The Guggenheim Bilbao and the Bilbao Effect
Basque Country, Spain
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Bilbao Art Aficionado
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200
XP
+100 Spain
= 300 total
1 day
The Guggenheim Bilbao and the Bilbao Effect
200 + 100 XP
Bilbao was a dying port city with a poisoned river in 1991 when it gambled public money on a Frank Gehry building nobody could picture. It opened in 1997, drew a million visitors in its first year, and gave planners everywhere a phrase — the Bilbao effect — for the belief that one spectacular building can turn a city round. Most attempts since have failed. What is often missed is that Bilbao also cleaned the Nervión, built a metro and moved the port, and the Fine Arts Museum five minutes away had a better collection all along.
Required Activities
1
of 4
Find Jeff Koons' 12m-tall floral sculpture "Puppy" — replanted twice a year with 60,000 flowering plants — guarding the Guggenheim's entrance
2
of 4
Inside, find Richard Serra's "The Matter of Time" in Gallery 104 — eight weathering-steel sculptures filling a room 130m long
3
of 4
Walk from the Guggenheim to the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum through Doña Casilda Iturrizar Park, and compare the two museums' opposite approaches to art
4
of 4
Cross the Zubizuri footbridge and find Calatrava's glass-brick deck, now covered with a non-slip mat after years of complaints it was dangerous when wet
Find Jeff Koons' 12m-tall floral sculpture "Puppy" — replanted twice a year with 60,000 flowering plants — guarding the Guggenheim's entrance
Inside, find Richard Serra's "The Matter of Time" in Gallery 104 — eight weathering-steel sculptures filling a room 130m long
Walk from the Guggenheim to the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum through Doña Casilda Iturrizar Park, and compare the two museums' opposite approaches to art
Cross the Zubizuri footbridge and find Calatrava's glass-brick deck, now covered with a non-slip mat after years of complaints it was dangerous when wet
Before you go
The Guggenheim closes some Mondays outside high season. Bilbao rains — it is the Basque coast.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
200 XP
Spain country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
300 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in Spain.
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