The city that reinvented itself — a gritty Basque port transformed overnight when Frank Gehry's titanium Guggenheim opened in 1997 and coined the term 'Bilbao Effect' for the power of signature architecture
Bilbao is the capital of Biscay and the economic centre of the Basque Country, with a population of 350,000 and a greater metro area of 1 million. The opening of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in 1997 transformed a post-industrial Nervión riverfront — once occupied by steel works and shipyards — into an international cultural destination, exemplifying what became known as the 'Bilbao Effect'. The Casco Viejo (Seven Streets old town), the covered Mercado de la Ribera, and the pintxos bar culture of El Arenal make it one of Spain's most liveable cities.
Bilbao was chartered in 1300 by Diego López V de Haro, lord of Biscay — its position 14km inland from the Bay of Biscay on the Nervión river made it a natural port for exporting Basque iron ore. By the 19th century it had become one of the most industrialised cities in Europe; the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV, founded 1895) emerged here during the period of rapid industrial migration. During the Spanish Civil War, the Basque government held Bilbao until June 1937; Francisco Franco declared the city strategically vital and bombardment by Nazi Germany's Condor Legion preceded the city's fall.…