Page 14 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2017 - Northern Spain

12  INTRODUCING NOR THERN SP AIN

2 Days in Bilbao 2 Days in San
Sebastián
The Guggenheim Museum
may hog the limelight, but Glamorous San Sebastián,
Bilbao has many cultural full of restaurants and
highlights, plus an Old Town tapas bars, is a haven for
packed with tapas bars. gourmets; it also boasts
elegant architecture and
• Arriving Bilbao Airport a stunning beach.
is located 5 km (3 miles)
north of the city centre. • Arriving San Sebastián
Buses run to the city. has a small airport, located
22 km (14 miles) from the
• Transport Bilbao is easy to city centre and connected
explore on foot. However, A sculpture at the entrance to the Museo de by local buses. However,
there is also an excellent Bellas Artes in Bilbao most people fly to Bilbao,
public transport network. then take the express bus
Get the Creditrans Barik Day 2 (about 1 hour) or the train
card if you plan to use the Morning Head to one of (about 2 hours) from Bilbao
metro, buses and trams. Spain’s finest museums of fine city centre to San Sebastián.
• Booking Ahead Book arts, the Museo de Bellas Artes • Transport San Sebastián
tickets for the Guggenheim (p131), which hosts fascinating is ideally explored on foot,
Museum Bilbao ahead of temporary exhibitions to but it is also well served by
your visit to avoid queues. complement its excellent a bus network.
Bilbao’s biggest fiesta, Aste permanent collection. Have a
Nagusia (Semana Grande) break in the museum’s café, • Booking Ahead Book
takes place in the last which overlooks the pretty accommodation ahead
fortnight of August; book Parque Doña Casilda, then during local festivals.
accommoda tion and special take a stroll around the park
restaurants well in advance. to admire the duck pond
and the shady walkways. Day 1
Have lunch in the Ensanche Morning Explore the beautiful
Day 1 Bilbaíno district (p131). Old Town (p138), the maze of
Morning Spend the morning narrow streets behind the port.
at Bilbao’s biggest attraction, Afternoon Head out of town Drop in at the Museo San Telmo
the Guggenheim Museum on the metro (get off at Areta), (p139), with its fine collection
Bilbao (pp128–9). Take a stroll and visit the Puente Colgante of artworks and displays on
around the building first, in Portugalete (p131). Continue traditional life. At the centre of
admiring the Frank Gehry- on the metro to the Niguri stop the Old Town is the Plaza de la
designed titanium swirls from to reach the charming seaside Constitución (p137), where the
the nearby Puente de La Salve, town of Getxo (p131), where balconies are still numbered,
before heading in to enjoy the you can enjoy a pleasant recalling the days when bull-
spectacular interior and the wander around the narrow fights were held right on the
changing exhibitions. There streets and the port. Tuck into square. For lunch, you can take
are several nearby restaurants a delicious seafood dinner your pick of any one of the area’s
where you can enjoy an overlooking the harbour. fantastic traditional restaurants.
alfresco lunch by the river.
Afternoon Explore the Siete
Calles (Seven Streets), the
original medieval streets that
make up the Casco Viejo
(pp126–7), Bilbao’s atmospheric
historic quarter. Don’t miss the
fascinating Museo Vasco
(pp130–31), set in a handsome
Baroque building, and the
Catedral de Santiago (p130),
a splendid Gothic building
topped by a slender tower.
For dinner, enjoy tapas in
some of the many traditional
tapas bars that are crammed
into this lively district. A view of the Ribera Bridge spanning the Ría de Bilbao river, in Bilbao
For practical information on travelling around Spain, see pp246–51

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