Plaza Circular (Circular Square), Bilbao

Plaza Circular (Circular Square), formerly Plaza de España and Plaza de la Estación, is a square located in the heart of the town of Bilbao, at the beginning of its Gran Vía.

On October 17, 2014, the rearrangement of the central square was presented, which continued to be circular. The works began on November 12 and were completed at the beginning of April. With this, Bilbao's Circular Square gained 50% more pedestrian space, and in addition, the statue of Don Diego López de Haro that is located in the center of the Plaza was restored to improve its state of conservation.

Likewise, in autumn 2015 the complete restoration of the three facades of the Abando station building began, ending on October 31, 2018 after three years of works and legal problems.

On October 20, 2016, BBVA began work on what was then its building to segregate its uses with the Irish multinational Primark , which would not be inaugurated until May 20, 2021. The adjoining square and fountain that preside over the building did not undergo any modifications.

Gradually the square was immersed in a process of change. In addition to the future underground station of Abando Station, with its consequent projected housing construction, as well as Primark's landing in the remodeled Bizkaia tower, with its centralized business use by the Provincial Council, projects such as a Thermomix store were added and a hotel where the mythical café La Granja was once located, a hamburger restaurant, a chain of cafeterias and perfume shops, as well as the Gran Vía 4 Bilbao hotel, a five-star venue located in the old Banco Santander building that will be operated by the international Radisson chain.

In July 2020 it was confirmed that Bilbao was the backbone of a large pedestrian axis, with plans to prohibit traffic by 2021 both in Plaza Moyúa and in the section not yet pedestrianized on the first route of the Gran Vía, from Plaza Circular to Alameda de Urquijo.