Museum
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
Bilbao, Spain
Frank Gehry's titanium-clad museum, the building that made Bilbao famous.
City · Spain · Basque Country
Bilbao
A former industrial port reborn through art, with the Guggenheim, a lively old town and Basque food.
about 5 h
For storytellers
Why Bilbao matters
Bilbao is the story of a city that reinvented itself. Once a grey industrial port, it now has a shimmering titanium museum on the river, a revitalised waterfront and one of the liveliest old towns in the north. The food is excellent, with pintxos bars on every corner, and the green hills and Atlantic coast are close by. It is friendly, walkable and a little rough around the edges, in a good way.
Talking points
- The Guggenheim, opened in the 1990s, is credited with transforming the city's image.
- The Casco Viejo is organised around seven original streets, known as Las Siete Calles.
- The Basque coast, with its beaches and fishing villages, is less than an hour away.
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What to see in Bilbao
Neighbourhood
Casco Viejo of Bilbao
Bilbao, Spain
The old town of Bilbao, centred on the Seven Streets, full of pintxos bars and small shops.
Island
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe
Bilbao, Spain
A tiny island hermitage reached by a causeway and a long zigzag stairway above the Bay of Biscay.
Bridge · UNESCO
Vizcaya Bridge
Bilbao, Spain
A nineteenth-century transporter bridge that still carries people and cars across the river by gondola.
Market
La Ribera Market
Bilbao, Spain
A long Art Deco market hall on the river, among the largest covered markets in Europe.
Also nearby
Within about 40 km, closest first.