The forecast promises a rain-free morning and afternoon in Bilbao (pop 351,124 in 2025). Looks like the rain is due at about three or four, so instead of hanging near the Guggenheim, we plan a day in the old town, the Casco Viejo.
Our tour starts in the Plaza Vizcaya, one of the few city blocks that opens to a public space. This houses a striking government office building with swoopy, patterned glass, the Edificio Plaza Vizcaya (Federico Soriano, 2003-06).
The Azkuna Zentroa (Alhóndiga Bilbao, Ricardo Bastida, 1909; refit Philippe Starck, 2001-10) sits on the south side of the Plaza. This is the old wine and oil market, renovated by Philippe Starck in the early aughts (2001-10) into a cultural center. The Azkuna Zentroa fills an entire city block, but the interior looks like a small city of contained buildings lifted on a collection of beefy column, each with a unique design. Yet, the exterior shell is, by designed by Ricardo Bastida in an expressive 'Modernismo' style.
We follow the Aladema Urquijo, the rare curving street in central Bilbao, and turn at the Teatro Campos Elíseos (Jean Batiste Darroquy, 1901-02; reform 2003-10), another beautiful Modernismo project updated with a glass curtainwall and given new life.
The Estación de Abando Indalecio Prieto (1870; rebuilt, Alfonso Fungairiño, 1948) incorporates an older glass wall in Bilbao's renovated railway station. It is comissioned in 1948 by the Unión de Artistas Vidrieros de Irún and executed in 1948 by glass artist Jesús Arrechubieta to a design by Miguel Pastor Veiga. At the center is the Basílica de Begoña, a clock, and the Spanish coat of arms. Scenes of town (including the Iglesia de San Antón) and village life (left and right) are on either side. Below, everything is being fueled by industry.
We prepare to cross the Rio Nervión at the Puente del Arenal (1938). From here, the old town is not looking so old or different.
The Estación de Bilbao Concordia (1902, rebuilt 2007) is behind the Estación de Abando, part of the Ferrocarril de Santander a Bilbao, a narrow-gauge commuter train connecting the the western hill towns along the Río Cadagua and Santander. This features another Modernismo facade with some spectacular iron and stonework.
Crossing the Puente del Arenal, we join the Paseo del Arenal (17th-19th centuries), and substantial riverside park with the beautiful 'Kiosko del Arenal'. We are now in the Casco Viejo, but the scale and character of this neighborhood feel consistent with the other side of the river, but the fabric of the blocks is tighter.
After brunch, we head into the Iglesia San Nicolás (Ignacio Ibero, 1576) to see if we can find the 'viejo'. The interior is dark and quiet, a centralized plan with an unadorned octagonal dome. The four diagonal-facing side chapels are carved from a dark wood, with a sculptural niche, a relief panel, and topped by an angel. We know San Nicolás from our trip to Bari, and can identify him as the saint with gifts, three bags of gold; we find him in the center of the Capilla Mayor.
We continue into the heart of the Casco Viejo on the Calle Askao which curves to the south from the Plaza San Nicolás. Behind the Iglesia, the Ascensor de Begoña (1943) comes into view, hinting at the extreme topography of the northern hills.
The stairs of the Plaza Miguel de Unamuno emphasize the changing elevations. From here, the Casco Viejo begins to feel medieval, with a tangle of cobble streets, though the building stock is still consistent rows of five-story blocks.
Like most medieval tonws, every two or three blocks there's a church: the Iglesia de los Santos Juanes (17th century) and the Basílica Catedral de Santiago (14th-15th centuries), including the "Puerta del Ángel" (we guess the angel is on the other side, but it is not).
The Catedral carries us back to Gothic times: pointed arches, lancet windows, Gothic tracery, and a large rosetón. The interior is properly filled with filtered light from a clerestory with patterned stained-glass. Though the triforium is artificially backlight, it adds an even, warm glow, rather than harsh spotlights sometimes used in other old churches.
