The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao

When I was planning our trip to Spain, I knew that the two main focal points would be food and architecture. The food was delicious in every city we visited and the architecture was as unique and impressive as I had hoped it would be. Gaudi was a definite highlight as was the Frank Gehry designed Marques de Riscal hotel. These buildings were complemented by numerous other sights throughout Spain including the Royal Palace in Madrid, the apartments lining the San Fermin route in Pamplona, numerous alleys and streets throughout Barcelona and the mix of religious buildings in Toledo.

I checked off the building I was most looking forward to seeing on the first day in Spain, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. This magnificent museum, designed by Frank Gehry opened in 1997. The opening put Bilbao on the map and made it a destination for art and architecture fans across the world. Bilbao’s success has led many cities to try the same approach, hoping that a building designed by a big name architect will help make their city a destination for tourists, helping to bring tourism money to their city. This strategy clearly paid off for Bilbao in our case. The museum was the only reason we visited Bilbao, though the close proximity to Pamplona helped as well.

The morning after we arrived we made the walk down to the river to see the museum. Like the Marques de Riscal hotel, the building features titanium panels that wrap around the building. The curves were designed to look random, making for impressive sweeping curves that line the river. We never did make it inside, instead choosing to take an early bus to Pamplona to start that adventure.

The building alone was worth the visit and lived up to the hype. The sculpture that complemented the architecture made for a great visit and a good start to a trip filled with memorable architecture.