The controversial Guggenheim Museum, relatively new on the scene, having been opened in 1997. The city fathers regard this avant garde building as the beginning of the city's revitalisation, which has also recently acquired a new metro system and airport terminal. Bilbao has some good beaches and a few scenic spots - a favoured picnic site is on Monte Archanda, north of the old town, accessible by funicular. Of the beaches Getxo is the favourite, particularly with surfers, and features a 100-year-old suspension bridge and some lively bars and nightclubs.

Guggenheim Museum

Locals in Bilbao are divided on whether it is a 'beauty or a beast', but the bizarre multi-million dollar Guggenheim Museum, opened in 1997, has brought thousands of visitors flocking to the city to be awed or floored. The massive museum has no right angles and resembles a metallic flower, clad in shiny titanium, sited in the former dockyard alongside the Nervion River. It was designed by Frank Gehry. Inside, apart from breathtaking spaces, the museum houses the works of some important 20th century artists, including Picasso, Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, Willem de Koonig and Clyfford Still. There are also sections displaying the work of young Basque and Spanish artists, and rotating exhibits lent by the Guggenheim museums in New York and Venice.

For a more mainstream artistic experience than that offered by the astonishing Guggenheim gallery, the Museo de Bellas Artes in the Plaza Museo fits the bill admirably with some valuable works on display behind an unassuming façade. The museum's impressive collection spans art from the 12th to 20th century, highlights being some excellent Flemish works from between the 15th and 17th centuries. There are also works by El Greco, Goya, Gauguin, Francis Bacon, Picasso and Velazquez. To the rear of the building is a sculpture garden.

The Museu Vasco is in the heart of the old quarter of the city, housed in a 17th century Jesuit cloister. The museum depicts Basque culture, history and ethnology, and its exhibits span a wide range of interests including: weaving, the blacksmith trade, pastoral life and maritime matters. The displays offer the chance to dip into Basque political and social life, using everything from model ships to reconstructions of rooms and gravestones.