Bob and I flew from Valencia to Bilbao, Spain on Vueling Airlines, a European discount carrier. The flight was just over an hour, and we were able to easily travel to and from the airports on public transportation — to the Valencia airport by metro and from the Bilbao airport by bus. After arriving into Bibao city center and a 20 minute walk to our pensión in Bilbao, we were ready to start exploring what looked to be a beautiful city on a gorgeous day.
Bilbao is located in the northwest portion of Spain in the Basque region. It has a population of about 345,000. It has a strong economic history centered on its port, but we loved it’s amazing architecture and the multiple levels on which the city is built. While we knew about the Guggenheim Museum, there are interesting buildings all over the city. There are also pinxhos — a little bite of food that are very attractively crafted and displayed. We hope to return.
We started our visit with a boat ride on the Bilbao River which feeds into the Cantabrian Sea and the Bay of Biscay. The ride gave us a great way to quickly see the beautiful promenades and architecturally interesting buildings on either side of the river. The boat narration included the names of the architects for many of the buildings and the awards each architect had one (no pressure designing anything for this town). We just really liked the attractiveness of the buildings and area and the mix of both historical and modern.
Some highlights of the boat ride —
The Bilbao Town HallSome of the residential and commercial buildings along the river near where we would go up the hill to where we stayedA new residential complex that retained the facade of the older building that had been there. The facade is now the entry for the gym for the complex.One of the many stairwells and elevators that facilitate movement between the city’s different levels.This is a water plantOne view of the Guggenheim from the boat — it looks different (but equally awesome) from every angleContinuing out of the city center towards the more industrial area and the estuary of the BayA docked boat that is part of Bilbao’s Maritime MuseumThe new soccer stadiumThe view of the Guggenheim as we came back into town. The red structure was designed to be added to the existing bridge when the Guggenheim was built to help tie the building into the city. Part of the museum actually runs underneath the bridge.
After the boat ride, we did a little walk around both the old and new sections of town. We we’re charmed.The Zubizuri bridgeThe former rail stationChurch of St. NicholasA set of stairs in the Old Town that pass by the Archeology Museum. I also liked the red iron work on the nearby building.The Ribera Market building, supposedly the largest covered produce market in EuropeBob filling our bottles up with water at one of the fountains in Old TownThe Iberdola Tower on the left and the Santiago Cathedral on the rightChavarri Palace — our favorite around the Plaza Mayor, it hosts the Spanish government officials for the regionOne of the many pin or displays that we saw in cafeterias and bars throughout the city. They were typically just under $2 each and are meant as a little between meal snack though you could make a meal out of them.
Our sample on our first night — Bob had the cute miniature burger, fries, and egg on a coffee saucer, and I had the mushroom with anchovies in olive oil. Awesome!
Peckish Travels 