Hotels in Bilbao

Bilbao is the capital of the Basque Country's industrial heartland and the textbook example of a city rebuilt around culture. The titanium curves of Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum, opened in 1997, turned a declining steel port into one of northern Spain's most visited destinations.

Beyond the museum, the Casco Viejo holds seven medieval streets of pintxo bars, the Mercado de la Ribera and the Santiago Cathedral, while the riverfront Abandoibarra district is all footbridges and contemporary architecture. Food is central to any visit: pintxos are ordered standing at the bar, and the surrounding province holds a remarkable concentration of Michelin stars.

Bilbao works well as a base for the Basque coast. San Sebastián is an hour away by bus, the surf beaches of Mundaka and Bakio sit within 40 minutes, and the dramatic island hermitage of Gaztelugatxe is a short drive along the shore.