Bilbao

Bilbao is a huge city whose most outstanding tourist attraction is the Guggenheim Museum with its prime location along the bank of the Nervión River, with the Puente de La Salve, one of the city’s main bridges, above it. Designed by Los Angeles architect Frank Gehry, it makes a statement for Bilbao, as the Opera House makes for Sydney. It is an extraordinary melding of interconnecting shapes with soaring blocks of limestone, gigantic curved forms of titanium, and massive curtains of curving glass—resulting in an enormous sculpture said to resemble a ship. The Guggenheim collection includes a broad range of modern and contemporary art—much of which is displayed in an ongoing series of contemporary exhibits. Be aware that a detailed map of Bilbao is needed to find the Guggenheim—the Bilbao oueste exit avoids the maze of downtown streets and brings you out on the riverbank opposite the Guggenheim.