Its industrial past well behind it, but true to its roots, Bilbao is today a modern, cosmopolitan city offering the finest cuisine, music and, in particular, art and architecture. Indeed, ever since the Guggenheim Museum opened to the public in the mid-1990s, the Basque capital has become a magnet for devotees of contemporary art and architecture. In tandem with the museum’s inception, the city saw an upsurge in urban renewal – historical constructions were restored, stunning modern buildings erected and the estuary precincts were integrated with green areas and the layout of a metro network, designed by the likes of Sir Norman Foster. Hence, Bilbao is currently one of Europe’s best cities to live in. Here, then, is our tour of its most groundbreaking museums and buildings.

Around the Guggenheim Museum

This monumental building designed by Frank O. Gehry is an icon of the transformed Bilbao and an international art and architectural yardstick. It is rewarding to saunter around the building and become enveloped in the curves on its facades, and in awe of the famous Spider by Louise Bourgeois, or the acclaimed Puppy by Jeff Koons. Venturing into its interior, however, is a unique experience. Wandering through the steel labyrinth of The Matter of Time, by Richard Serra, or visiting the noteworthy temporary exhibitions that pass through the Guggenheim, is something all art lovers should make a point of doing.

Near the museum stands La Salve Bridge. While is has been spanning the estuary since 1972, it was not until 2007 that the French artist Daniel Buren added its famous Red Arch. Also worth seeing and adjoining the Guggenheim is the New University of Deusto Library, by Rafael Moneo, with its monolithic volume and rounded corners.

Just behind it stands the Iberdrola Tower. Designed by César Pelli, this 41-storey, 165-metre-high tower with its dramatic appearance is the tallest building in the Basque Country. It is flanked by the Viviendas Ferrater housing project, two luxury buildings designed by Carlos and Lucía Ferrater, Xavier Martí and Luis Domínguez. Opposite them lies the Plaza de Euskadi, by the landscape architect, Diana Balmori.

The Museo de Bellas Artes – A Contemporary Classic

Located near the Plaza de Euskadi, opposite Doña Casilda Park, the Museo de Bellas Artes provides an enhancement to the great collections of classical European art with its selection of top-notch works, including a Lucretia by Lucas Cranach the Elder and paintings by Francisco de Goya, El Greco and Zurbarán, while the contemporary section features paintings by Miquel Barceló and Francis Bacon. Here, you can actually travel from ancient times to the 21st century. To cater for such a variety, the building, originally dating from 1945, was upgraded incrementally, leading to its current appearance. The latest renovation has endowed both the exterior and interior with a leading-edge look. It dates from from 1996, when Luis María Uriarte opened new spaces and added the structure and glass foyer which now provide access to the museum.

Strolling Along the Estuary

The ría, once a dark, polluted estuary, was converted into one of the recreational areas of choice for Bilbao’s residents. Part of this upgrade is due to the Isozaki Atea (Isozaki Gateway) project, an ensemble of seven buildings designed by the Japanese architect, Arata Isozaki, in collaboration with the Bilbao architect, Iñaki Aurrekoetxea. Opposite this precinct stands the Zubizuri Bridge, Santiago Calatrava’s contribution to Bilbao, although also the most controversial landmark in the city.

The Alhóndiga and Osakidetza

Venturing into Bilbao’s Ensanche district will inevitably lead visitors to the Azkuna Zentroa or Azkuna Centre, better known as the Alhóndiga, a former wine exchange which has now been converted into a vibrant hub of leisure and culture. Originally completed in 1909 to a design by Ricardo Bastida, it was innovative for its time on account of the architect’s use of such materials as reinforced concrete. Following an overhaul assigned to architect Philippe Starck, it re-opened to the public in 2010 as a multi-purpose centre.

A short distance away, you get the impression of suddenly having stepped into the heart of Europe  when confronted by the Osakidetza (Public Health building), unmistakeable for the polyhedral design of its facade, by Juan Coll-Barreu.

