Bilbao's Guggenheim Museum is the institution that put the decaying industrial city firmly on the tourist map of Europe. Designed by American architect Frank Gehry in his characteristically odd style of wavy shiny titanium and glass and opened in 1997, the Guggenheim Bilbao is considered to be one of the most significant buildings of the late twentieth century and is almost universally popular among architectural critics as well as the public. The museum houses modern and contemporary art that’s part of the Guggenheim collections but much of its space is reserved for changing temporary exhibitions. To be honest, my appreciation for much of the contemporary art inside the building is fairly limited. And for such a grand building what was on display at the time of my visit seemed rather sparse. I was easily in and out having seen everything on display within about an hour, which made the 12.50 Euro admission seem quite steep. That might explain why there were so many more people gawking at the building from the outside than looking at what was on display inside.

The museum’s surroundings along the Nervion River are nice, where a large ultra-modern quarter with other cultural institutions and new housing has sprung up on what had been an old railyard and abandoned industrial facilities . And some of the outdoor sculptures like that of a giant spider on the river side of the museum and a huge floral sculpture that looked to me like a cat but is called "Puppy" between the main entrance and the city center.