Boring Bilbao. I don't think so!

Advantages: Cheap to fly
Disadvantages: Not much stuff for children

...Those of you, who know me, will know why I like Bilbao. For those of you that don?t know me I like Bilbao because of the Guggenheim. The Guggenheim is an art museum run by the Guggenheim family; they also have a museum in New York and Chicago. As well as the art I am also interested in the Architecture of it. I went to Bilbao for a 2-day trip with my Dad, he had been there before so he knew what it was like but for me it was a totally new experience. The flight there was about two hours, which flew by. I spent most of the time looking out the window. When we arrived it was cold, windy and foggy. It was about 8 o?clock when we arrived, so I was expecting it to be cold. We stayed in a hotel along the river from the Guggenheim. From the hotel to the Guggenheim it was about a 5-minute walk. We dropped our stuff off at the hotel and went...

flint 23.12.2003 (24.12.2003) · Read review
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Review of Bilbao (Spain)

  Una Ciudad Muy Bonita

Advantages: Easy and cheap to fly to. Great place when you get there.
Disadvantages: Maybe the Guggenheim doesn't quite do it for me.

...?Where?s that then?? asked our hairdresser last week, when I mentioned that we were going to Bilbao for a few days. ?It?s a port in North-Eastern Spain, in the Basque region?, I replied, stretching my own research into the subject to its limit. ?So why are you going there?? she continued. ?Because I?ve never been there?, I returned, hoping that that was the depth of the delving ? and it was. There are several good reasons to go to Bilbao, especially off-season, but the chief one is that you now can! You can get there by car ferry directly from Portsmouth. It?s another of those 24-hour affairs (mmm, sounds like my kind of affair!) requiring good sea legs in winter, as the lion?s share of the journey involves being a long way out to sea in the Bay of Biscay. For those of a weaker up-chucking disposition, or having no...

BNibbles 24.02.2003 (26.02.2003) · Read review
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Review of Bilbao (Spain)

Fantastico

Advantages: Lovely place, people are very nice
Disadvantages: Rain - but not much

...I adore Bilbao. It's so much nicer than any other place in the UK and I reckon it's the best city in the world. I have family there, so I visit it regularly. It is in the North of Spain, so it does rain sometimes, but the weather is usually great. The views are beautiful, and the river is very nice. If you visit places like Benidorm, you do not see the Spanish culture. I was speaking to someone about Spanish food. He had only ever been to Mallorca in Spain and thoguht that all the Spanish ate was 'English' food. To see what Spain is really about, this is where you have to go. There's a lot to do. You can visit the Guggenheim, or perhaps go shopping along the 'Gran Via', and maybe stroll in to the Marks & Spencer and buy yourself something that the Spanish have all rejected. Perhaps take a look inside the newly...

danieletheridge 06.02.2001 · Read review
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Review of Bilbao (Spain)

Carlton Bilbao - another travellers tale!

Advantages: Opulent, near the Guggenheim, best in town
Disadvantages: only that there's not more reason to go more often

...The first time I stayed at the Carlton it was entirely accidental. I had flown from Madrid to Bilbao with a Spanish colleague probably 10 years ago and our flight was so late that the hotel where we had bookings had given our rooms away to someone else. It was late, we were tired and grouchy and they offered to find us 2 rooms somewhere else. The Carlton - being the best (and most expensive) hotel in town - had two rooms. We rolled up in the wee small hours of the morning, paid an arm, a leg and a few other body parts and spent no more than about 6 hours in our rooms before heading off in the morning. HOWEVER, the Carlton was so beautiful and the rooms so lovely that I vowed that one-day I'd go back and that's exactly what I did. Circumstance of our Visit ********************* It was March 2004. Our wedding anniversary is the 14...

koshkha 25.04.2006 · Read review
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Review of Carlton Hotel, Bilbao

Beware the Guggenheim

Advantages: Nice city, nice people, accessible.
Disadvantages: Overrated museum

...Hi Bilbao is an interesting city. It is quite post-industrial and the scars of the Basque problems are plain to see - not many people here would agree that they live in Northern Spain, they are Basque through and through. Stayed at the Barcelo Nervion which was plush, comfortable, efficient and friendly. Slightly expensive, but then the flights ('Go', flying from Stansted, were only £25 each return). There were excellent food and bars in the old town, some interesting shops and clever ideas. The Guggenheim. Now. We went in mid September and three quarters of the museum was closed. What was left was interesting enough but certainly not world class. The 'performance' of blowing mist over the pond was hopeless and the whole thing was a bit dissapointing. Some of the work in the open galleries was stunning. But . . . they would have...

