Bilbao (Bilbo in Basque), with about 350,000 inhabitants and almost a million in its metropolitan area, is the largest city in the Basque Country and capital of the province of Biscay. It stretches along the Nervión estuary (ría), linking it to the sea, between green mountains. It is one of the world's most famous examples of urban regeneration: the so-called "Guggenheim effect".
History
Founded in 1300, Bilbao was a merchant port for Castilian wool and Basque iron. From the late nineteenth century it became Spain's great industrial centre, with blast furnaces, shipyards and banks, and the ría filled with factories. The industrial crisis of the 1980s left it with unemployment, pollution and derelict land. The city responded with a major transformation plan: cleaning up the ría, Norman Foster's metro, Santiago Calatrava's airport and above all the Guggenheim Museum, opened in 1997, which made it world-famous.
What to see
- The Guggenheim Museum, Frank Gehry's masterpiece in titanium, glass and stone, with Jeff Koons's flower-covered Puppy and Louise Bourgeois's spider Maman.
- The riverside walk, from Abandoibarra to Calatrava's Zubizuri bridge, with the Euskalduna Conference Centre, the Iberdrola Tower and Doña Casilda park.
- The Casco Viejo, the old town of the Siete Calles, with Santiago cathedral, the arcaded Plaza Nueva full of bars and the church of San Antón.
- La Ribera Market, on the river, one of Europe's largest covered markets, with a floor devoted to pintxos.
- The Fine Arts Museum, one of Spain's most important, with El Greco, Goya, Zurbarán and Basque painters.
- Azkuna Zentroa, a former wine warehouse turned cultural centre by Philippe Starck, with 43 different columns and a glass-bottomed pool.
- The Artxanda funicular, for views over the city, and the Basilica of Begoña.
- The Arriaga Theatre and the Ensanche, with Gran Vía and early twentieth-century buildings.
- San Mamés stadium, home of Athletic Club, the team that fields only Basque players.
The Vizcaya Bridge
At Portugalete, at the mouth of the ría, the Vizcaya Bridge (Puente Colgante), built in 1893 by Alberto de Palacio, a pupil of Eiffel, is the world's oldest transporter bridge: a suspended gondola carries cars and people from one bank to the other. It is a UNESCO site, and you can walk across the top walkway. It is reached by metro.
Pintxos and festivals
Bilbao has an excellent pintxo scene, especially around Plaza Nueva and the Casco Viejo and in the Ledesma and Indautxu areas (see Basque pintxos). In August the Aste Nagusia, the Semana Grande, brings nine days of concerts, fireworks and parties, with its mascot Marijaia.
Getting there and nearby
Bilbao airport has direct flights from many European cities; buses link the city with San Sebastián, Santander and Vitoria. Nearby are the Biscay coast, with San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, Bermeo, Mundaka and Lekeitio, Guernica and the Urdaibai reserve. For students see Erasmus in Bilbao.