Located in Bilbao's Old Town, Plaza Nueva has five different entrances. Once you reach the center,…read moreyou'll be surrounded by many pintxos bars, or as the locals call them, tabernas. Some of my favorites were: * Sorginsullo * Gure Tori * El Globo At the plaza, you will also find the Ikastola, the school where the Basque language is standardized and taught. We visited during Carnaval, so there was a huge tart, locals dressed in costumes, a stage with live bands, and even a play. Definitely worth the visit, and make sure to come hungry!

Built in 1821 the Plaza Nueva has the character of a hopping urban neighborhood. This is mostly due…read moreto the restaurants and bars that keep the atmosphere lively all day. Until 1890 when the new palace was built the Biscay government was housed here in the main building. The building is now the site of the Basque language Royal Academy. If you are visiting, take your time walking around the square checking the shops, but most importantly stop in at least a couple of pintxos bars, try a couple of pintxos and wash the down with some txakoli (Basque wine).

One of the most beautiful museums architecturally! Even if you don't get in the museum the…read morestructure itself and the installations on the outside are worth a visit. We got tickets to enjoy the exhibits within and enjoyed them. Im not a huge artist buff so we mainly walked around leisurely and had a good time. Bilbao in general is a quaint Basque Country city is worth a visit!

The museum is designed by Frank Gehry. Even if you don't go inside, the building itself is a work…read moreof art. There sculptures outside the museum are also worth a visit, including "Puppy" by Jeff Koons and "Maman" by Louise Bourgeois. We caught "F.O.G." by Fujiko Nakaya, which is active every hour on the hour- hours are dependent on the month. "Red Arches" by Daniel Burenbhas has a lighting show and "Fire Fountain" by Yves Klein are both active in the evening. The museum consists of contemporary and modern art. I'm not a big museum person, but there were things that I enjoyed. I was pleasantly surprised to see one of Yayoi Kusama's infinity mirrored rooms- "A Wish for Human Happiness Calling from Beyond the Universe". I wished they let you in the room longer when there wasn't much of a line. "The Matter of Time" by Richard Sierra on the ground floor was also fun to walk around/through. The second floor was mostly closed, so we didn't get the full experience. Overall, the museum is a must if you're in Bilbao.

A stunning modern bridge right next to the Guggenheim. We walked on it a few times and took a ton…read moreof pictures. The views from here are spectacular. We took a boat ride that went under the bridge and again gave us a chance to marvel at the architecture.

Adjacent to the magnificent Guggenheim Bilbao is the La Salve bridge that sweeps by the museum to…read morethe center of town. After seeing the museum proper we made the trek up to the red arch. Taking the elevator up almost the top a guy in the elevator reminded me by saying Arriba! Great views of the river, the old town,the new construction and the sweep of Bilbao proper

This was the bridge that I really wanted to try after seeing it online. Incredible engineering…read morewhich uses pullies to transport vehicles and people across the water. I have used it several times already. It is not only a tourist spot but also saves me ~20 minutes every time to get to this part of town without needing to drive around.

This was one bridge that I had to see while in Bilbao. The transporting part of the bridge was…read moreworking fine, but I was a bit too late to walk on top of the bridge. I'm sure the views would have been spectacular. Designated as a UNESCO heritage site, it is one of the few remaining examples of such marvelous late 19th century engineering. There are displays of similar bridges from across the world, but this is the prettiest one IMHO. The short ride across the river takes you to either Portugalete or Getxo; both are worthy of exploring. I ended up eating and drinking in both places! Getxo has a nice long historical promenade along the water. As for the ferry itself, it has space for cars and bikes in the middle, and passengers on both sides. Watching it move across the water was mesmerizing.