the group chat.
  3. Say hello before in the chat, so the first minutes at the venue are with names you know.
  4. Meet at the event and decide afterwards whether to go again. Nobody is on a date.

Meet & Mint

See who's going, then go together

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