Museo Guggenheim Bilbao Monument · Bilbao, Bilbo Handia / Gran Bilbao, Bizkaia Museum designed by the architect Frank Gehry, opened in 1997 on the banks of the estuary, which has become a symbol of Bilbao's urban transformation following the decline of its heavy industry (the so-called "Bilbao effect"). 1997 (inauguración) Photo: Naotake Murayama (CC BY 2.0) What to see and do in Bilbao