Sights in Bilbao
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Museo Guggenheim
Opened in September 1997, Bilbao’s Museo Guggenheim lifted modern architecture and Bilbao into the 21st century – with sensation. It boosted the city’s already inspired regeneration, stimulated further development and placed Bilbao firmly in the world art and tourism spotlight.
Canadian architect Frank Gehry’s inspired use of flowing canopies, cliffs, promontories, ship shapes, towers and flying fins is irresistible. The gleaming titanium tiles that sheathe most of the building like giant herring scales are said to have been inspired by the architect’s childhood fascination with fish.
The interior of the Guggenheim is purposefully vast. The cathedral-like atrium…
reviewed
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Casco Viejo
It's a worthwhile stroll through Bilbao's atmospheric old town, with its worn, grungy façades, bars, restaurants and shops. At the heart of the Casco are Bilbao's original 'seven streets', Las Siete Calles. Mid-morning there's a bit of a rout as delivery vans compete for space. It's all part of the quarter's happy vibe.
At the heart of the Casco is the 19th-century arcaded Plaza Nueva, a rewarding pintxo haunt. There's a lively Sunday market here that offers coins, stamps and other bric-a-brac. The quarter's Gothic Catedral de Santiago, has a splendid Renaissance portico, itself once the scene of medieval markets and civic meetings.
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B
Museo de Bellas Artes
A mere five minutes from Museo Guggenheim is Bilbao’s Museo de Bellas Artes. The museum houses a compelling collection that includes everything from Gothic sculptures to 20th-century pop art. There are three main subcollections: classical art, with works by Murillo, Zurbarán, El Greco, Goya and van Dyck; contemporary art, featuring works by Gauguin, Francis Bacon and Anthony Caro; and Basque art, with works of the great sculptors Jorge de Oteiza and Eduardo Chillida, and strong paintings by the likes of Ignacio Zuloago and Juan de Echevarria. A useful audio guide costs €1. The museum is wheelchair accessible.
reviewed
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C
Open Air Gallery, Museo Guggenheim
One of the joys of the Guggenheim experience is to take a quiet wander around the outside of the building, appreciating the extraordinary imagination behind its design and catching the different colours reflected by the titanium tiles, limestone and glass. Lying between the glass buttresses of the central atrium and Ría de Bilbao is a simple pool of water that emits at intervals a mist 'sculpture' by Fuyiko Nakaya.
Nearby on the riverbank is a sculpture by Louise Bourgeois, a skeletal canopy representing a spider entitled Maman, said to represent a protective embrace.
In the open area to the west of the museum a fountain sculpture fires off jets of water into the air rand…
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D
Euskal Museoa
This museum is probably the most complete museum of Basque culture and history in all the Basque regions. The story kicks off back in the days of prehistory and from this murky period the displays bound rapidly through to the modern age. The main problem with the museum is that, unless you speak Spanish (or perhaps you studied Euskara at school?), it’s all a little meaningless as, amazingly, there are no English or French translations.
The museum is housed in a fine old building, at the centre of which is a peaceful cloister that was part of an original 17th-century Jesuit college. In the cloister is the Mikeldi Idol, a powerful pre-Christian, possibly Iron Age, symboli…
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E
Euskal Museoa, Museo Vasco
This museum is a complete and well-executed lesson in Basque history. The Basque story kicks off back in the days of prehistory and from this murky period the displays bound rapidly through to the modern age. The main problem with the museum is that unless you speak Spanish (or perhaps you studied Euskara at school?) it's all a little meaningless as, amazingly, there are no English or French translations!
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Funicular de Artxanda
For a breathtaking vista of Bilbao take the three-minute ride up Artxanda hill on the Funicular. The base station in Plaza Funicular can be reached from the pleasant northside river walk that links the Paseo del Arenal to the Guggenheim. It can also be reached from the Uribitarte Eusko Tran stop by crossing the exuberant Zubizuri Footbridge, creation of architect Santiago Calatrava.
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F
Museo Marítimo Ría de Bilbao
The space-age Museo Marítimo Ría de Bilbao, appropriately sited down on the waterfront, uses bright and well-thought-out displays to bring the watery depths of Bilbao and Basque maritime history to life. There’s an outdoor section where children (and nautically inclined grown-ups) can clamber about a range of boats pretending to be pirates and sailors.
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G
Arkeologi Museo
A slick new museum that, through the use of numerous flashing lights, beeping things and a fair few spearheads and old pots, reinforces the point that the inhabitants of this corner of Spain have lived here for a very long time indeed. Labelling is in Spanish and Basque only.
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H
Catedral de Santiago
Catedral de Santiago has a splendid Renaissance portico and pretty little cloister.
reviewed
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