Before leaving Bilbao, be sure to visit the city’s metro which, designed by Sir Norman Foster, is said to be one of the best in the world.

Book your Vueling to Bilbao and delight in its museums and magnificent buildings.

Text and images by Aleix Palau for Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

A far cry from the great business centre that is Brussels, or the slightly mock tinge we picked up in picturesque Bruges, Antwerp is a modern, cosmopolitan city with an upbeat cultural scene, particularly in the fields of fashion, art and design. It is well worth a trip on its own although, if you’re pressed for time and based in Brussels, you should devote at least a whole day trip to the city.

Their culinary offerings are endless, commensurate with a city brimming with affluence. Who said Belgium cooking is uninteresting? In Antwerp, the fantastic local cuisine rubs shoulders with a host of restaurants featuring international cuisine.

Heavenly Pizza
Weather permitting, a good option is to have a pizza on the terrace at Heavenly Pizza with its contemporary pitch. There we found original, bold creations and views of the Museum aan de Stroom (MAS) building, a museum that sets out to explore Belgium’s relationship to the rest of the world where we were pleasantly surprised by the interesting exhibitions.

Ras
While lunch saw us sharing a pizza and an organically sourced salad at Heavenly Pizza, night time is ideal for booking a table at the restaurant, Ras, literally suspended over a river which is unquestionably the centrepiece of life in Antwerp. This sophisticated locale, where cocktails vie for pride of place with local cuisine with a contemporary twist, is a magnet for the city’s beautiful people. Their food is noteworthy, characterised by a conspicuous offering of fresh fish and vegetables.

Món
The Món restaurant is located in the premises of a little old house with many of its original fittings intact. A sophisticated yet cosy venue, ideal for group dinners, featuring meats that are all the rage in Antwerp thanks to their use of the Josper oven, which is Catalan in origin. Hence the name, Món, meaning “world” in Catalan.

LocalStore
LocalStore is the perfect place for brunch. On Sundays, the light-filled, glass-fronted building draws families with children, as well as groups of friends, eager to start the day with a good shot of organic cuisine in the form of salads, soups, cheeses, cured meats, delicious breads and other locally-sourced organic products. Apart from being an economical, casual-looking restaurant, the store also sells delicatessen and you can end the day window shopping in the surrounding area.

CoffeeLabs
Coworking venues have a life of their own in Antwerp and numerous freelance professionals engaged in culture – particularly art, fashion and design – have opted to set up in the city on account of the wealth of coworking options available. While open to the public, CoffeeLabs is actually a bustling restaurant based in a coworking venue where you can order multi-coloured salads, toast, homemade cakes, juices and other casual offerings to eat at any time of day. “Of day” is the operative word, as it is closed at night.

Bar Paniek
One of our favourite spots in Antwerp is the unusual Bar Paniek, located in an industrial warehouse with beautiful views over the river. Their terrace is always crowded, even when temperatures makes it an awkward place to be. It is peopled by a multifarious crowd, from families with children (the neighbouring children’s park is a big draw) to young Erasmus students having their first drink of the night, to artists, and both local and outside professionals. Clearly, they come here because of its charm, the perfect balance between a hangout which is rundown and yet cool, with its reasonable prices and intense cultural activity.

Graanmarkt 13
Graanmarkt 13 is a venue which accurately reflects the spirit of Antwerp, with art, design, interior design and cuisine concentrated within a single building. This XXL concept store (a type of store which is widespread in the city) sells clothing, furniture and accessories, with a ground-floor restaurant headed by prestigious chef Seppe Nobels, who commits to seasonal cuisine based on local recipes and a healthy vocation. This refined, elegant yet essentially casual venue is ideal for dining after going on a shopping spree – beware, the prices are prohibitive.

