For those of you who have been to Basque Country, what's the language situation there. I know that officially the region is officially bilingual Basque-Spanish. However, in everyday life (in the streets, schools, work, in terms of TV people watch) which is the most dominant language: Spanish or Basque? Or does it depend on what part of Basque Country you're to know the most dominant language. I know someone who wants to go to one of the Basque cities to learn Spanish and I'm not sure if it's the best place to do so.

Thanks in advance for your replies.:-)

Well I'm not sure if it's the best place to learn Spanish in Spain, but they'll definitely have no problems whatsoever. Spanish is by far the dominant language in the Basque Country, especially in the cities. And of all the cities there, the most "Spanish-friendly" is probably the capital Vitoria in the province of Alava. A pretty city too and a stone's throw from the Rioja wine region!

There is still a lot of Basque (called Eusquera), but for practical purposes Spanish dominates because almost everyone speaks Spanish and there are a lot of people who don't speak Eusquera...or at least aren't fluent in it.

i studied abroad in bilbao (la universidad de deusto) and had no problem. actually, i found it easier than i did in granada, because there are far fewer international students in bilbao. id actually recommend it! it is not equal to the situation in say barcelona where catalan is, in my opinion, the main language used.
kelly

There you have it. Someone who's actually studied there to confirm it's all right. And Kelar419 is right about Barcelona. A lot students go to there thinking they can learn Spanish and they soon find out that not only Catalan is very strong there, but also the Catalans have a pretty strong aversion towards Spanish, which is not something you would generally find in the Basque Country.

Agreed. One of my best friends lives in San Sebastian and I've been there a few times. Everybody speaks Castilian, and the few occasions when somebody approaches you speaking in Euskera (mostly in small towns or villages) if you just tell them you don't speak the language they immediately change to Spanish with no problem. Can't say the same about Catalonians though!!