Bilbao Fine Arts Museum

The Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, the Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, is the city's traditional art museum and a good companion to the glittering Guggenheim. It stands at the edge of the Doña Casilda Iturrizar Park, a green space near the Moyúa metro stop, and was founded in the early twentieth century, with its present building dating to the 1940s. Expansions later in the century and in the early 2000s added galleries and modern facilities. The museum is one of the principal art collections in northern Spain, with several thousand works that illustrate how art developed from the Middle Ages to recent times.

The collection is strongest in Spanish and Basque art, and it also includes important European works. Among the highlights are paintings by El Greco, Goya, Zurbarán and Van Dyck, which show the wealth of the Spanish Golden Age and its links with Flemish painting. A famous Tahitian canvas by Paul Gauguin is among the best-known pieces from the nineteenth century. There is a good selection of Basque painters, such as Ignacio Zuloaga, whose strong portraits and landscapes of Spain made him an international name, and the museum also has works by sculptors of the Basque school, including Eduardo Chillida.

The layout is designed to be followed in chronological order, so you can move from medieval altarpieces and Renaissance painting through the Baroque to the nineteenth century and then into modern and contemporary work. Sculpture, drawings and applied arts, including furniture and decorative objects, add variety. The galleries are quieter than those of the Guggenheim and give you time to look closely. Temporary exhibitions appear regularly, so there is often something new to see.

The museum's location is pleasant. After the visit, you can walk in the park, which has shady paths and is a favourite with locals, and then head toward the Abandoibarra waterfront or take the metro to the old town. The two museums complement each other: one is a great modern building with contemporary art, while the other is a classic collection that shows the background to Basque creativity.

It suits art lovers, students and visitors who prefer a calmer pace. Allow around two hours. Opening times and exhibitions change, and parts of the museum have been affected by renovation work in the past, so look at the official website before planning your trip.