I'm going to the Basque Country next year for a semester,

Bilbao is very great. It's a modern city but so comfy, the casco viejo (=city centre) is very nice. You can take the furnicular to see all the town from a hill.
I've made the trip from Bilbao to Vitoria by feet, the landscape is very nice, and basque people are very nice.
Vitoria is less cool, not because of the people, but because it's little and there aren't a lot of things to do there, but you can visit the city centre which is quite nice.

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Monte Igueldo.

You take a little funicular (cable-pulled) tram to the top of the mountain where an old castle sits. A very small amusement park is located there, which would be of no consequence, except for its roller coaster, Montana Suiza. It's one of the oldest running roller coasters on Earth and possibly the oldest with steel track. At one point during the ride you go past an edge where you can see down the cliffs to the sea below. It's an absolutely breathtaking hidden gem that no one really knows about.