Bilbao

Bilbao sits a few kilometres inland on its estuary, so there is no beach in the city itself. The metro runs out along the right bank to the coast, where Ereaga and Arrigunaga in Getxo, the long open sands of Sopelana and the sheltered bay at Plentzia and Gorliz are all reachable in well under an hour. Further east, Bakio and the beaches of the Urdaibai estuary need a bus or a car.

The Bay of Biscay warms to around 21°C at the end of summer, pleasant enough for a proper swim, but the water is cooler in June and the weather is changeable, with grey and rainy days even in July. Sopelana's beaches face open swell and suit surfers more than small children. Treat the beach as a good afternoon out from a city stay rather than the reason to come.

Eating is one of the main reasons to come. The habit is the poteo: moving from bar to bar for a small glass of txakoli or wine and a pintxo or two, laid out along the counter or cooked to order. The Casco Viejo, the arcaded Plaza Nueva and the streets of the Ensanche around Ledesma and Diputación are lined with these bars, and the standard is high even in plain-looking places. The Mercado de la Ribera, a large market hall on the river, is the place to see the fish, peppers, cheeses and charcuterie the cooking is built on.

At the table, Basque cooking is about produce handled with restraint: bacalao al pil-pil, grilled hake and turbot, txuleta steaks from the asadores, beans from Gernika and Idiazabal cheese. Above that sits a serious fine-dining tier, with several Michelin-starred kitchens in the city and more in the hills just outside. What it lacks is breadth: international food is limited and the scene is about Basque food, done very well.

Frank Gehry's titanium Guggenheim on the riverbank is the reason most people first hear of Bilbao, and the building alone repays the trip, with Jeff Koons's flower-covered Puppy outside and large-scale contemporary works inside. A short walk away, the Museo de Bellas Artes holds one of Spain's better collections, from Flemish and Spanish old masters to Basque painters. The Basque Museum in the old town explains the region's history and traditions.

The Casco Viejo, the medieval core of Siete Calles around the cathedral of Santiago, is compact and pleasant rather than grand. The Ensanche adds broad 19th-century avenues, the Teatro Arriaga and the Azkuna Zentroa cultural centre in a converted wine warehouse. Down the estuary, the Vizcaya Bridge at Portugalete, the world's oldest transporter bridge and a UNESCO site, is a metro ride away. Two or three days cover it comfortably.

Going out in Bilbao grows naturally from the pintxo crawl: the bars of the Casco Viejo and Plaza Nueva fill in the early evening and stay busy late, especially from Thursday to Saturday. Calle Licenciado Poza and the streets around it in the Ensanche are the other main strip, with a younger crowd, and the old-town streets near the Ribera hold the more alternative bars. Spanish hours apply, so nights start late and weekends run past 3am.

The club scene is small and most of the week is quiet. The city changes completely during Aste Nagusia, the Great Week in August, when bar stalls and crowds take over the riverbanks for nine days.

Bilbao sits in a narrow green valley, and the hills begin at the edge of town. A funicular climbs to Mount Artxanda for views over the river, and the Pagasarri is a popular half-day hike from the southern suburbs. Within about an hour, the limestone peaks of Urkiola Natural Park and the beech forests of Gorbea, the highest mountain in Bizkaia, offer proper mountain walking.

The coast is equally close: cliff paths run between Getxo and Sopelana, the Urdaibai biosphere reserve spreads around the estuary at Mundaka, and the rocky islet of San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, reached by a long stairway, is one of the most photographed spots in Spain. Surfing is serious here, with the famous left-hand wave at Mundaka. The price of all this green is rain: expect wet days in any season.

San Sebastián, with its old town and celebrated pintxo bars, is a little over an hour away by bus and is the obvious first outing. Closer to home, Gernika has its Assembly House and oak tree, symbols of Basque identity, and the fishing ports of Bermeo, Mundaka, Elantxobe and Lekeitio string along the coast. Vitoria-Gasteiz, the Basque capital, has a well-preserved medieval hill quarter and is about an hour inland.

Southward, the Rioja Alavesa and the Haro wine country make a full day of bodega visits and walled hilltop villages such as Laguardia. West into Cantabria, Santander, Castro Urdiales and the medieval village of Santillana del Mar, near the Altamira cave museum, are all within reach. A car widens the options, though buses cover the main towns.

Bilbao is easy with children in the practical sense: the centre is flat along the river, safe, clean and short on distances, and Basque street life includes children late into the evening. Doña Casilda Park has a pond and playgrounds, the riverside promenade suits scooters and pushchairs, and the funicular up Artxanda is a small adventure with a park at the top. The Guggenheim runs family-oriented activities and Puppy is a hit with small visitors.

What is missing are attractions made for children: there is no major zoo, aquarium or theme park in the city, and rainy days need planning. In summer the beaches at Getxo and Plentzia, reached by metro, fill the gap.

Most of what a visitor wants lies along a few kilometres of the river, from the Casco Viejo through the Ensanche to the Guggenheim, and it is a flat, pleasant walk. A tram runs the same stretch past the museums and the Euskalduna, and the metro, with its distinctive glass station entrances designed by Norman Foster, runs down both banks of the estuary to the beaches and the Vizcaya Bridge. A funicular climbs Artxanda.

Regional Euskotren and Bizkaibus services reach the coastal towns and Gernika, and buses run often to San Sebastián and Vitoria. A car is not needed in the city, though it helps for wine country and remote coast.

The Gran Vía and the streets of the Ensanche carry the main Spanish and international chains, a large department store and a handful of upmarket boutiques. The Casco Viejo is more interesting for browsing, with old family shops selling Basque berets, linen, espadrilles and cookware alongside small independent fashion and design stores. The best things to take home are edible: txakoli, Idiazabal cheese, tinned Cantabrian anchovies and bonito, from the Ribera market and the delicatessens around it. Serious fashion shoppers will find the range limited.

Bilbao is mid-priced by Western European standards and on the expensive side for Spain. Central hotels cost a bit more than in most Spanish cities, especially around the Guggenheim and during August's Great Week and big concerts. Eating can be as cheap or as costly as you like: a pintxo crawl with a few glasses of wine is good value, while the asadores and starred restaurants charge accordingly. The metro and tram are inexpensive, and the city's walkable size keeps transport costs low.

For a city of its size Bilbao has a respectable stage life. The Euskalduna, a ship-like concert and congress hall on the old shipyards, hosts the opera season of the long-established ABAO association and the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra. The ornate 19th-century Teatro Arriaga and the Modernista Teatro Campos Elíseos stage theatre, dance and touring productions, mostly in Spanish.

Live music is spread across a few rock and indie venues and bars with small stages, and Basque folk and choral singing turn up at festivals. Each July the BBK Live festival brings international bands to the slopes of Mount Cobetas. Outside the seasons, the programme is modest.

Bilbao has no bathing or spa tradition of its own. Wellness means hotel spas and a few urban day spas with pools and treatment rooms, fine for an afternoon but not a reason to come. What the city does offer is an unhurried rhythm: long lunches, riverside walks and evenings spent drifting between bars rather than racing between sights. For a true spa stay, the historic balnearios of the Basque interior are a separate trip.