The best time to visit Bilbao in Spain

My phone rang as I sat down at the computer for my first day working on a local paper.

A message appeared titled “British Council Language Teaching Assistant placement”.

The email was one I had been waiting for months, to learn which school I would be working at during my Erasmus university year abroad and where I’d live. With my hopes set on Valencia, my first choice, I waited for the email.

Sestao. What? What is it?

Google showed a grey, run-down industrial town with cranes in the Basque Country. My heart dropped. Not the sangria beach experience I had hoped to have.

The disappointed 21-year-old went home crying, afraid that I would be stuck in a town with no friends for the next year.

The reviews of the city were not as positive as they are today. I read about the constant rain, ETA terrorism and Basque people’s coldness. Also, there were language barriers, heavy metal music, and a lack of understanding of Basque culture. The cuisine was the only thing that seemed to save it.

My mum tried to cheer me up by saying, “Well it doesn’t rain that much in Manchester,” as the rain pounded on my windows.

My life was packed in two suitcases, and my mum was always there to support me.

But neither of us were prepared for the breathtaking beauty and quirkiness my new home offered – and the fabulous bargain Zara jackets.

We were immediately smitten by the boho shops, 18th-century architecture, and art deco bars in the Old Town. We also gorged ourselves on raw seafood pintxos, and snapped pictures of Puppy the Guggenheim guard dog.

It was my third lucky day when I booked a room at the Casco Viejo in a red building that is featured on many Bilbao postcards. Zara could be seen from my balcony. Gold.

My luck continued to grow when I met my flatmates. They were a hilarious mixture of Spanish and English-speaking students with whom I traveled across Spain for a year.

Bilbao is the Best European City 2018 for a reason. The city is surrounded by mountains and divided by rivers, with old architecture blending in with modern.

Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum should be on every Bilbao bucket list. Take a stroll around the outside to truly appreciate the 33,000 sheets of titanium that make up this architectural masterpiece. You’ll be closely guarded, however, by Mama the steel Spider, a silver-bubble tree, and Puppy with his 37,000 flowers.

Hand-changed twice a year. I recommend a walk along the Nervion river before you take the lift to the Arcos Rojos Bridge. The views are stunning.

Check out Art After Dark – a cool monthly event held at the museum where you can party alongside exhibitions to Spain’s biggest house DJs.

You can also sample the Nerua restaurant located downstairs, which is owned by Josean Alija and has a Michelin star.

Yandiola, a restaurant with a high-class culinary menu, is located on the rooftop of

impressive cultural hub, Alhondiga – try their bacalao al pil pil which won Best Cod in 2004 or enjoy the views with a cocktail from the swanky rooftop bar.

The 110-year-old Museo de Bellas Artes is home to masterpieces from Goya, El Greco, and Sorolla. Then, stroll through the lush Parque Casilda Iturrizar – dubbed as “Parque de los Patos” – and see ducks, peacocks, and swans wandering around classic carousels and fountains.

Visit the Casco Viejo, then do a pintxo tour around Plaza Unamuno & Plaza Nueva. Head to Sorginzulo a cave-like bar for some of Bilbao’s most innovative pintxos, try famous calamares at Cafe Bar Bilbao, or try Bizkaia’s Best Pintxo 2015 – the Sopa de Idiazabal, cheese, egg and mushroom soup at Gure Toki.

As the sun sets over the city, you can work off some calories by walking to Parque Etxebarria.

Enjoy the fresh produce, live music and a pintxo hopping and glug Kalimotxo before exploring hippy stores until early morning on Calle Somera.

For just €3.25 and the best views of Bilbao, head up the Funicular de Artxanda (cable car) for panoramic mountain views and head to the cosy Restaurante Txakoli, a former shepherd and mountaineer hub, or to Kate Zaharra where you can sample over 1,000 wines from its bodega or try rare percebes (gooseneck barnacles) and lobster platters.

Book tickets to see the Basque Country’s famous Athletic Bilbao football team in action at San Mames stadium before walking to Calle Pozas – a late-night drinking and pintxo street – and tuck into every variation of tortilla imaginable at Zaharra.

Playa de Plentzia near the mouth Ibaizabal estuary is an unspoiled beach that you can visit if the weather permits. Then catch the metro to the UNESCO-protected 1893 Vizcaya Bridge – the first bridge in the world to carry people and traffic on a high suspended gondola, or marvel at the timewarp of old white sailor cottages in Getxo’s Puerto Viejo.

You can also make a wish by ringing the bell at San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, a basque castle rock, three times. According to legend, the Game of Thrones filming site once welcomed witches as well as knights and John the Baptist.

Looking back on my anxiety at the thought of moving to Bilbao is laughable – a place that has become one of my favourite cities in the world and inspired my brother to move there after I left.

As my mother said, it rains, but not nearly as much as Manchester.

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