Saturn 13.07.2001 · Read review
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Review of Bilbao (Spain)

  A taste of Spain

Advantages: Nice weather, pretty cheap
Disadvantages: Almost like being home because of a large Norwegian community

...A short summary My wife Nikki and I went on a trip to Albir right north of Benidorm in Spain in the period August 27th to September 5th 2004. We went together with our friends Olav and Allis and their two kids. During our stay we got a chance to drive around a little bit, visit the theme park Terra Mittica, the water park Aqualandia, drink some good Spanish red wine etc. I hope that this short trip report can be of some use to others that are going to the same destination. Get in touch if you have any questions or comments :-) Please check my homepage http://gardkarlsen.com if you want to see more pictures from the trip. Prelude When I was young I remember that we had some family friends that were going on vacation to Spain. At that time it seemed so exotic at least compared to our road trips around Norway. Well, over the years...

gard 10.10.2004 · Read review
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Review of Costa Blanca (Spain)

A beautifull walk near San Jose Spain

Advantages: Beautiful
Disadvantages: you really need a car

...A pretty cove and a beautiful walk near San José Spain We went on holiday to San José in Almeria Spain this Easter hols. This is a description of one of the best bays/beaches we found and a good coastal walk. We used the tourist hiking map Capo de Gata-Nijar (1:50.000 same scale as an standard OS map here) which we bought from the tourist information in San José, it comes with an accompanying book about the routes marked on the map. It also contained information about camping, apartments and other local information in Spanish. Dearly beloved can read some Spanish and I found I could follow a lot of the instructions fairly simply, you may be able to get an English copy. I will check this out .We found this a very good map and guide I would certainly recommend it. One morning we set out in our hire car, with a loaf of bread, some...

mumsymary 24.09.2002 (23.11.2007) · Read review
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Review of Almería (Spain)

Very easy to use

Advantages: Great, spacious, large.
Disadvantages: Perhaps a little old, but still going strong.

...Bilbao Airport has recently opened a new terminal, which is absolutely breathtaking from the outside. It offers new gates with AirBridges, the runway has been extended to accomodate bigger aircraft and the airport has generally been improved. On the inside, however, the airport is also fantastic. It's very spacious and well laid-out, it's easy to use and find your way around and the ground staff - both airport information and the airline staff are very helpful and kind. Take one glance at the old terminal from the outside and your instant reaction will be eugh. Look at a picture from inside the building and you'll think you're somewhere else. I think the old terminal was designed to look tiny, and the idea was that once inside you would notice the extension and that it's actually very big and spacios. Bilbao handles thousands...

danieletheridge 19.03.2001 (17.03.2001) · Read review
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Review of Bilbao Airport (BIO), Spain

Barcelona Spain Catalonia

Advantages: Lot to do and see, coastline of beaches, and lots of good shops to the expensive to the cheap.
Disadvantages: metro underground gets busy in the paek seasons, but all places have easy access and are walkable

...Barcelona? Why Not ? One of the most beautiful cities in Europe Barcelona Spain is one of the biggest influences that has ever been met, there is everything that you could desire there, from a walk to the park to the beaches to the night life the Music festivals, the Tapas, the coast and the shops, it is endless, Barcelona is a place of opportunity with its beautiful buildings and history, a short stay would never be enough to cover all there are numbers of attractions, The main street La Rambla is amazing with its flower stalls which give the la rambla a gorgeous array of color and .flavor There are pet stalls with baby rabbits, turtles , terrapins, birds and all childrens furry friends, with souvenir store's and high street shops on the road side restaurants are also on the la rambla where you can sit and watch all...

HelenAslan 02.08.2009 · Read review
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Review of Barcelona (Spain)

LOST IN SPAIN...

Advantages: BEAUTIFUL PLACE - UNSPOILED - TRANQUIL - CLIMATE
Disadvantages: SOMETIMES UNKEPT - NEEDS A BIT OF GOVERNMENT MONEY SPENDING ON IT!

...Well, I’m writing this on New Years Eve, in the office, but totally bored as none of my customers are in their offices so I can’t phone them to chase them for their missing adverts…*sigh* Anyway, my thoughts turned to holidays, like they do at times like this!! In 2002 I went to Seville, Spain. I have traveled quite a bit but not really in Europe much so I didn’t know what to expect. Seville is a beautiful town – very unspoiled. If you’re looking for the ‘real Spain’ I suggest Seville and we went at an excellent time weatherwise – not too hot or cold. We spent 5 days there in May 2002, at the Hotel San Gil – this is a 4 star hotel, where most of the rooms are suites, sadly we had one of the very few double rooms there. They serve breakfast and ‘bar snacks...

pagan 31.12.2002 · Read review
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Review of Sevilla (Spain)