Bilbao

Ships dock at Getxo, a seaside town at the mouth of the Nervión River, where the 1893 Vizcaya Bridge, the world's oldest transporter bridge, still carries passengers in a hanging gondola over the water. The metro from Getxo reaches central Bilbao in about 20 minutes. The city rebuilt its identity around the Guggenheim Museum, Frank Gehry's titanium-clad building from 1997, which houses rotating contemporary art exhibitions and a giant spider sculpture out front. The Casco Viejo, Bilbao's old quarter, is where the best pintxos bars are. These are small bites lined up on the bar counter, and you pick what you want and keep the toothpicks so they can tally your bill at the end. Try the bacalao (salt cod) and the local txakoli wine, a slightly effervescent white. The Mercado de la Ribera, a large covered market on the river, has fresh produce and a food hall upstairs. The city is hilly but walkable, and the metro handles the rest.