The Chocolate Line
You can’t sit down to a meal but, equally, you can’t visit Antwerp without dropping in on The Chocolate Line, a stunning place where we tasted the most delicious chocolates we can recall. It is located in the Paleis op de Meir, a pretty building near the Rubens House – who, it turns out, was quite a character, and his house is a must-see. We splashed out like there was no tomorrow in this shop, which sells just chocolates, and discovered products which would change our lives forever. In this case it was chocolate for sniffing.

Book your Vueling to Brussels, a mere half-an-hour’s train ride from Antwerp, and get ready to discover the culinary facet of this beautiful city.

Text and photos by Laura Conde of Gastronomistas.com

Strasbourg’s historic centre, known as the Grande-Île (great island), is an enchanting maze of lanes, picturesque squares and houses with wood carvings. Concentrated in a small area on this river island is an exceptional wealth of art heritage, an enriching blend of French and German essences.

A Cathedral With A 1,000 Years of History

An example of this is the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg, the pride of the city. While Strasbourg is located in France, the Cathedral is one of the finest exponents of the German Gothic and the clearest example of the artistic harmony between the two cultures. Situated on the Grande-Île, it is one of Europe’s most beautiful cathedrals. For 200 years it was the world’s tallest building, while currently it is the fourth tallest religious building on earth. Its interior houses an extraordinary, 18-metre-high astronomical clock, built in 1571. It is regarded as the world’s first computer as it is capable of calculating dates, and it marks all calendar holidays. The moment most awaited by tourists is when it peals out the midday chimes, and the figures of the Apostles parade in front of Christ.

The foundations of Strasbourg Cathedral were laid in 1015, and its construction was not completed until 400 years later. This year, 2015, the city’s most important religious building turns one thousand years. A programme of activities has been drawn up to commemorate this anniversary, notably the event “1015 - 2015 : La Cathédrale de toute éternité”, a spectacle of lights projected on the Cathedral’s main facade. This will take place every Thursday from 4 July to 20 September. The times for July are at 10.30 p.m., 11 p.m., 23,30 p.m. and 24 p.m. In August, at 22.15 p.m., 22.45 p.m., 23.15 p.m. and 23.45 p.m. and, in September, at 21.15 p.m., 21.45 p.m. and 22.15 p.m.

FARSe will Fill the Streets of Strasbourg with Scenic Arts

Another enticement for visiting the city in July is the Festival des Arts de la Rue (Street Arts Festival), providing free shows for all audiences in some of Strasbourg’s more central, emblematic areas distributed mainly along the axis between the Austerlitz and Kléber squares.

On Friday 17 and Sunday 19 July, these spots will feature circus, theatre, dance, music and burlesque shows to liven up your visit to the city centre even more. Leading theatre companies, selected under the supervision of and in collaboration with the dancer and choreographer, Ali Salmi, will provide the highlights of these performances.

Of all the shows scheduled for this year, the aerial dance and pyrotechnics of Deus Ex Machina take pride of place. They will be performing on 17 July at 10 p.m. in the Place Kléber, and at the Holi Festival – a festival of colours of Hindu origin – in conjunction with the company Artonik, at the close of the festival on 19 July. You can choose from among the various options shown on the full programme here.

The Place Kléber

One of the nerve centres of the shows is the place Kléber, the city’s main square and a major hub of commercial activity. This, the preferred meeting point of Strasbourgers, is also the centre of the Grande Île, fringed with magnificent Renaissance buildings and located near the Cathedral.

The Maison Kammerzell

North-east of the Cathedral square, on the Rue des Hallebardes, lies the Maison Kammerzell, another must-see, as it is one of the best preserved late-Gothic buildings in the area. It is considered by some to be the most beautiful building in Strasbourg, on account of its decoration of carved figures and stunning leaded windows. Like the Grand Île, it is listed as UNESCO World Heritage.

La Petite France

Also on the Grand Île is La Petite France, the most picturesque district in the historic centre. Its timber-framed houses date from the 16th and 17th century, when they were inhabited by fishermen and millers.

