| Page Views: 7,038 Last Visit to Bilbao: - | Muy Noble y Muy Leal e Invicta Villa de Bilbao by DanielF - last update: Dec 5, 2007 |
|  | A Post-industrial City The Very Noble and Very Loyal and Undefeated Town of Bilbao is one of the youngest cities in Spain, if you can call young to a place which is over 700 year old. However, soon after its foundation in 1300, the city grew vertiginously thanks to its port and the coal mines located in the vicinity. Being the cradle of the industrial revolution in Spain, huge factory complexes mushroomed on the banks of the Nervion estuary and thousands of immigrants from all the corners of Spain arrived. The industrial crisis in the 1980s left a truly desolate panorama: the city seemed to be covered by a permanent cloud of smog; the river had became a smelly flow of viscous black mud; abandoned factories and crumbling workers homes gave the place a gloomy post-industrial look. In addition, an embittered political situation which included violent terrorist actions did not help to improve the image of Bilbao. |
| | A City Reborn With the major industries gone, a big effort was done to clean up the mess. A still on-going huge program of urban transformation was undertaken and, leaving the melancholy mood behind, the city seems to have come to life in terms of tourism. Moreover, Bilbao is now one of the shiniest stars in the Spanish tourist firmament.
One single building, the terrific Guggenheim Museum, is responsible for a big deal of this phenomenon. It is a building which needs to be seen, but once the effort done, I suggest that you take your time and discover all the charms that were hidden there before all the hoo-ha started. |
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| Pros: | "Amazing architecture, Green Hills" | | Cons: | "Graffiti" |
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 Comments for DanielF about Bilbao | | | | |
suvanki Sun Aug 23, 2009 01:22 UTC
Great Page! I can't understand why you've not got a 5 rating for such concise tips. I must go back to Bilbao and see these places that I've missed. | Bavavia Mon Feb 4, 2008 17:15 UTC
Gosh, they are a little scary looking!! | edith626 Thu Feb 15, 2007 03:58 UTC
wonderful pages and wonderful pictures! i will be visiting bilbao end of march and hope to be able to see it all. thanks for sharing! | SirRichard Tue Sep 14, 2004 10:55 UTC
Amazing page, a real city guide, probably the best page on Bilbao here in VT!! I discovered here parts of the city I never visited before, thanx!! :-) |
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