Bilbao has exploded as a tourist hotspot since the opening
of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in 1997.
The city now welcomes over 600,000 visitors per year, compared with
approximately 25,000 per year before the Museum was built.
This increase in tourism has transformed the city, boasting reinvigorated neighbourhoods, a slew of new buildings, and a completely revitalized
waterfront that moved all of the old industrial warehouses out of the downtown core. It has also installed numerous bridges - most walkable but one so slippery it has caused hundreds of injuries already! - to allow people to wander back and forth across the river.
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| The "Welcome Gates" to the City, with a sleek but very slippery bridge! |
The Guggenheim Museum was controversial when first
announced. The city – struggling from an
industrial crisis – was short for cash. The Mayor’s vision to bring the
Museum and thus pull precious taxpayer dollars away from struggling workers was not well-received. His foresight
and perserverance, however, has clearly paid off and the city is a vibrant and
attractive city that appears to be growing every year.
During our time together in Bilbao, we took a spirited walking tour,
visited the Guggenheim Museum and strolled quickly around the Mercado De La Ribera. The Mercado is said to be the largest indoor fresh food market in the world but felt a little sparse in our minds and we completed it in under 10 minutes.
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| Mercado Market |
We
also wandered around the historic core several times, taking the tram there but having to walk back to the hotel because we could never find the tram that could actually take us the other way!
But, in full honesty, what we spent most of our time doing was eating and
drinking.
Bilbao, much like San Sebastian, is known for its cuisine
and has more Michelin-starred restaurants than one can count. Thanks to Fred and Eleanor's dedicated research and planning to book the best ones (and the ones that actually offered any vegetarian options!), we had the opportunity to test out some incredible restaurants.
Below are a few:
·
Zortziko – A classical restaurant where
everyone spoke in hushed tones, except for the drunken Brit who came over to
ask us some questions as part of a bet. The restaurant also sported an antique duck
press (about which Fred was surprisingly well-informed), and had some tasty
vegetarian fare, even if it was double the price it should have been.
·
Nerua – This restaurant is housed in the Guggenheim Museum complex. The white dining room was very simple and understated in its design, perhaps to let the food speak most loudly. Unexpectedly, the staff invited us to tour the
kitchen and meet the Chef before lunch started.
It was a lovely touch and set the meal off on the right foot. The food was tasty, albeit a bit sparse, but
the restaurant clearly paid attention to every detail, even serving the bread
with a glove on so it wouldn’t be contaminated. In addition, the bathrooms offered toothbrush kits for some oral hygiene opportunities after the meal (or even between courses to cleanse the palette!).
·
Kasko – A buzzy restaurant in the Old Town,
which served the biggest food portions we have encountered in Spain. While the restaurant’s food was not of the
Michelin-Star type, the ambiance was down-to-earth and lively and the food delightful, making it a
perfect Birthday Dinner spot.
·
Extanobe – On top of the Convention Centre, the
restaurant’s outdoor patio offered gorgeous views of the city to accompany its
tasty food. A slow start to the
service and some Sardine Lipstick appetizers aside, we thoroughly enjoyed our
evening above the city and were impressed by the creative food, especially the
“Chocolate Bombs” and “Chocolate Buttons” to finish the meal.
After all the eating and drinking in Bilbao, we hope the next stop on our tour
will be a town that specializes in Cleanses...
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