At the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, in the city of Bilbao, north-central part of Spain

 "I have a very nice garden and extraordinary markets, where there are products from the earth and the sea, in the French Basque country." — Alain Ducasse

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(in northern Spain) Bilbao, the largest city in the province of Biscay and in the Basque Country, is located in the north-central part of Spain, some 16 kilometers (10 mi.) south of the Bay of Biscay, where the estuary of Bilbao is formed; its main urban core is surrounded by two mountain ranges with an average elevation of 400 meters. 

+ After its foundation in the early 14th century by Diego López V de Haro, head of the powerful Haro family, Bilbao was one of the commercial hubs of the Basque Country that enjoyed significant importance to the Crown of Castile. This was due to its thriving port activity based on the export of wool and iron commodities extracted from the Biscayan quarries to much of Europe.

+ Bilbao is now a vigorous service city that is experiencing a social, economic, and aesthetic revitalization process, started by the iconic Bilbao Guggenheim Museum. A port city, Bilbao originated as a settlement of mariners and ironworkers and was chartered in 1300. In the 18th century it prospered through trade with Spain’s New World colonies. The city was sacked by French troops in the Peninsular War (of 1808) and besieged during the Carlist Wars (1833–1840). It is a chief port in Spain and a center of the metallurgical industries, shipbuilding, and banking. Landmarks include the 14th-century Cathedral of Santiago and the 20th-century Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (shown here).

+ Bilbao, the capital of Vizcaya province in the Basque Country, lies along the mouth of the Nervión River, seven miles (~11 km) inland from the Bay of Biscay. Bilbao’s port was also a center for the export of wool from Burgos, in the interior of Castile, to Flanders. In the 18th century Bilbao derived great prosperity from intensive trade with the American colonies of Spain.

+ Bilbao is divided into two distinctive areas: the eastern bank of the Nervión River, which includes factories and working-class neighborhoods, and the western bank, including commercial, historic, and residential areas. The old part of Bilbao lies on the right bank, its nucleus formed by the Siete Calles (“Seven Streets”), a series of parallel streets leading to the riverbank. The Old Town’s notable landmarks include the Gothic-style Cathedral of Santiago (14th century), the Plaza Nueva (early 19th century), and the Renaissance-style churches of San Antonio, Santos Juanes, and San Nicholas. Several towns on the left bank of the river were annexed to the municipality after 1890, forming the modern extension of the city. This section is a banking and commercial center and is the site of the provincial government’s offices. (Nine bridges cross the Nervión to link the old and new parts of the city.)

+ Travelers generally come to Bilbao to see the Guggenheim museum, some for the art inside, but many for the amazing building itself: