DESCRIPTION
Tourists don’t come to Bilbao, Spain to see historic Spanish structures; they come here to see outlandish, modern ones. Visitors to the city are struck the most by Frank Gehry’s avant-garde architecture of the Guggenheim Museum – and they either love it, or hate it. The design is meant to draw on the port city’s maritime heritage, with curved walls to resemble the boats docked in the harbor and titanium squares that cover the building to look like fish scales. Though they get overshadowed by the exterior of the museum, there are exhibits inside. Other forward-thinking architects followed Gehry’s lead, such as Santiago Calatrava, with his design of the white Zubizuri Bridge. There are a few old buildings, if you’re so inclined, like the Gothic example of Bilbao’s Church of Santiago.