Things to do in Bilbao, San Sebastián & Northern Spain

In Bilbao, the titanium-clad Guggenheim Museum Bilbao beside the Nervión is guarded by Jeff Koons's flower-covered Puppy and Louise Bourgeois's giant spider Maman, with Richard Serra's walk-through steel The Matter of Time inside. At the river mouth, the UNESCO-listed Vizcaya Bridge carries people and cars across in its hanging gondola and has a panoramic walkway on top, and on the Biscay coast a bridge and 241 steps lead up to the hermitage on the rocky islet of San Juan de Gaztelugatxe. San Sebastián curves around La Concha Beach and its famous white railing: ride the 1912 Mount Igeldo Funicular to a lookout over the bay, see Eduardo Chillida's Wind Comb sculptures on the rocks near its lower station, and hop between the pintxo bars of the Old Town, trying one or two bites at each. Further west, Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, the goal of the Camino de Santiago, holds the tomb of Saint James, and its museum route adds the Portico of Glory, the Gelmírez Palace and the cathedral roofs.

Good to knowSan Juan de Gaztelugatxe is free, but on controlled-access days you must book a free ticket online in advance, and the steep paths are unsuitable for strollers. Check the tides at La Concha, as high water narrows the sand, and on stormy days the tourist office suggests watching the Wind Comb from Mount Urgull instead. The Guggenheim Bilbao opens Tuesday to Sunday, with extra Mondays in summer and on holidays, and is free for visitors under 18, while Santiago de Compostela Cathedral's museum route is a booked visit and backpacks are not allowed inside.