DISCOVER WESTEROS MAGIC NEAR BILBAO!
SAN JUAN DE GAZTELUGATXE (Bermeo): Dragonstone.
The Dragonstone castle is another scenery from Game of Thrones that plays a key role in the new House of the Dragon plot. It was expected that the ancestral seat of House Targaryen returned as a significant location in the series that depicts the decline of this noble family.
In the second episode of the show, the dragons fly, once again, over San Juan de Gaztelugatxe (40 minutes away from Bilbao). In a scene where Daemon and Rhaenyra Targaryen face eachother on the endless staircase of the castle. The origin of this “familiar” conflict? A dragon’s egg.
However, this time the actors didn’t really travelled to this Spanish spot and the location was digitally recreated (using the same technique as The Mandalorian) But even though the new cast didn’t set foot on San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, this islet will always be part of the Game of Thrones universe.
If you want to travel (in real life) to Dragonstone… we recommend you this 9-hour tour to the ‘GOT‘ filming locations from Bilbao!
BUTRÓN CASTLE (Gatika): The tower of High Tide Castle.
Most of High Tide Castle is in Cornwall, England. The castle on top of the tidal island of St. Michael’s Mount was the main filming location for the seat of House Velaryon. (More details here.)
But… the magnificent tower of Butrón Castle in the Basque town of Gatika, only 20 kilometres away from the city of Bilbao, was digitally built into the English castle.
This fairy tale fortress surrounded by an ancient forest dates originally from the Middle Ages and its a Basque cultural heritage.
If you’d like to visit this castle and other GOT/House of the Dragon locations around the Basque Country this 5-hour tour departing from Bilbao will take you straight to Westeros. Ready?
