Hotels near Azkuna Zentroa

Azkuna Zentroa occupies the Alhondiga, a municipal wine warehouse finished in 1909 and then left empty for decades. Philippe Starck gutted the interior and reopened it in 2010, resting the three brick-clad blocks on 43 pillars that are each different - Roman columns, Indian carvings, art deco shafts - standing in an atrium you can walk through free of charge at any hour it is open.

The building now runs a cinema, a public library, exhibition halls, a gym and a rooftop swimming pool with a glass floor. Look up from the atrium and you see swimmers overhead. Exhibitions are usually free or a few EUR, and the late opening hours make this the sensible stop when Atlantic rain closes in, which it does often between October and April.

Pro Tip: Stand under the centre of the atrium and look straight up at the pool base, then head two streets south to Calle Ledesma, which holds the densest run of pintxo bars outside the Casco Viejo.