Hotel Castillo de Arteaga is a castle destination wedding venue in Gautegiz Arteaga, Spain, hosting 230 at dinner and 280 standing, where a wedding for 80 guests costs about €23,000 (our estimate), reached from Bilbao (BIO), ~40 minutes by car.
Hotel Castillo de Arteaga
A neo-Gothic castle in the Urdaibai estuary, forty minutes east of Bilbao, rebuilt in the 1850s for the Empress Eugénie de Montijo, Napoleon III’s Spanish wife, on the site of a much older Basque tower house.
About Hotel Castillo de Arteaga
A neo-Gothic castle in the Urdaibai estuary, forty minutes east of Bilbao, rebuilt in the 1850s for the Empress Eugénie de Montijo, Napoleon III’s Spanish wife, on the site of a much older Basque tower house.
It has 13 or 14 rooms and suites depending on which source you read, a dining hall under a vaulted ceiling and a tower you can climb for the view over the marshes.
Urdaibai is a UNESCO biosphere reserve, so the land around it stays as it is: tidal flats, oak woods and the surf beach at Laga ten minutes away.
Weddings seat up to 230 in the castle and its dining hall, or 280 standing, with catering in-house and both indoor and outdoor spaces.
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A friend of mine decided to celebrate a wedding here and it was a success. (I was not the one getting married). It's a castle which is fully refurbished but keeps the "original" furniture and decoration.
Rutas Afa · read the whole review on Google →Capacity, rooms and facilities
Capacity
- Seated dinner
- 230 guests
- Standing reception
- 280 guests
Staying over
- Rooms
- 13 rooms
- Room types
- 4 listed
- Whole property to yourselves
- Yes
The ceremony
- Outdoor ceremony
- Yes
Money
- A wedding for 80 guests
- About €23,000, rooms extraAisle estimate
- Price
- From €110 per head
- Included
- Catering and drinks
House rules
- Music until
- 03:00
- Children
- Yes
Getting there
- Nearest airport
- BIO, 40 min by carAisle estimate
- Parking
- Yes
- Step-free access
- Yes
The spaces
- Event spaces
- Banquet room
- Reception indoors
- Yes
- Reception outdoors
- Yes
- Space for dancing
- Yes
- Indoors or out
- Both
- Setting
- Countryside, historic, elegantAisle estimate
The place
- Swimming pool
- No
- Gardens
- Yes
- Historic building
- Yes
Services
- Suppliers from the venue's list
- No
Food and drink
- In-house catering
- Yes
- Bar on site
- Yes
Venue highlights
- Neo-Gothic castle rebuilt in the 1850s for the Empress Eugénie de Montijo
- Seats 230 for dinner in the castle, or 280 standing
- 13 or 14 rooms and suites, with catering in-house
- In the Urdaibai UNESCO biosphere reserve, ten minutes from Laga beach
A sample wedding weekend
See the day-by-day outline+
Use this as a starting point and adapt it to your bookings and guests.
- 20:30Pintxos and welcome drinks in Gernika
- 12:00Morning at Laga beach, ten minutes north
- 17:30Ceremony on the lawn below the castle tower
- 20:00Dinner in the vaulted hall
- 12:00Farewell lunch, then the Guggenheim in Bilbao
Costs and booking details
- Getting there
- BIO · about 40 min by carAisle estimate
Guests fly into Bilbao.
- Direct line
- 946 24 00 12
Answered by the venue in local hours.
Questions about the venue
How many guests can the castle hold?+
The castle and its dining hall seat up to 230 guests, expandable to 280 standing. Both indoor and outdoor spaces are available, so a summer wedding usually holds the ceremony outside and moves into the vaulted hall for dinner.
Can our guests sleep at the castle?+
A few can. The castle’s own rooms page lists 13 rooms and suites and the Basque tourist board says 14, so treat it as roughly a dozen: enough for both families and the wedding party. Everyone else stays in Gernika, ten minutes away, or in Bilbao, and coaches back after the party.
Do we need an external caterer?+
No. Catering is handled in-house by the castle. Aisle’s existing listing for this property records an estimate of roughly €90 to €180 a head for catering, which is an estimate rather than a quote from the venue.
What is the weather like?+
Atlantic, not Mediterranean. Summers are mild and green, and rain is possible in any month, which is why every plan here needs an indoor version. June to September is the usual window, and the vaulted hall means a wet day is inconvenient rather than ruinous.
