Daniel's European Food, Wine & History Tours: Bilbao

Monday 7 August 2017

Bilbao - Spain

We left Madrid after an enchanting two days there and headed for Bilbao - North of the country. On the way, what I noticed most was the vast change of countryside as we got closer to our destination. All I knew of Spain until then was the southern part of the country which is quite often rather flat, sunny, hot, dry and at times dusty. What I was discovering was an entirely new Spain with rolling green hills and fat cattle in the fields. We eventually reached our destination; a place like I had never seen before in Spain. Bilbao isn't the kind of city that knocks you out with its physical beauty as you get there but it's a city that slowly grows on you. The city greeted us with rain but that didn’t stop us one bit.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours: Bilbao Architecture Bilbao, Spain

Daniel Food and Wine Tours: Buildings lining the Nervion River

Bilbao, the tenth largest city in Spain is the beating heart of the Basque Country. It is located near the northern edge of the Iberian Peninsula, about 16 kilometres from the Bay of Biscay. It is surrounded by green mountains and as the capital of the Basque Country, it is the most cosmopolitan of the cities in the region.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours: A School in Bilbao, Spain

Narrow streets...

Daniel Food and Wine Tours: A Street in the old part of Bilbao, Spain

Bilbao was a commercial hub that enjoyed significant importance. This was due to its port activity based on the export of iron extracted from the nearby quarries. Throughout the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth, Bilbao experienced heavy industrialisation, making it the centre of the second-most industrialised region of Spain, behind Barcelona.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours: The Bilbao Railway Station

Beautiful buildings...

Daniel Food and Wine Tours: Bilbao Building, Spain

The Nervión River runs through Bilbao. It has suffered from human intervention, with the dredging of its bottom, the building of docks on both banks and especially with the building of the Deusto canal, an artificial waterway dug in the 50s and 60s to facilitate navigation and sparing ships from the curves of the estuary. This intervention however greatly affected the quality of the water. After decades of toxic waste dumping, the entire fauna and flora was almost eliminated. In recent years this situation has progressively been reversed. Seventeen bridges span the banks of the estuary inside the town's boundaries.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours: The Nervion River and its Quays

Daniel Food and Wine Tours: The Nervion River

Remains of an ancient settlement were found, dating from around the 3rd or 2nd century BC. In its beginnings, Bilbao only had three streets surrounded by walls. Inside this enclosure, there was a small hermitage which pilgrims visited on their way to Santiago de Compostella. In the fifteenth century, four more streets were built.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours: A Street in the Old Bilboa near our Hotel

In June 1511, Queen Joanna of Castille ordered the creation of the Consulate of Bilbao. Under the Consulate's control, the port of Bilbao became one of the most important of Spain. In 1571, after several floods and a major fire in 1569, the walls were demolished in order to allow the expansion of the town.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours: Pedestrian Traffic on one of the Bridges

In 1602 Bilbao was made the capital of Biscay and the following centuries saw a constant increase in the town's wealth, especially after the discovery of large iron deposits in the surrounding mountains. At the end of the 17th century, Bilbao overcame the economic crises that affected Spain, thanks to the iron ore and its commerce with England and the Netherlands. During the 18th century, it continued to grow.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours: Covered walkway near the old part of the City

The Basque Country was the site of battles during the Carlist Wars. The Carlists wanted to conquer the city of Bilbao; a liberal and economic bastion of the time. Bilbao was besieged three times between 1835 and 1874, but all proved unsuccessful. Despite the warfare, Bilbao continued to prosper during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when it rose as the economic centre of the Basque Country.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours: One of the Many Churches in Bilbao

The Spanish Civil War started in Bilbao with a number of small uprisings suppressed by the Republican forces. In August 1936, the city suffered its first bombing. The next month, further bombing by German planes occurred, in coordination with Franco's forces and in May 1937, the Nationalist army besieged the town. The battle lasted until June of that year. With the war over, Bilbao returned to its industrial development. In the 1940s, the city was rebuilt, starting with some of the bridges which had been destroyed during the war. Over the next decade, there was a revival of the iron industry. In July 1959, the terrorist organization ETA was born in Bilbao.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours: One of the many Bilbao Bridges

Daniel Food and Wine Tours: A Bridge from a Different Era

Daniel Food and Wine Tours: Another Bridge Along the River

Since the mid-1990s, Bilbao started a process of deindustrialisation and transition to a service economy and urban renewal. Many of the former industrial areas have been transformed into modern public and private spaces. The main example is the Guggenheim Museum, located in what was an old dock and a wood warehouse. The building, designed by Frank Gehry was inaugurated in October 1997. The museum houses prominent modern and contemporary works, but it’s the curvy, titanium-clad building that receives a large amount of attention.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours: The Titanium-Clad Guggenheim Museum

Daniel Food and Wine Tours: Louise Bourgeois' Maman Outside the Museum

Daniel Food and Wine Tours: Jeff Koons' Tulips Outside the Museum

Daniel Food and Wine Tours: Inside the Museum

Daniel Food and Wine Tours: The Height of the Museum, Spain

Daniel Food and Wine Tours: View from Above

Daniel Food and Wine Tours: People admiring an unusual installation

What would I say about Bilbao? It combines History, Modernism and wins you over with its typical Spanish way of Life. I loved walking along the banks of its river and the streets of the old part of the city where our hotel was located. We took a river cruise on one of the boats that takes you for a discovery tour of the city which proudly shows you what it has achieved in recent years.

Daniel Food and Wine Tours: Our Cruise Boat

Daniel Food and Wine Tours: The Bilboat

When it comes to one of its culinary specialties; the Pinchos; they won my vote. These are simply delicious and so varied. You must try these one day!!!