Opened in 1997, the gleaming, titanium-clad Museo Guggenheim Bilbao is the city's most striking building.
Filled with pieces by some of the world's best contemporary artists, Museo Guggenheim Bilbao has played a key role in the regeneration of Bilbao into an energetic creative hub. For many travelers, this extraordinary Frank Gehry–designed building is the primary reason for visiting Bilbao.
The Museum Galleries
Start your visit in the central atrium, a light-filled space in which the interior architecture of the building can be admired. From here, three floors of galleries emerge, linked by staircases, catwalks and lifts. The museum's galleries house pieces from the permanent collection as well as world-class temporary exhibitions. A single admission fee grants access to all the current works.
Light pours into the atrium gallery through glass cliff-like windows, designed to provide views of the river and surrounding hills. At one end, Jenny Holzer's Installation for Bilbao features nine LED columns of ever-flowing phrases and text fragments (in English, Spanish and Basque).
The Matter of Time
On the ground floor, Richard Serra's work The Matter of Time comprises a series of sculptures designed to be explored by walking through the tall, carefully balanced steel plates. A subjective, individual experience of time and space emerges as the viewer travels through the narrow corridors and spirals, which are arranged in such a way that it is not possible to see the end point until you arrive.
To experience the piece as Serra intended, allow yourself to explore the sculptures and notice what arises. Then, go to the 1st-floor gallery to look down on the sculptures (and the people walking through them) from above.
Permanent Collection Highlights
Not all the pieces in the museum's permanent collection are on view at any one time. You can check the museum's website (guggenheim-bilbao.eus/the-collection/works) to find out which works are currently on display.
Expect to queue to visit Yayoi Kusama's installation of colored lights and mirrors; this popular work makes a striking background for snapping selfies. At busy times, it may be necessary to scan a QR code to join a virtual queue.
Don't miss Rising Sea by Ghanaian artist El Anatsui. This large-scale, shimmering metallic work is made from discarded bottle tops, stitched together with copper wire. Look out, too, for pieces by Mark Rothko, and Jean-Michel Basquiat's Man from Naples.
Among the museum's collection of contemporary sculptures is How Profound is the Air by Basque artist Eduardo Chillida. It is sculpted from alabaster; the rough natural-stone exterior juxtaposes the highly polished interior.
Another highlight is Jeff Koons’ stainless-steel Tulips. Its bubbly, colorful form in Christmas bauble–style high gloss represents a bouquet of giant balloon flowers (more than 2m tall and 5m across). The work belongs to his ambitious Celebration series.
Exterior Works
By the river, look for Louise Bourgeois' spider-like Maman. Jeff Koons' Puppy, a 12m-tall Highland terrier made up of thousands of flowers, is located on the city side of the museum.
Also by the river is Anish Kapoor’s work, Tall Tree & the Eye. It consists of 73 reflective spheres anchored around three axes, each of which distorts reality as you look into it.
Lying between the glass buttresses of the central atrium and Ría del Nervión outside the museum is FOG, an installation by Fujiko Nakaya: a simple pool of water that regularly emits a mist.
