With its industrial and seaside satellites, Bilbao extends 10 mi/16 km along the banks of the Nervion River. The city is the largest in the Basque region, an unbroken metropolis hemmed in by steep hills. It used to be primarily an industrial center, with looks to match, but that's changing fast.
The main catalyst is the futuristic-looking Guggenheim Museum, opened in 1997 (http://www.guggenheim-bilbao.es). Designed by architect Frank Gehry and devoted to modern art, the museum's curving metallic walls have made it one of the most celebrated architectural designs of the 1990s. It's the cornerstone of a major redevelopment of the city's waterfront, formerly the site of factories.
Visitors should not miss the grid of streets overlooked by rows of historic town houses that together make up the Casco Viejo, or old town. Fans of modern architecture will want to check out the pedestrian bridge that crosses the river near the Guggenheim. It was designed by Santiago Calatrava, who did the city's airport as well.
Not nearly as modern, but also spanning the river (downstream a few miles/kilometers at Portugalete), is another example of a bridge you don't see every day. High enough to allow ships to pass underneath, the intriguing 19th-century "Hanging Bridge" has an oversized gondola suspended from crossbeams that run between towers on the riverbanks. The gondola shuttles passengers (and even vehicles) from one side of the river to the other. You can also cross the bridge on foot, far up in the air. Bilbao is 200 mi/325 km north of Madrid.
