Sopela, formerly known as Sopelana, is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain.
The town is roughly 820 hectares in size, located in the comarcaMungialdea on the north east side of Bilbao and due east of the Nerviónriver estuary. In the municipality, other former towns like Larrabasterra were annexed to make Sopela larger. The population is 13,878 people, as recorded in the 2019 census. The area of Sopela is situated among green hills and beaches. This makes it a very attractive suburb of Greater Bilbao, with a short commute of 35 minutes on the metro.
History
Since the late 1980s, the population of Sopela has continued to grow and currently has 13.000 citizens. During the industrialization the citizens moved to the urban centres that were more crowded but since that decade this tendency has been reversed. Sopela has become a residential municipality well connected with bigger municipalities and with Bilbao. It was at first a primarily tourist destination, where the properties and house owners only moved to spend summer holidays but it has turned into a residential town. At the moment, it is one of the municipalities with the highest per capita income of Spain.
Sopela's oceanic climate is very different from the one of southern Spain. Harsh winds tend to pick up speed along the coast and precipitation is very common all year round. Northern winds often bring the winter temperature to just above the freezing point, but summers are usually comfortable from late May to early September. Snow is common three days each winter on average [1]. The summer climate is warm and the temperatures are moderated by the constant sea breezes.
Sopela is known for three beaches Atxabiribil, Barinatxe, and Arrietara. They are rather exposed to the elements of the Bay of Biscay and have good conditions for surfers. A fourth beach, Meñakoz is of less appeal for sun worshippers and more for the surfer crowd due to the pebble bed ground. Sopela is frequently the host of regional surf competitions as conditions are adequate for surfing in its beaches. A less famous, but also internationally known event, is the yearly nude race on Barinatxe beach in the fall. Barinatxe is a clothing optional beach. Another special place in Sopela is a small creek called Ikatza known only by its citizens.
Transport
The town is connected to the main transport arteries with two metro stations on the Line 1 of Bilbao Metro and highways.
Larrabasterra station is located to the far south of Sopela in Larrabasterra, while Sopela station (formerly Sopelana) is at the center of the municipality. Several bus routes also connect Sopela to Bilbao and nearby towns, like Barrika, Plentzia, Gorliz and Armintza. These buses are:
There is also a local bus service which connects the town centre with the beaches, it joins the following neighbourhoods: Larrabasterra / Arrietara / Beaches / Sopelmar / Ugeraga / Moreaga / Centre.
Patronal feasts
The patron saint of the town is San Pedro or Saint Peter and his feast days are the most representative ones. They are held at the end of the month of June and they last up to a week and a half. The big day is the 29th. The patroness of the neighbourhood of Larrabasterra is Virgen del Carmen and her feast days are held in mid-July. The big day is the 16th.
Shopping
Saint Peter's Church in Sopela by Lucía Izquierdo.
There are no large shopping areas or malls in Sopela. The shopping centres are located a short car ride away in nearby towns like Getxo, Leioa, Barakaldo, or Bilbao. However, the centre of Sopela is full of small shops with a wide variety of goods. Along the main road to West Sopela, there are several youth oriented shops and surf shops open all year round.
