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| Bilbao, Spain. View from the River Nervion. |
In June, my daughter Jennifer and a friend took a trip to
northern Spain, visiting Bilbao and the surrounding area before going to
conference in San Sebastian. I thank her for sharing her excellent photos and impressions of her trip with
The Intrepid Tourist. This is Part 1 of her report. Part 2 will post next week.
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| Bilbao, river and bridge. |
Before my trip to Bilbao I was told that Bilbao is the
best city in the world. After three days visiting, I am inclined to believe it.
Bilbao sits near the northern coast of Spain in Basque Country. It is a medium-sized
city with a population of 352,000. It’s very densely packed (according to one
site, more dense than San Francisco but less than New York). It is beautifully
designed, with multiple meticulously-maintained public parks. The beautiful
Nervion river runs through it, bordered by pedestrian paths and numerous
pedestrian bridges to cross.
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| A lion statue on top of a building is a famous site in Bilbao. |
It is easy to get around Bilbao on trams, busses, metro
or just by walking. We walked almost everywhere so we didn’t try the trams or
metro.
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| Seafood for sale at the mercado de la Ribera; Europe’s largest covered market. |
Bilbao is famous for its culinary attractions. Most
notable are pintxos (pronounced pinchos) which are tapas (small bites) in the Basque style, often
with seafood or ham on bread with other sauces and seasonings.
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| Pintxos for sale at the mercado de la Ribera, which also has tables to eat at. |
Every bar has
pintxos, and a typical evening could include bar hopping to try the specialties
of each one.
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| Pintxos at the Plaza Nueva in Bilbao (famous for its Idiazabal soup from Gure Toki). |
Bilbao is also famous for the Guggenheim Museum designed by American architect Frank Gehry, which is
itself a piece of architectural art. The museum has a collection of
masterpieces from around the world, and also hosts visiting shows.
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| Jennifer outside the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. |
In a three-day visit, we went to the Guggenheim Museum, rode the
funicular, saw the Santiago Cathedral, and took a day trip to see the towns of Gaztelugatche, Mundaka
and Guernica (see my post next week). But much of our time was spent seeing the
city on foot, enjoying the unique architecture and food.
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| The Puerta del Angel (Angel’s Gate) at the Bilbao Cathedral. |
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| View of Bilbao from the hill after taking the funicular Artxanda. |
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