Bilbao has a tremendous maritime history both from the exploration of the estuary itself and as a…read morecapital of shipbuilding throughout the centuries. The Maritime Museum does a great job of detailing this history and the history of Bilbao with a number of interactive displays and several artifacts that are available to be handled and touched. I spent about 90 minutes here learning about Bilbao and about shipbuilding. I found it interesting. Most of the displays and captions are in Spanish but there are several with English translations. There's also an app that you can download from their free wireless network and install.

This place has a great staff and great beer! With a few Pintxos although not fresh they ar tasty. A…read moremust visit if you love music.

Amazing experience watching an Athletic match last night…read more I'm in town for a conference and being a big football fan, found a few others who wanted to go for the home game Friday evening. We took the tram to San Mames stadium and got there an hour early for pintxos and beer at a bodega outside. Getting in was a breeze. Our seats were high up towards the rabid fan end of the pitch, which meant we had a great view and were immersed in the home crowd, which is as passionate as they come in Spain. Athletic Bilbao has a tradition of only allowing Basque players on the team, and is one of only three La Liga teams that's never been relegated (with powerhouses Real Madrid and Barcelona being the other two). The game was fantastic. Athletic beat Celta Vigo 4-3 on a last minute penalty kick, and both teams played well. We got to see a corner penalty goal scored right below where we sat, and a penalty kick by the opponents was blocked, both of which sent the stadium into uproar! After the game, we mingled with home fans at a bar nearby, having more beer and partying late into the night. Thank you, Athletic Bilbao and Estadio de San Mamés, for a memorable experience.

It's impossible to describe the feeling you experiment when entering there, you just must live it…read more The old stadium was so warm and packed with one of the world's best supporters. They're respectful and very supportive towards Athletic Club. Not only do they say it, everyone knows they're at the top of the world's statistics. Every year they have the best percentage of attendance of La Liga, and the atmosphere hours before the match is magnificent in the adjacent streets. With a astonishing new stadium just finished surely the show will be much better Aupa Athletic!!

This is the late 20th century opus of American architect Frank Gehry…read more As an architect, i am always amazed at what some architects can get build. Thus, this always perplexed me. However in situ, it makes total sense. At a human scale its underpinnings line up with the surrounding buildings and the river it sits upon. The curvilinear forms are symbolic of the ships once built on this ground in the early 20th century. As an icon and symbol of basque pride. Interestingly, it also plays homage to Frank Lloyd Wright's opus the original Guggenheim in NYC. The Art? The building is the art. I will let others comment on its success as a gallery. However, it is perhaps the one of the greatest pieces of architecture of our time. Post Modern deconstructionist Master Work

I recommend buying advance tickets online! I did that and got to skip a very long ticket line…read more Some cool stuff here for sure! I came in August of 2026 and there was a big Jasper Johns exhibit and a big Ruth Asawa exhibit. It feels like quite a large proportion of the museum is devoted to specific exhibits like that, rather than having long corridors with a diverse assortment. I like to be pleasantly surprised by different takes on art as I turn every corner, and there isn't as much of that here. But that's just my taste. Whether or not that's true for you, this is a large facility, and the building and grounds themselves are a pleasure to explore. Some of you, and I include myself here, definitely would wish for more seating in the galleries than you'll find here. They are pretty strict about bringing in metal objects and bags and things. I actually am not sure what those specifics are; I had a backpack and they told me to check it in with them. Had to wait in line and give it to them and everything.