Some say that Northern Spain's most exciting city is Bilbao which is an urban phoenix that as late as the mid-Nineties was mainly just an industrial city in decay. But less than 20 years on, chic restaurants and dramatic architectural statements dot its centre.
The opening of its artistic totem – the Museo Guggenheim in 1997 was the catalyst for this regeneration. This week saw the launch of its new exhibition, Laboratories, which looks at local photographer Aitor Ortiz (until 13 November). To see the city at its most flamboyant, visit between 28 and 30 October, for the Bilbao Tango Festival (festivaltangobilbao.com).
Location
Pitched 10 miles inland from Spain's north coast, Bilbao is the largest city in the Basque Country. It is till a busy port, lying in a valley on the estuary of the Nervió river. The city spreads out on both sides of the water: The Old Town (Casco Viejo) is on the right bank; "newer" districts such as Abando and Indautxu are on the other shore.
Though the centre is small enough to see on foot, transport is superb. The metro (00 34 94 4254025; metrobilbao. com) is a recent arrival, opened in stages since 1995. Single fares in Zona A (which contains most key sites) are €1.40. Two other networks – the Euskotren tram; euskotren.es; Zona A fares €1.30) and Bilbobus; veoliabilbao.com; fares €1.20) – mop up the non-metro-linked areas.
Two travelcards make life simpler. The Creditrans pass, which can be purchased from metro stations in pre-paid sums of €5, €10 and €15, lowers Zona A fares on the metro, tram and bus. And the Bilbao Card covers all public transport and gives 50 per cent discounts on 10 museums (though not the Guggenheim). This costs €6 for 24 hours (€10 for 48; €12 for 72) via the tourist office on Plaza Arriaga; bilbao. net/bilbaoturismo; – or from its counterpart, which is next to the Guggenheim Museum at Avenida Abandoibarra 2.
What is there to do in Bilbao?
Window Shopping
A shopping stroll is an ideal way to familiarise yourself with Bilbao's historic core. The most intriguing stores are clustered in the Casco Viejo, on the likes of Calle Artekale, Calle de la Tenderia and Calle Bidebarrieta – with the latter, at number 9, hosting Alma, a decadent chocolatier; almadecacao.com).Also peruse the fresh meats, fruits and merry local hubbub at the Mercado de La Ribera, at Calle de la Ribera 20.. A market has occupied this hallowed site since the 14th century, although the current neo-classical pile dates to 1929. For those who prefer 21st-century sheen, Zubiarte is a vast mall overlooking the river at Calle Lehendakari Leizaola 2; zubiarte.com.
In the Casco Viejo there is the grand expanse of the Plaza Arriaga – a traditional gathering point for the city, home to the elegant 1890 Baroque bulk of the Teatro Arriaga. Forge up the right bank of the Nervió on Paseo del Arenal, where ships docked as late as the 1960s. Half a century on, it enjoys retirement as a promenade, yet the Iglesia de San Nicolás, an 18th-century church dedicated to the patron saint of sailors, still keeps watch.
Upstream, past the Ayuntamiento, is Bilbao's 1892 peacock of a town hall, at Plaza Ernesto Erkoreka 1. Its companion is the Puente del Ayuntamiento. At the next crossing point of the river the Zubizuri bridge, with its arcing white fin, shares its genetics with the airport as a flash of Calatrava magic. This brings you to Paseo Uribitarte, from where it is a short hop west to the Guggenheim Museum
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Culture
Bilbao's most celebrated landmark is not just "unmissable" in a visiting sense. The eye is drawn to the Guggenheim (Avenida Abandoibarra 2; guggenheim-bilbao.es; €8) – as, it seems, is sunlight, which bounces off Frank Gehry's outlandish concoction of limestone, glass and titanium. Depending on viewing angle, the building resembles a boat, a chimney or a fish, and outshines the contemporary art held within. That said, Puppy, which waits by the front door – a 43ft hound crafted from flowers pinned to a steel frame (by US artist Jeff Koons) – has charm galore.
A quick stroll away at Plaza del Museo 2, the Museo de Bellas Artes does a more classical take on art, with paintings by Van Dyck, El Greco, Goya, Gauguin and Cézanne, as well as pieces by 20th-century Basque luminaries Eduardo Chillida and Jorge Oteiza, museobilbao.com. €6).
Meanwhile, in Indautxu, the Alhondiga, at Plaza Arriquibar 4, is another of Bilbao's daring projects: a 1909 wine warehouse reshaped by French designer Philippe Starck. Its brick shell shelters exhibition rooms, a cinema, a glass-bottomed swimming pool and 43 supporting columns in varied colourful styles; alhondigabilbao.com;free; pool entry €5.80).
Bars
Deeper into Indautxu, is where the increasingly thriving blocks around the western end of Calle Licenciado Poza are blessed with lively bars. Ziripot, at number 46, has splendid mosaic décor, and beer for €2. .
Church
The very heart of the Casco Viejo at Plazuela de Santiago 1, the Catedral de Santiago; daily services at 10.30am) is evidence that good things come to those who wait. It was completed in 1379, but crowned as the city's cathedral only in 1950. It exudes a soft piety, all incense aroma and gloomy interior, while casting a jealous eye at its 17th-century Gothic rival the Basilica de Begoña, which does for Bilbao what the Sacré Coeur does for Paris: majestic on its hilltop at Calle Virgen de Begona 38; basilicadebegona.com; services every day at 9am, except Sundays – 10am).
Park
Near the Basilica, the Parque Etxebarria is further proof of Bilbao's revival. Until the mid-Eighties it was the site of a belching steel plant. But now it does fresh air and simple beauty, a lone smokestack kept as a reminder of harder days. It differs hugely from the westerly Parque de Doña Casilda, where tinkling fountains recall a more gilded Bilbao.
Cafes
At the top of the Casco Viejo, the Plaza Nueva also echoes the past, the colonnades and tall buildings that enclose it making it a sibling (though a younger, 19th-century one) of Madrid's Plaza Mayor. Several cafés here are stalwarts of the Basque pintxos (tapas) scene.
Summit Ride
A quaint relic in this city of aesthetic revolution, the Funicular de Artxanda; bilbao.net) clanks slowly up the Artxanda hill, one of the crags that help to give Bilbao its valley setting. This elderly gent first saw service in 1915, and still runs every 15 minutes from its base station on Plaza del Funicular. The €1.80 return fare buys you a four-minute ride to the summit and back, and remarkable views out to the hazy Atlantic.
Transporter Bridge
Drop into Abando and board the metro at Moyua station, adjacent to the Hotel Carlton, taking Line 1 (the red line) 11 stops north to Areeta station (€3.20 return, or €1.72 with the Creditrans pass). Then aim your camera at the Puente Vizcaya, the planet's first transporter bridge, and a Unesco World Heritage site; puente-colgante.com). Constructed in 1893, its hanging shuttle still ferries vehicles across the Nervión. Foot passengers can ride along for €0.30 or, for €5, clamber up to the 50m-high walkway and stride over the river at a (perhaps) vertigo-inducing elevation.
