TRIP TO BASQUE COUNTRY: Bilbao (1/3)

As much as I'd like to cram everything about Bilbao in one and only article, it would not do justice to that great city, to the pleasure I had there walking its streets, and to the hundred or so photos I took along the way. So, bear with me and allow me to divide my impressions between three articles. 

Bilbao was the third step of my Euskadi trip after Vitoria and San Sebastian, but by no mean the least! It is a huge city which has become in the last decade as one of the main city of Spain and even Western Europe thanks to a dynamic economy and creative administration which has turned this once industrial powerhouse into a tourists magnet. 

Geographically speaking, Bilbao is located in the meanders of the valley shaped by the Nervion river. It is located a few miles from the sea, but it has a great metro network which makes the seaside only 20 minutes away – as you'll see in another post. 

I was lucky enough to find a Couchsurfing host, who was generous not only with her flat but with her time in order to show me around the streets of her city. At the end of the day, we checked on her mobile phone and we walked something like 23km! 

In Bilbao, the modern building mix seamlessly with the older ones. You can feel at one moment in any Spanish city with its XIXth century buildings, for example with the impressive façade of the Theater of the Campos Eliseos: 

Or the Opera: 

And even the great Gaudí gave to the city a building: 

And what about that amazing train station entrance: 

Also, the church below and the bridge are part of the crest of the city (just like the two dogs/wolves which appear in the bridge): 

                                          

And the next street you discover a panorama which looks like from Dubaï or I don't know what: 

The bridge you can see on that photo is called Zubizurri (White Bridge in Basque) and was built by the infamous Spanish architect Calatrava. 

It looks good, but it's mostly famous for the high number of injuries it caused to passer-bys because... well, it rains a lot in Bilbao and the material used for it was slippery... Typical! 

Also, I was amazed to see that the waters of the Nervion river are quite clean now (quite a feat for a former industrial town!) and I could even see hundreds of fish swimming happily in the current and soaking up the sun close to the surface. 

Of course, no visit of Bilbao is complete without going to the mirador of Archanda, from which you can see the whole city: 

And you'll notice the three main landmarks of Bilbao: the Iberdrola tower, the Guggenheim, and the San Mames stadium. 

And to finish with, what else than a couple of "pintxos" ? :)

PS: All photos mine!

!steemitworldmap 43.305194 lat -2.983818 long Trip to EUSKADI! BILBAO! d3scr