How do guests get there?+
Bilbao (BIO) is about 40 minutes away by road and well served from across Europe. San Sebastián is an hour and a quarter east, and Biarritz in France a little under two hours, which gives northern-Spain weddings a wider set of flight options than they look like having.
Could this be your venue?
Ask about pricing and availability for the month you have in mind. You do not need a fixed date.
Still deciding? Elena is Aisle’s AI wedding planner. Give her a month and a guest count and she will forecast the budget, work out how your guests would travel, and put a first plan on paper. No account needed.
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- La FortalezaPollensa, SpainAnother castle
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Sources and booking notes
Confirm your dates, guest numbers, room arrangements and inclusions with the venue before booking. An enquiry does not reserve a date. Figures labelled Aisle estimate are modelled from regional rates and public sources; they are not venue quotes.
Sources for individual venue facts
Seated dinner: 230 guests
“El castillo y su gran comedor cuentan con una capacidad de 230 personas, ampliable a 280, lo que lo convierten no sólo en un escenario inmejorable, sino también en un espacio de gran aforo para eventos, adaptable a las necesidades de sus huéspedes.”
Read the source for seated dinnerStanding reception: 280 guests
“El castillo y su gran comedor cuentan con una capacidad de 230 personas, ampliable a 280, lo que lo convierten no sólo en un escenario inmejorable, sino también en un espacio de gran aforo para eventos, adaptable a las necesidades de sus huéspedes.”
Read the source for standing receptionRooms: 13 rooms
“En dicha torre se encuentran siete de las 13 habitaciones del complejo.”
Read the source for roomsRoom types: 4 listed
“Double or Twin Room”
Read the source for room typesWhole property to yourselves: Yes
“Nuestra idea era celebrar la boda en septiembre, y ellos nos comentaron que en Octubre dispondríamos de exclusividad de la finca para nosotros.”
Read the source for whole property to yourselvesOutdoor ceremony: Yes
“Ceremonia en el jardín”
Read the source for outdoor ceremonyIn-house catering: Yes
“Un lugar idílico por su incomparable marco, no sólo para disfrutar de una gran gastronomía, sino también para cualquier acontecimiento personal o una comida de negocios.”
Read the source for in-house cateringBar on site: Yes
“In the evening, enjoy a superb dinner in the castle’s restaurant or a wine tasting in the well-stocked cellar.”
Read the source for bar on sitePrice: From €110 per head
“Menús desde 110€”
Read the source for priceIncluded: Catering and drinks
“Cockail de bienvenida, comida, vinos, café.”
Read the source for includedMusic until: 03:00
“Hasta las 03:00”
Read the source for music untilChildren: Yes
“Kids Welcome: All ages”
Read the source for childrenParking: Yes
“Cuenta con parking”
Read the source for parkingStep-free access: Yes
“This room is accessible to people with disabilities.”
Read the source for step-free accessEvent spaces: Banquet room
“Meeting/banquet facilities”
Read the source for event spacesReception indoors: Yes
“El castillo y su gran comedor cuentan con una capacidad de 230 personas, ampliable a 280, lo que lo convierten no sólo en un escenario inmejorable, sino también en un espacio de gran aforo para eventos, adaptable a las necesidades de sus huéspedes.”
Read the source for reception indoorsReception outdoors: Yes
“Huéspedes, que además de disfrutar de las grandes prestaciones del castillo, se rodean de un entorno natural incomparable que da pie a numerosas actividades y posibilidades, tanto en interiores como al aire libre.”
Read the source for reception outdoorsSpace for dancing: Yes
“Comedor baile”
Read the source for space for dancingIndoors or out: Both
“Huéspedes, que además de disfrutar de las grandes prestaciones del castillo, se rodean de un entorno natural incomparable que da pie a numerosas actividades y posibilidades, tanto en interiores como al aire libre.”
Read the source for indoors or outSwimming pool: No
“*The pool will not be available in 2026 but access to the terrace will be available.”
Read the source for swimming poolGardens: Yes
“Zona ajardinada, terraza, carpa”
Read the source for gardensHistoric building: Yes
“Así se levantó en aquel privilegiado paraje de Arteaga un palacio neomedieval, torreón neogótico inspirado en la arquitectura gótica francesa, muy influido por la recuperación que el romanticismo hizo del estilo gótico.”
Read the source for historic buildingSuppliers from the venue's list: No
“Posibilidad de llevar todo tipo de proveedores externos.”
Read the source for suppliers from the venue's list