Hotels near Vizcaya Bridge at Portugalete

The Puente de Vizcaya has swung a suspended gondola across the mouth of the Nervion since 1893, making it the oldest transporter bridge still in service anywhere. Alberto Palacio, a student of Gustave Eiffel, designed it to move people and carriages without blocking the shipping channel below. UNESCO added it to the World Heritage List in 2006 as a landmark of industrial engineering.

The gondola crosses the 160-metre span in about 90 seconds, runs every eight minutes day and night, and costs well under 1 EUR on foot. A separate ticket of roughly 12 EUR takes the lift 50 metres up to the walkway along the top deck, where the view runs down the estuary to the Abra bay and the open Cantabrian Sea. Portugalete's steep old quarter sits on one bank, Getxo's shipowner mansions on the other.

Pro Tip: Cross on the gondola for pocket change first, then buy the walkway ticket on the Getxo side where the queue is usually shorter. Add the 30-minute waterfront walk to Ereaga beach before riding Metro Bilbao line 1 back.