When Bilbao’s Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Museum opened in 1997, all eyes turned to Bilbao and its gleaming titanium wonder. But that was just one element of urban revitalization along the Nervión Estuary in what was once predominantly an industrial city.
Today, while the city is not unknown to travelers, I still can’t help but think it doesn’t get its fair share of attention. An upgraded cruise ship terminal opened in 2017 as more and more smaller ships—and a few of the mega ones—are adding Bilbao and Basque Country as a port of call. I, on the other hand, had hopped a short budget flight out of Madrid.
