Bizkaia · País Vasco
Gernika-Lumo
A peaceful yet lively city seemingly dedicated to harmony — risen from the ashes of the Spanish Civil War's most infamous bombing.
Living in Gernika-Lumo
Gernika — Guernica in Spanish — is a Basque town of 17,000 in the forested Urdaibai biosphere reserve, a place that has rebuilt itself around the theme of peace after the notorious 1937 aerial bombing immortalised in Picasso's painting. Its Peace Museum and a ceramic copy of the Guernica canvas anchor a quietly purposeful town. The climate is mild green Atlantic, cool summers around 23°C, mild winters near 10°C and frequent rain. Most residents are Spanish-born, with a large Romanian community. A hospital is under half an hour away, and Bilbao and its airport both around thirty-five minutes — close to the city yet wrapped in woodland and estuary.
Gernika-Lumo's Spainability Scores — by who's moving
Not our opinion: we ran the same scoring engine behind the quiz for six settler profiles across all 8,132 municipalities. Each score is Gernika-Lumo's percentile for that group — 87 means it beats 87% of the towns we could score. How scoring works.
Higher than 98% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for American retirees.
A peaceful yet lively city seemingly dedicated to harmony — risen from the ashes of the Spanish Civil War's most infamous bombing. A strong pick for American retirees — 26 min to a hospital and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 10.5°C
- Drive to a hospital 26 min
- U.S.-born residents 4.45 per 1,000
- Registered long-let rent €7.09/m²·mo
Higher than 94% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for heat-averse settlers.
A peaceful yet lively city seemingly dedicated to harmony — risen from the ashes of the Spanish Civil War's most infamous bombing. A strong pick if you can't stand hot summers — 4 km from the sea and mild 23.2°C summer highs.
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 23.2°C
- Rainy days a year 105 days
- Summer water stress (WEI+) 25
- Winter average temp 10.5°C
Higher than 93% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for families.
A peaceful yet lively city seemingly dedicated to harmony — risen from the ashes of the Spanish Civil War's most infamous bombing. A strong pick for a family with school-age kids — 4 km from the sea and 26 min to a hospital.
- Schools in town 10
- PISA maths (region) 482
- Registered long-let rent €7.09/m²·mo
- Drive to a hospital 26 min
Higher than 85% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for retiring couples.
A peaceful yet lively city seemingly dedicated to harmony — risen from the ashes of the Spanish Civil War's most infamous bombing. A strong pick for a retiring couple — 26 min to a hospital and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 10.5°C
- Drive to a hospital 26 min
- Surgical wait (region) 64 days
- Registered long-let rent €7.09/m²·mo
Higher than 84% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for remote workers.
A peaceful yet lively city seemingly dedicated to harmony — risen from the ashes of the Spanish Civil War's most infamous bombing. A strong pick for a remote-working couple — 4 km from the sea and 17,081 people.
- 100 Mbps+ coverage 99%
- Drive to nearest airport 35 min
- Registered long-let rent €7.09/m²·mo
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 23.2°C
Higher than 81% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for budget-first coastal settlers.
A peaceful yet lively city seemingly dedicated to harmony — risen from the ashes of the Spanish Civil War's most infamous bombing. A strong pick for coastal living on a budget — 4 km from the sea and 17,081 people.
- Registered long-let rent €7.09/m²·mo
- Net income per person €17,961
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 23.2°C
What is the climate like in Gernika-Lumo?
Gernika-Lumo's reported winter average is 10.5°C, while July–August highs reach 23.2°C.
Climate
- Winter average temp
- 10.5°C top 17% of 8,131 towns 2.8°C above the Spanish average (7.8°C)
- Summer high (Jul–Aug)
- 23.2°C top 4% of 8,131 towns 7°C below the Spanish average (30.2°C)
- Rainy days a year
- 105 days bottom 9% of 8,088 towns 53% more than the Spanish average (69 days)
- Sunshine
- no local data
- Summer water stress (WEI+) regional estimate
- 25 top 30% of 8,033 towns 32 below the Spanish average (56)
- River-flood depth (T=100, town centre) estimated
- 0 m top 1% of 8,129 towns 0.04 m below the Spanish average (0.04 m)
- River-flood risk score estimated
- 0 top 1% of 8,129 towns about the Spanish average (0)
- Wildfire burn rate (2010–23)
- 0 ha/km² top 1% of 8,132 towns 2.31 ha/km² below the Spanish average (2.31 ha/km²)
- Forest fires (2010–23)
- 0 top 1% of 8,132 towns 6 below the Spanish average (6)
- High fire-weather days (province) regional estimate
- 21.7% top 37% of 8,130 towns 1.2% below the Spanish average (22.9%)
The year, month by month
AEMET 30-year climate normals — what a January or an August actually feels like, not the annual average.
