Bilbao, Spain

Bilbao’s a captivating juxtaposition of old and new. Modern buildings like the striking Guggenheim Museum jostle with the stunning Gothic architecture of Casco Viejo (the ‘Old Town’) with its narrow streets packed with tapas bars.

Explore the different quarters of the city by strolling alongside the river Nervión on its beautiful walkways and footbridges. With a strong shipbuilding past, Bilbao was once the second biggest industrial power in Spain, after Barcelona, and the city is undergoing a major regeneration process with dazzling new buildings including the Isozaki Atea skyscraper.

Bilbao makes the ideal gateway not only to the Basque country, but also to the Spanish costas as well as the holiday regions of southwest and Mediterranean France.