Start: Plaza Circular Square 
Arrival: Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
From the end of 19th century, El Arenal Bridge links the Old Town with the enlargement of Bilbao that took place at that time, a place of broad and regular streets home to elegant buildings. Plaza Circular Square will be the starting point of our route. The sculpture of Diego López de Haro, founder of the city in 1300, stands in the middle of the square.
Gran Vía Street, the core of the enlargement, begins at the Plaza Circular Square and takes its name from the city's founder. This elegant business and banking thoroughfare has now become a semi-pedestrian street. If we turn right, we will run into Jardines de Albia Gardens, where the statue of Bilbao's writer Antonio de Trueba rests accompanied by trees and pigeons. Back on Gran Vía Street, we should pay attention to the figure of god Mercury that protects the building of former bank Banco de Vizcaya, and a little bit further, to Bizkaia's regional council. Built in 1900, the magnificent construction stands out for its dressed stone facade and many balconies. Gran Vía Street "takes a break" at Plaza Moyua or Elíptica Square, where the beautiful edifice of Carlton Hotel, witness of important social and cultural events, and curious Chávarri Palace, Spain's government office, are located. On the right side of the stretch of Gran Vía Street that ends at Sagrado Corazón Sqaure, we can gain access to Parque de Doña Casilda de Iturrizar Park, a green area around a pond. Bilbao's Museum of Fine Arts, one of Spanish State's best art galleries, is situated at one end of the park.
The Guggenheim boom has helped the Museum of Fine Arts, which exhibits paintings of varied schools, to be appreciated again by some people. Walking down Alameda de Mazarredo, we will have the chance to admire the landscape of a new Bilbao (Euskalduna Convention Centre and Music Hall, the riverside area of Abandoibarra within the framework of Bilbao's urban renewal). We end our tour at the city's most international postcard, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, which apart from being a reference point for contemporary art lovers, it is also an example of how a spectacular construction such as this one of Frank Gehry can contribute to the regeneration of a large area.
