Bilbao is a European city that in my eyes is greatly underrated.

When looking for a destination for a short trip with my daughter we felt adventurous and played the airline lottery- you pick at least four destinations out of a package and you only know where you are going once you pay for the ticket.

We selected Nice, Madrid, Barcelona and Bilbao. And Bilbao it was. We weren’t disappointed.

Bilbao is a lively city, not too big and after a few days we started seeing the same people again.

Something I noticed about Bilbao is the presence of many public playgrounds that are well frequented by kids and parents. Also you find benches everywhere for people to rest and meet with friends and family. And enjoying each other’s company seems to be a favorite pastime for the people of Bilbao- cafes and terraces are packed when the sun shines. Many bars even have windows facing the street where you can get a drink that you enjoy in the street.

We explored Bilbao on foot even though the public transport system seems to be very good. That meant that we did a lot of walking but it gave us the possibility to stop frequently and do some people watching.

Highlight of our trip was a visit to the Guggenheim museum. Our visit was timed perfectly as it started to rain heavily while we explored the exhibition. We spent 2,5 hours in the Guggenheim even though the second floor was closed to the public that day. Walking around the outside of the museum and enjoying the marvelous architecture was something we did several times during our stay.

We didn’t make it to the beach on this trip but I guess this just means we have to come back another time.