In short
Frank Gehry's Guggenheim opened in 1997 in a city wrecked by the end of steel. The gamble worked so well it gave its name to an urban phenomenon, and the whole city followed.
The Vizcaya transporter bridge, fifteen minutes away, is the oldest still in service in the world and a World Heritage site. It has carried cars and pedestrians since 1893.
What it really costs
Bilbao costs less than San Sebastián, an hour up the road, for a larger and better connected city. It is the logical base for exploring the Basque Country.
The metro and tram cover the conurbation, and the rechargeable Barik card halves the fare against single tickets.
What nobody tells you
The Guggenheim can be looked at from outside for nothing, and many people settle for that: the building is the work, the collections vary.
The climate is Atlantic and damp. The sirimiri, that fine constant drizzle, falls much of the year and cannot be fought with an umbrella.
The old town, the Casco Viejo, amounts to seven streets. The rest of Bilbao is a working city, dense and alive, that looks like no postcard.