Bilbao Excursion
Bilbao, Bilbo in Basque, is the center of Basque industry, Spain’s leading commercial port, and the largest Basque city, with a population of 947,000. Founded in 1300, Bilbao flourished as an industrial city in the 1800s as steelworks and chemical factories. A recent urban development scheme helped introduce pieces of modernist architecture to break up the monotone industrial sprawl. The revival has taken place specifically near the Nervión River basin as new hotels have emerged along a beautifully designed pedestrian walkway and park that leads directly to the city’s token, The Guggenheim Museum.
Guggenheim Museum
Designed by US architect Frank Gehry, the Guggenheim is Bilbao’s showpiece and instant tourist magnet. At a cost of $100 million, the swirling structure was inspired by the anatomy of a fish and the hull of a boat, elements of Bilbao’s past and present. It’s well worth to wander around the outside and catch the different colors reflected by the titanium, stone, and glass shell, meant to resemble fish scales. The museum was opened in 1997, and inside, 36,000 square feet of exhibition space for modern and contemporary artwork are distributed in 19 galleries.
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