A visit to the Guggenheim Museum is a must, the impressive building was designed by Frank Gehry and is a museum of modern and contemporary art that has become an icon of Bilbao.

It is centrally located by the Nervión river, with artworks to be seen just outside as well as inside.

This art museum is located in the Doña Casilda Iturrizar park in the centre of Bilbao and is one of the richest Spanish museums outside of Madrid. It houses a valuable and quite comprehensive collection of Basque, Spanish and European art from the Middle Ages to contemporary.

(Note - there is major expansion work ongoing, but a limited collections of works will remain accessible and access will be free).

Mercado de la Ribera is a covered market with a long history located on the edge of the Casco Viejo (old town) by the Nervión river. Get a flavour of the Basque cuisine. The Art Deco building houses stalls selling fresh meat, fish, bread, vegetables, and a number of gastro-bars.

See Bilbao from a unique perspective, travelling along the Nervión river from the centre to the estuary. Two options available, one for an hour trip, and a longer 2 hour trip that reaches to the Puente de Bizkaia, one the last remaining transporter bridges in the world. The boats have an open and a closed deck and a small bar and toilets.

There are two beaches that can be reached directly from Bilbao on the Metro system. Getxo is the nearest, 20 minutes on the metro, an affluent area at the mouth of the Bilbao estuary with a large sandy beach about a 10 minute walk from the Metro stop. Plentzia is further, about 45 minutes on the Metro, but still on a direct line from Bilbao centre. It is a small town on a smaller river estuary, with another large sandy beach, with more natural surroundings, about 15 minutes walk from the Metro station.

San Juan de Gaztelugatxe is a rocky islet with a hermitage dating from the 10th century, connected to the mainland by a manmade path. The island featured in Game of Thrones, as Dragonstone. It is about a 40 minutes drive from Bilbao and a short walk (~1.5km) from the car park.

Urdaibai is a beautifully natural biosphere reserve with large sandy areas at the mouth of the estuary surrounded by green hills and further inland it is more mountainous and wooded. At its centre is the town Gernika, famous for the depiction of its bombing in Picasso’s painting of the same name. Gernika is a half hour drive from Bilbao.

Donostia (the Basque name) is a truly gastronomic city internationally known for the variety and quality of its culinary offerings. Whether it is casual pintxos and drinks in bars, or a full Michelin star dinner or anything in between, Donostia has many options. The city is centred around La Concha bay with a long sandy beach that has a spa in the centre. To the west of the bay is the artwork Peine del Viento (The Comb of the Wind) by the artist Eduardo Chillida, where sounds and sprays of water are created from waves through a system of holes. Donostia is an 1 hour and 15 minutes drive from Bilbao, there is also a direct bus taking the same time.

This museum of the famous fashion designer Balenciaga, located in his birthplace of Getaria celebrates his work and pays homage to him. Getaria is an hours drive from Bilbao, and half an hours drive from San Sebastián.

This museum showcases works from the acclaimed sculpturist from Gipuzkoa, Eduardo Chillida. The sculptures are located both within a historic farmhouse and in the surrounding grounds. The museum is a 15 minute drive from the centre of San Sebastián.