Plentzia
Encyclopedia
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
located in the province of Biscay
Biscay
Biscay is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lord of Biscay. Its capital city is Bilbao...
, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country
Basque Country (autonomous community)
The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....
, in northern Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. The town has 4,146 inhabitants (2008).
Plentzia is located 27 km north-east of Bilbao
Bilbao
Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...
. It is part of the Greater Bilbao metropolitan area
Metropolitan area
The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...
, as well as being the terminus of the first line of the city's Metro
Metro Bilbao
Metro Bilbao is a rapid transit system serving the city of Bilbao and the region of Greater Bilbao. Its lines have a "Y" shape, with two lines that transit both banks of the Nervión river and then combine to form one line that ends in the south of Bilbao...
. In addition to the Metro, two BizkaiBus
BizkaiBus
BizkaiBus is the name for bus services serving the province of Biscay, Spain. It is named after the Basque name of the province, Bizkaia. The buses can be identified by their distinctive yellow colour scheme....
bus routes serve the town, with further destinations served from Urduliz
Urduliz
Urduliz is a municipality of Biscay, in the Basque Country, an Autonomous Community in northern Spain.It is connected to the rest of the Greater Bilbao conurbation by the subway and bus services. The municipality shows a mixture of industrial and rural qualities, being divided in three separate...
, the next stop on the Metro.
Plentzia is a resort town with a large beach beside the Plentzia River estuary
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
, in the round, shell-shaped Bay of Plentzia, shared with neighbouring Gorliz
Gorliz
Gorliz is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, which lies within the autonomous community of the Basque Country, in northern Spain. The town has 5,503 inhabitants .-External links:*...
and Barrika
Barrika
Barrika is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain.-External links:* * with information on history, geography, and local services...
. The beach is very popular as it is clean and the sea is calm due to the shelter of the bay and the town has a lot of amenities for visitors.
Plentzia and its neighbouring municipalities are popular locations for better-off families from Bilbao to buy weekend–holiday homes and during the summer months the town's beach and bars and restaurants become much busier thanks to these residents and other visitors from Bilbao.
As in most Basque towns, Plentzia has a number of restaurants and bars ranging from small bars offering Pintxos to restaurants with formal dining. There is also a small Council-run museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
telling the town's history and in particular dealing with its history as a merchant marine port. The town also has an indoor municipal Jai Alai Fronton
Fronton (court)
A Fronton is a two walled or single walled court used as playing area for Basque pelota.-History:The front wall of the first frontons in villages was usually the wall of a church...
where the traditional Basque sport of pelota is played and competitive matches can often be seen.