Get Your Kicks From One Of Spain’s Food And Art Capitals

Get Your Kicks From One Of Spain’s Food And Art Capitals
Gerard
Gerard 
Published
| 2 min read

Bilbao is the biggest city of the Spanish Basque Country. Basque people have a very distinctive identity of which Bilbao is the perfect reflection: the city is a paradise for food, art and sport lovers in general. Bilbao has several highlight places, like the Mercado de la Ribera, the city’s public market, the Old Neighborhood and, of course, the unforgettable Guggenheim Museum.

Bilbao: where the old meets the new.

get your kicks from one of spain’s food and art capitals | bilbao: where the old meets the new.

Bilbao is, first and foremost, a city of contrast. The newer and the older architectural styles blend perfectly and the result is a city which is, at the same time, one of the most modern cities in the Southern Europe and a place of tradition. The city, like many other in Europe, is divided into two shores by a river, or, rather, by a ría, which is a sea inlet. The Ría de Bilbao has been of the utmost importance for locals, since they’ve used it for years as a fishing source, a trade route and the city’s main motor during the Industrial Revolution, which had a huge impact in the economy of the Basque Country in the 19th Century. Nowadays, the Ría is crossed by many bridges, including Frank Gehry’s Bridge (which, incidentally, wasn’t built by Frank Gehry but as a homage to him) and the Zubizuri.

The Guggenheim Museum is an artwork by itself!

get your kicks from one of spain’s food and art capitals | the guggenheim museum is an artwork by itself!

The city’s highlight does not cross the river, but rather stands on its bank. The Guggenheim Museum, built by Frank Gehry in 1997, has since then become the indisputable symbol of the city; a titanium cloak covers the interior structure in a superposition of random metallic waves, which were inspired by the ferocity of the waves in the Bay of Biscay. At sunset, the rays of the sunlight play dazzlingly onto the Museum’s surface, and provide with the perfect background for tourists and locals alike who take pictures of the building from all the possible perspectives. Another favorite spot among the visitors is the statue Mother, by American artist Louise Bourgeois, which depicts a huge spider. Apart from the building itself, the Museum is a delight, as it contains many artworks from other Guggenheim museums around the world as well as local artists.

Eat your way around the city’s multiple and delicious products

get your kicks from one of spain’s food and art capitals | eat your way around the city’s multiple and delicious products

The Basque Country is one of the best areas in Spain to eat. The proximity of the sea has always assured a constant flow of fresh fish and seafood to the city’s restaurants and bars and Basque people are very exigent when it comes to eating fish. The local dish in Bilbao, as well as in the rest of the Basque Country, are pintxos, the Basque version of tapas. Any bar or restaurant in Bilbao offers a wide range of pintxos, and you can always try the pintxo de la casa, that is a kind of pintxo only made in this particular bar or restaurant. If you wanna buy fresh food in general, visit the Mercado de la Ribera. This market, the biggest interior market in Europe, is the proof that Bilbao natives are just crazy about food. It is located next to the river inside a very beautiful building.

Bilbao's architecture and food will stay in your mind for a long time!

Bilbao is overall a diverse and interesting city. Most people decide to visit it during summertime, when the omnipresent rain takes a little break and the weather is not as cold as during the rest of the year. It is not extremely big and most buildings, specially the older ones, are an absolute delight so try to avoid the subway and just walk around and get lost in the streets of the city. When you get tired, just succumb to the pintxos and you’ll see why it’s easy to fall in love with Bilbao!

Disclosure: Trip101 selects the listings in our articles independently. Some of the listings in this article contain affiliate links.

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Hello everyone! My name is Gerard, I'm 22 and I live and love in Barcelona. I am passionate about traveling and whenever I do so, I always carry a notebook with me: to me, traveling and writing...Read more

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