Few buildings have changed a city the way Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum Bilbao changed Bilbao. When it opened in 1997, this faded industrial port became, almost overnight, one of Europe's essential cultural destinations — a phenomenon now studied as 'the Bilbao effect'.

The museum

The titanium curves catch the changing light off the Nervión river. Outside, two icons greet you: Jeff Koons' giant flower-covered Puppy and Louise Bourgeois' towering bronze spider, Maman. Inside, the soaring atrium and Richard Serra's steel labyrinth are highlights in their own right. On El Transcantábrico, the visit is private and guided.

Beyond the Guggenheim

  • The Casco Viejo (old town) and its Seven Streets.
  • The Ribera Market, one of Europe's largest covered markets.
  • The ornate Teatro Arriaga on the riverbank.
  • And above all, pintxos — the Basque art of small plates, best enjoyed bar to bar with a glass of Txakoli.

Bilbao is usually the second day of the journey, an early and unforgettable high point.