Top Reasons Why You Should Visit Bilbao At Least Once in Your Lifetime

Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum opened in 1997, in a Frank Gehry-designed complex of glass, stone and titanium on the banks of the Nervión River. Within, you’ll find a permanent collection of 250 pieces by leading modern and contemporary artists from the Basque Country and Spain, as well as international artist like Andy Warhol, Anish Kapoor and Mark Rothko, in addition to temporary exhibitions. A self-guided audio tour is included in the price of admission, or you can book yourself on an expert-led visit to learn more about the building and the artworks.

As the biggest city in the Basque Country, Bilbao is the perfect place to learn about the region’s culture. You’ll notice the language is different from the rest of Spain – here, they speak Euskera, a non-Latin language, also spoken in the Basque region of southern France. Additionally, they serve tapas-like snacks called pintxos in the bars. Visit in late August, when rural games, folk music and dancing occur as part of the Bilbao’s Aste Nagusia (Big Week) festival.

In most of Bilbao’s bars, counter-top cabinets showcase colourful arrays of pintxos, a type of snack that you won’t find in any other region of Spain. They consist of slices of bread, often topped with goodies such as cured ham and goats’ cheese, roasted red peppers, tortilla or angulas (young eels) – but the range of edible adornments is basically unlimited and varies from bar to bar. Another classic Basque snack is the gilda, a spicy skewer of pickled green pepper, anchovy and olives.

Daring architectural innovation led Bilbao’s 20th-century transformation from industrial centre to design-conscious, modern city. Key contemporary structures to include on a self-guided tour include the glass-bottomed, sail-shaped Zubizuri Bridge (1997), by Valencian architect Santiago Calatrava; Frank Gehry’s titanium-clad Guggenheim Museum (also 1997); the Gaudí-esque Casa Montero (1904) and the boxy glass-and-steel facade of the Basque Health Department, found on the Alameda de Recalde.

Opened in 1929, Bilbao’s 10,000sqm (108,000sqft), Art Deco Mercado de la Ribera is the largest covered food market in Europe. Situated riverside in the Old Town, its three levels are filled with stalls selling fresh meat, fish, seafood and vegetables, as well as cheeses, olives and frozen produce. It’s also a place to hang out as well as shop: head to La Bodeguilla for a riverside terrace and 30 varieties of gilda, or to La Ribera for live jazz and cocktails.

Apart from San Sebastián, Bilbao is the best city in the Basque Country in which to eat fish and seafood. Several of the region’s most typical dishes focus on cod, with bacalao al pil pil (crispy cod in a garlic sauce) and bacalao a la Vizcaina (cod in tomato sauce) being two of the most common. For an appetiser, go for a plate of goose barnacles (percebes) and a glass of Txakoli, a slightly sparkling, dry Basque white wine. There are plenty of excellent local restaurants to try here.

Also known as Las Siete Calles after its seven main streets, Bilbao’s Casco Viejo, or Old Town, was bounded by defensive walls until the 19th century. Almost entirely consisting of pedestrianised, cobbled streets connected by alleyways called cantons, this medieval quarter is home to some of the city’s most important buildings: don’t miss the 15th-century Santiago Cathedral (named after pilgrims taking the northern version of the Camino de Santiago), the Baroque Santos Juanes church or the elegant main square, Plaza Nueva.

Bilbao is an ideal destination if you fancy hiking as well as sightseeing – it’s within easy driving distance of two trail-crossed natural parks. A short 40km (25mi) to the east of the city is the Unesco-protected Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve, where trekking and cycling tracks snake through the Basque Country’s biggest expanse of wetlands. Alternatively, drive 30 minutes south of Bilbao to the Gorbeia Natural Park and hike to the top of the 1,481m (4,859ft) Mount Gorbeia (the trail starts at the Pagomakurre recreational area).