Places to visit before you die: Bilbao

This little known town on the north coast of spain's basque region is oft overshadowed by the likes of Madrid or Barcelona, but this small city, nestled between San Sebastian and Santander is truly a gem in the heart of Spain's industrial north.

Founded during the 14th century, Bilbao was the birthplace of the spanish civil war, and at its peak was one of the largest in europe, after industry fell away, Bilbao reinvented itself as a centre of culture and art, with the founding of the Guggenheim Bilbao in 1997, the town flourished, becoming an architectural jewel.

I will admit that visiting the Guggenheim was my main reason for going to Bilbao, but I fell in love with this gloriously avant-garde city and it's pleasures. The historic center of the town is known as the Casco Viejo is a beautiful labyrinth of winding pedestrianised streets filled with tapas bars and restaurants. Our base during our visit was the Plaza Nueva, a neoclassical square surrounded by colonnades which conceal a covered walkway, hiding some of the best food I'd ever eaten. Food in Spain is casual and copious, and I very happily wolfed down a thick spanish frittata served with bacon, smoked ham or vegetables, or deep fried breaded cheese served as a sandwich.

Outside of the old town the 18th century buildings fall away, to reveal newer, more daring architecture. The metro system is designed by Norman Foster, and the glittering diamond in Bilbao's crown is the Guggenheim, a towering cathedral, monumenting modern art. The building, designed by Frank Gehry is a towering edifice carved out of metal arranged as scales, limestone and finally glass. The atrium of the museum is vertiginous and bold, stretching up over three stories, like a glass chimney, crooked in perfection.

The first room is a series of sweeping metal sculptures, designed to be walked through, though they shouldn't have been, they were a supremely emotional experience, and one I shan't be forgetting in a hurry. The other rooms oscillate between Louise Bourgeois' Cells, and Shadows, by Andy Warhol, displayed here for the first time in its entirely. Outside, are pieces from Jeff Koons Celebration series, the tulips made of glass to appear as giant balloon sculptures, and Puppy, a giant floral terrier.

Between old and new is the river, the guggenheim having been built on the ashes of the old port, what was previously polluted, has now been turned into a beautiful promenade, lined with flower markets and bridges. Bilbao is almost dichotomous in its glory, a beautiful combination of old and new, of the traditional and the radically progressive.