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Long
ago, Bilbao was just a village with a tiny port.
In 1315 when Alfonso XI had the Camino de Santiago
redirected a bit so that Bilbao would fall along the
route, the growth of the city really began to
take off, as trading increased with ports in England,
the Mediterranean and the North of Europe. Nowadays
it is Spain's sixth-largest city and
biggest port. It is an ideal centre for exploring
some of the best attractions in the Basque country,
and itself has a number of interesting secrets
to reveal, beautiful buildings, museums and good
food.
Important places to visit:
The
Guggenheim Museum
Designed by world-famous architect, Frank
Gehry. It has been described as one of the most
wonderful buildings of recent times, and
soon became the symbol of the new Bilbao. Was built
to accommodate some of the largest pieces of modern
artwork. Since the museum opened in 1996, tourism
has been on the increase, and Bilbao is now pushing
its image as a short city-break destination.
El
Arenal:
A recreational area that gets its name from the fact
that it was formed years ago by mud flats that, over
time, became dry land. A humble little
hermitage was built in the area to
San Nicolás de Bari (patron saint of sailors) as a
sign to sailors that the city was not far away.
It was converted into a temple
in 1940 and today is perhaps considered one of the
best known churches in Bilbao.
Iglesia de San Anton
City
Hall
Plaza
Nueva
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