The museum everyone photographs from the wrong angle

The Guggenheim Bilbao faces north-northwest over the Nervión river, its titanium scales catching the sky differently in every kind of light. The standard shot — from the Puente de la Salve bridge above and to the south, looking northwest at the building and the river — is better than the riverside approach because it gives depth and scale. Artxanda hill, 251 meters north of the city, is reached by funicular in 3 minutes and gives the best Bilbao panorama: the old city, the estuary, and the mountains beyond. The Nervión runs northwest to the sea at Getxo, where the Vizcaya Bridge (the world's oldest transporter bridge, built 1893) crosses the estuary — a UNESCO World Heritage structure that photographs well from the water taxi below. Atlantic weather makes cloud patterns dramatic and fast-changing; overcast mornings here are better than hard sun.