Don’t wait to hear about it from someone else – come and live it out for yourself. Check out our flights here.

Text by Scanner FM

Images by Chris Barker, Spiterman, María Renée Batlle Castillo, Filip Maljković , Richard Penn, Daniel Sancho

A museum in Denmark named after an American state? This is not the only fetching fact about Louisiana. Located in the small town of Humlebæk, some 35 kilometres north of Copenhagen, Louisiana draws thousands of visitors each year to its alluring interior and exterior. Its contemporary art collection is truly extraordinary, as is – perhaps even to a greater degree – its siting, opposite the cold waters separating Denmark from Sweden, nestling in a vast area of parkland, trees and cliffs. Likewise its architectural design, seamlessly integrated into its surroundings.

The museum was founded in 1958 by the Danish businessman and philanthropist, Knud W. Jensen, who commissioned the first stage of the project to the architects Vilhelm Wohlert and JørgenBo. Oddly enough, the museum is not actually named after the American state, but on account of a coincidence – the previous owner of the land happened to marry three times, and each time his wife was named Louise! As the museum’s private collection is far larger than what can be displayed, many of the constituent works are loaned from one place to another. The building houses works by Lucien Freud, David Hockney, Asger Jorn (one of Denmark’s leading 20th-century artists), the Spaniard, Juan Muñoz, photographers such as the German, Thomas Demand, and the New Yorker, Cindy Sherman. And, what is likely the jewel in the crown – a room where a painting by Francis Bacon, and one of the most striking sculptures by Alberto Giacometti, are placed face to face, as if in the throes of an ongoing dialogue. In the garden we find several weighty sculptures, including one by Alexander Calder and another by Joan Miró – set just five metres apart and permanently chaperoned by the sea in the background – in addition to works by Louise Bourgeois and Max Ernst, among many others. 

You have just until the end of January – be quick! – to see a long-distance exhibition hosted by the museum, as well as an installation which raises eyebrows. The exhibition reviews the extensive, colourist and provocative work of the multi-disciplinary Japanese artist, Yayoi Kusama (phallic sculptures, rooms painted in polka dots, rent garments and other marvels). The installation is a huge sculpture by the Canadian, David Altmejd, called The Flux and the Puddle, which takes up a whole room and is well nigh impossible to fathom – it involves a visceral, high-impact blend of methacrylate, food, taxidermy, strings and mirrors.

Louisiana is easy to reach from Copenhagen – at the Central Station in the capital, you take a Helsingor-bound train and get off at Humlebæk. That’s all. On your return, you are urged to explore the district of Vesterbro, adjoining the aforementioned Central Station. Once the haunts of prostitutes and crooks, it is now one of the most exciting and bustling city quarters, brimming with galleries, stores, cafés and restaurants. Make sure you stop off at Bang & Jensen, in Istedgade, which is open all day. Their lentil soup with curry and cilantro comes highly recommended, and you can also play some pinball and Arkanoid. Another landmark worth seeing is the so-called Meatpacking District, the former fish and meat market reconditioned as one of Copenhagen’s cool areas, where you can choose from among a host of appetising culinary offerings. For lovers of music and vinyl, the best spot in Vesterbro is undoubtedly Sort Kaffe & Vinyl, a small record shop cum bar. Or vice versa – a café with records. Its claim to fame is a small but carefully curated selection of folk, jazz, electronic, exotic and experimental music. For sleeping over and putting away a hearty breakfast the next morning, here are two recommendations in the same district: Bertrams Guldsmeden (very near Værnedamsvej, one of the prettiest streets in the city), and the Avenue Hotel, which has a beautiful patio if you happen to be there in spring or summer.

While the city itself is well worth the visit, the chance to see Louisiana and even spend some hours in Vesterbro makes this a well nigh compulsory trip. Why wait to book your flight to Copenhagen?

Text by Carles Novellas for ISABELYLUIS Comunicación

Images by Carles Novellas and Anna Higueras