September 21, 2012 
Some time ago I posted brief story – “Wishing for a Calatrava”.
The gist of the post centred on, as a nation, our general lack of ambition and unwillingness to spend money on prestigious engineering projects, especially at local level. For those not in the know, Santiago Calatrava is a world famous Spanish architect who has produced innovative designs for, amongst other things, bridges.
Anyway, putting the soap box to one side, this July my wish was granted…I have now seen my Calatrava – Bilbao’s Zubizuri Bridge – albeit the first time from a hilltop viewpoint above the city and the second, slightly closer view, from the inside of a coach as we headed back to our ship having visited the Guggenheim museum and the “old town” in the centre of Bilbao.
(Please remember to click on the photos – they seem to come up sharper)
This was taken from about a mile away! Shame about the cables 
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…taken from the bus. Some day I’ll get to walk over it.
Here’s a link to a photo page of Calatrava designs.
Bilbao is a fascinating city. The old town reeks atmosphere, it’s narrow streets with tall, box-windowed, buildings a cool haven from, on our visit, the 36 degrees of searing heat. It has style does Bilbao, with its grand opera house and its ornate glass fronted railway station.
In the narrow streets of the old town
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The old opera house
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taken from the same spot as the opera house – Bilbao’s Railway station.
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….and what I didn’t see inside the station! If only we’d crossed the river bridge (sigh)
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In this “old town” cafe/bar/restaurant the deal for the Guggenheim was done with the architect Frank Gehry
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- Wanna eat here!
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It’s winding waterfront hosts impressive, well to do, properties and the jewel in its crown – The Guggenheim museum, designed by the famous Californian architect Frank Gehry is something to behold.
The Guggenheim
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- …don’t ask me…it sits outside the museum
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Crowds rush down the steps outside the Guggenheim away from the dread floral “Westie”
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- Had to show this photo again…what a cutie!
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So…who all wants to go to Bilbao then! We’re definitely heading back some day. 
Author Info
I have a friend who’s going to Madrid for 18 months …. will send him this post. It’s
magnificent….. excellent photography, too!
Thanks Florene
Bilbao’s old town was compact but fascinating…had a real Spanish bustle to it. The streets are pedestrianised during shop opening hours but we were there just a bit too early – which brought its own kind of mayhem with delivery vans everywhere trying to negotiate tight, right-angled, turns into the narrow “streets”. Great fun though. The architecture is fantastic.
I prefer the bridge to the museum…but old Bilbao looks great!
Like it or love it the museum is worth a visit. No photography allowed inside which was a shame because the central inside space is amazing to see.
We did much prefer wandering around old Bilbao even though it was a guided tour. We were lucky and had a Spanish guide with incredible local knowledge who made it a very worthwhile visit.
Really like the “narrow streets of the old town” pic,it`s a riot of colour.!
Had the privilege of seeing one of his other bridges in Seville a few years back.Would really like to bag the Millau in France though in an early morning inversion
One of the problems with prestigious projects is that they invariably go well over budget and require further ongoing expense in maintenance and repairs when it eventually dawns on them that they are entirely unsuitable for our climate . Some nice Roman aqueducts still standing in France and Spain
Drove past the Millau bridge when it was being constructed…had never heard of it at the time. Just stared the slim, incredibly high, columns thinking – how on earth are they going to build THAT!
There used to be a huge problem with the design of structures in that how to maintain the thing afterwards was never part of the design. Current Health and Safety law has changed that in that the questions are asked by an independent H&S coordinator during the design phase and the project ain’t allowed to go ahead unless he’s happy. Doesn’t mean, unfortunately, that the design isn’t a pile of crap…just that it can be maintained in a safe manner.