The three pairs of stained-glass panels above the apse contain portraits; the two central images are of Jesucristo and Dios Padre, with the Espíritu Santo in the pointed panel between them. The other four panels are the Cuatro Evangelistas with their symbols (Marcos/león, Mateo/ángel, Lucas/toro, Juan/águila). The Catedral is not deep; beyond the narthex there are only two vaulted bays for the aisles. At the crossing, the transepts are open to the upper vaults, the south transept (Epistle side) ends at an unusual triangular window while the north transept (Evangelist side) ends with a circular one.
The Catedral gains floor space with a large ambulatory and a series of eleven radial chapels. From the back of the ambulatory, we can see that there is a row of saints under the rosetón of the front facade, visible above the pipes of the organ in the coro.
From the Catedral, we head south to the Mercado de la Ribera (Pedro Ispizua, 1929) and the river. It's noontime on a Sunday, and the activity around the Mercado is chill, or at least not crazy. This part of the city feels more local.
The Iglesia de San Antón (15th-16th centuries) is just to the east. The large doors and iron gate under the Renaissance pórtico (1546-48) are shut and the church appears to be closed for now. To get the best view, we need to pass through a tunnel with some lovely street art and return to the south side of the river.
We cross Puente de San Antón (1318, rebuilt 1937) and then walk down the esplanade til we can see both arches of the span. We can make out the Gothic forms of the church: the buttresses rise above the lower walls and become flying buttresses for the clerestory. The campanario (c1775) forms the southwestern corner and is dressed in Baroque carvings, a small dome and a tall lantern, The female figure on the spire is not an angel (no wings) and seems to be wearing a mask; she is an allegorical figure of "Fe" (faith).
We enjoy a sunny walk along the west bank, past the Mercado on the opposite side. Closer to the train stations, the river makes a gentle turn to the northeast. We reach the Puente del Ayuntamiento (Bastida, 1929-34) and look across to the Mercados de la Tierra (local organic market).
The Ayuntamiento de Bilbao (Joaquín Rucoba, 1883-92) is straight ahead. Statues of "Justicia" (left) and "Ley" (law, right) stand on either side of the entrance. The Zubizuri (Santiago Calatrava, 1990-97) is the next bridge upstream, with its elegant, boomerang-shaped arch.
We make our way to the lower station of the Funicular de Archanda (1915). Near the Plaza del Funicular is the Centro Municipal de Castaños (19th century; refit IMB Arquitectos, 2007-09) another building designed by Bastida and rehabilitated within the millennium. In the Plaza, the local community has gathered for some kind of polka party; it's so loud as we wait for the next car.
The Funicular brings us to the Mirador de Archanda, rising more than two-hundred and twenty meters. The view is southward over the big bend in the Rio Nervión, between the Ayuntamiento and the Museo Guggenheim (Frank Gehry, 1992-97). From this viewpoint, we get a bette sense of the size of the Museo and the height of the Torre Iberdrola (César Pelli, 2007-11) behind it.
To our left, the Teatro Arriaga (Rucoba, 1890), the Paseo del Arenal, and the Bilbao Arena (2010) stand out. The grey twin towers of the Isozaki Atea (Arata Isozaki, 2008) are in the center of our view.
We cross the river to the Abando via the Zubizuri and are happy to experience the geometries and the vistas framed by the cables. The bridge is curved in elevation and plan, and like many of the other pedestrian bridges, is covered with textured runners (we assume, to prevent slippage in the inclement weather).
The Zubizuri connects to the Plaza de la Convivencia, which is flanked by the Isozaki Atea.
We pass the Edificio Plaza Vizcaya in search of snacks for tomorrow's breakfast. On the way, we notice the doors to the Iglesia de San José de la Montaña (José María de Basterra, 1906-18) are open and stop for a quick look. Though just over a hundred years old, this church is an interesting Neo-Romanesque throw back, though the stained-glass makes it feel a bit Gothic, with heavy semi-circular arches, clean ribs and vaulting, and concentrated ornamentation. The architect's fitting the Latin cross plan within the diagonally cut plot is rather ingenious.
Somewhere in all this, Bilbao teaches a lesson about new things, old things, and things that straddle the line – how these work together to keep a city entertaining and vital.
We make our way back to the hotel just as a drizzle begins falling.
