Bilbao achieved one of Europe's most spectacular transformations. Thirty years ago, the estuary still carried the smoke of blast furnaces; today, a titanium vessel designed by Frank Gehry draws visitors from around the world to its remodelled banks. A port-call here is to observe an industrial city become a cultural capital without renouncing its Basque character—proud and warm at once.

Getxo: The Gateway

Ships dock at Getxo, an elegant seaside municipality about twenty kilometres from Bilbao's centre, at the mouth of the estuary. Before heading to the great city, a glance at the substantial houses on the waterfront merits a pause—heritage of the ship-owners and industrialists of the early twentieth century. Nearby, the Bridge of Biscay spans the inlet: this transporter bridge from 1893, inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage list, still carries cars and pedestrians in its suspended capsule.

Reaching the Centre

The Guggenheim: Of Course

You may know the photographs, but nothing prepares you for the shock of the first encounter: the titanium curves change colour with the sky, at times silver, at times pale gold. Before the entrance, Puppy, the giant puppy tapestried in flowers, keeps an endearing guard, while the bronze spider Maman stretches its legs over the river. The interior merits an hour or two, but the building alone, bordered by the catwalk that follows the estuary, already justifies the trip. Inaugurated in 1997, the museum drew in its wake the entire renaissance of the Abandoibarra quarter: contemporary buildings, planted promenades and a tram gliding silently along the water.

The Seven Streets

Old Bilbao concentrates around seven medieval streets crowded on the right bank, the Casco Viejo. You move about on foot, from a century-old bookshop to a beret boutique, to Plaza Nueva, a neoclassical arcaded gem where bars rival each other with pintxos: salt cod in hot pepper sauce, soft tortilla, stuffed peppers, each counter displaying its creations like a jeweller's window. The Ribera market, set at the water's edge, completes the picture with its fish stalls and tasting counters. Taking time to observe the regulars order their txikito, that small glass of wine drunk on a tour from bar to bar, teaches more about the local soul than many guided visits.

A Green Pause or a View From Above

If time remains, Doña Casilda Park offers its shaded paths steps from the Museum of Fine Arts, the city's other great artistic address. The more curious will rather climb toward the Artxanda viewpoint, accessible by funicular, to grasp at a single glance the valley, the green hills and the ribbon of the estuary departing to sea. Up there, families settle on the lawns facing the panorama, far from the bustle of the docks; you descend with reluctance.

Return via the Estuary

Descending again toward Getxo, the route skirts former shipyards converted anew, docks become promenades, cranes preserved as sculptures. It is perhaps the lesson of this port-call: a city can change its skin without losing its memory. You return aboard with the Basque accent in your ear and already the precise desire to come back to taste other pintxos, on a weekday evening, when Plaza Nueva belongs to the neighbourhood people.