The story about Bilbao is an architectural fairy-tale.

It began many years ago, when the proximity to the sea made Bilbao and its port activities to one of the busiest in Spain. In 1602 Bilbao was made the capital city of Biscay and later, it became even more wealthy because of the iron resources in the surrounding mountains.

But what began as a Golden Egg, later became a rotten one, as the iron industry and port industrialised the city heavily. In the mid ’80s, due to competition from 3rd world countries, the city experienced a devastating industrial crisis.

In the beginning of the ’90s, someone decided on a daring move: to construct a 100 million dollar museum in the city and attract modern art. People thought they’d gone mad, spending that kind of money on something as intangible as a museum. Thankfully, the sceptics were proven wrong, and today the success-story of Bilbao is called “The Guggenheim Effect”.

We applaud the chance they took on this daring piece of ar(t)chitecture: Frank, we just love what you’ve done with the space!!

Bilbao is not only the largest city in the Basque municipality, it’s also a gateway to the Basque region, culture and heritage. The economic rise has restored the grandeur of it’s Casco Viejo, the Old Town and especially Plaza Nueva is a great place to savour some Pintxos and Txacoli – the happy marriage of Basque cuisine and viticulture.

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