How good is healthcare in Gernika-Lumo?
Gernika-Lumo's nearest health centre is 1 km away, and the reported hospital drive is 26 min.
Healthcare
- Drive to a hospital
- 26 min top 34% of 8,132 towns
- Nearest health centre
- 1 km top 5% of 8,132 towns
- Surgical wait (region) regional estimate
- 64 days #2 of 17 regions, −39 days vs national 41% less than the Spanish average (108 days)
What are schools like in Gernika-Lumo?
Gernika-Lumo has 10 schools in town; the nearest international school is 15 km away.
Schools
- Schools in town
- 10 top 6% of 7,042 towns
- Nearest international school
- 15 km top 15% of 8,132 towns
- PISA maths (region) regional estimate
- 482 #9 of 17 regions, +3 vs national 1 above the Spanish average (481)
How much does it cost to live in Gernika-Lumo?
Gernika-Lumo's reported asking price is €3,059/m².
Cost & economy
- Home price
- no local data
- Asking price
- €3,059/m² asking · Fotocasa Jun 2026 · small sample
- Registered long-let rent
- €7.09/m²·mo
- Registered rent p25
- €6.06/m²·mo
- Registered rent p75
- €7.97/m²·mo
- Registered-rent yield
- no reliable sale-price data — yield not imputed
- Net income per person
- €17,961 top 10% of 8,059 towns 24% more than the Spanish average (€14,495)
- Income growth ’18–’23
- 23.3% bottom 34% of 6,605 towns
Which languages are used in schools in Gernika-Lumo?
the Basque Country has a co-official regional language, and public schools commonly use regional-language immersion or bilingual models rather than Spanish-only teaching. The exact classroom language depends on the school and programme, so confirm the current model before enrolling. See the the Basque Country region guide for the wider regional context.
What is the community like in Gernika-Lumo?
Gernika-Lumo's reported population is 17,081.
Who lives here
- Population
- 17,081
- Born in Spain
- 84.4% 4.4% below the Spanish average (88.8%)
- Born elsewhere in EU/UK
- 4.9% 1.1% above the Spanish average (3.8%)
- U.S.-born residents
- 4.45 per 1,000
How easy is it to get around Gernika-Lumo?
Gernika-Lumo is a reported 35 min drive from the nearest airport, with 98% fibre-to-home coverage.
Getting around
- Drive to nearest airport
- 35 min top 10% of 8,132 towns
- Fibre-to-home coverage
- 98% top 13% of 8,132 towns 19% above the Spanish average (79%)
- 100 Mbps+ coverage
- 99% top 14% of 8,132 towns 16% above the Spanish average (83%)
Numbers: Spainability town dataset, derived from INE, AEMET, Mitma and the Catastro. Registered long-let rent is SERPAVI declared-contract data; its p25–p75 values show the observed band. Registered-rent yield is gross, excludes costs and is never imputed. Percentile chips count only the municipalities that report the figure — the "of n" says how many. Region-ranked figures (PISA, surgical waits) compare Spain's 17 comunidades autónomas. A blank means no municipal-level figure is published — not a zero.
How does Gernika-Lumo fit you?
These are the town's numbers. Whether it's your town depends on what you're optimising for — winter sun or mild summers, a city or a village, short medical waits, an easy flight home. The 3-minute quiz scores Gernika-Lumo against every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on your priorities. It sits about 36 min from Bilbao, if that's your anchor.
Take the quiz — rank Gernika-Lumo for you →Questions to verify locally
- Ask whether current long-let rents match the registered-contract figure.
- Ask what recent sales closed at; the published figure is asking price.
- Test fibre speed at the exact address, not the town average.
- Visit local schools and confirm places for incoming families.
- Confirm health-centre registration and opening hours in person.
- Ask about summer rental crowds and parking near the coast.
Nearby towns
Other places we profile within easy reach.