Q&A with Patrizia Vitelli, Bilbao Food Tours

Food is everything in Bilbao. Every big decision, every celebration, every important meeting takes place around a table. We’re lucky to have a huge variety of ingredients — we have a long coastline and the climate is just right for growing crops and vegetables — although Basque cuisine is still quite traditional. It’s honest food.

There’s a healthy rivalry. San Sebastián gets called ‘Little Paris’ — in the ‘70s and ‘80s, some of its chefs trained in France, so it’s a bit posher there. Although if you ask them, they’ll say the bilbaínos think a lot of themselves!

Try El Arandia de Julen — it does the best beans and steak — or Pulpería Vermutería Florines for good-quality octopus. bilbaofoodtours.com

Close to Plaza Nueva are the seven medieval streets — known as Las Siete Calles — that make up the heart of the

Old Town. Ancient five-storey buildings with wrought-iron balconies look down on the cobbles. On one of these streets, Calle Carnicería Vieja, is Bilbao’s first vegan bakery, Bohemian Lane. Its owner, Sandra Mateo, welcomes me with a coffee and a slice of carrot, cinnamon and walnut cake (verdict: two sticky thumbs up).

“Bilbao is changing,” she says. “People thought I was crazy to go against the usual traditions, but, as in so many places, veganism is growing.” A steady flow of customers through the doors underlines her point. “I actually studied architecture,” Sandra continues. “I still love walking around the city and staring at buildings. I like to think I actually use my education in my baking. It takes architectural skill to create a three-layered vegan cake!”

Today’s city has eye-catching buildings by the dozen, from the 41-storey curves of the Iberdrola Tower to the neo-baroque detailing of the Arriaga Theatre. For me, one in particular stands out. Not the Guggenheim, for all its showstopping beauty, but the Akzuna Zentroa, a bizarre but brilliant cultural complex created by French architect and designer Philippe Starck in 2010. Its vast, dark foyer is supported by a series of squat, stylised pillars. Commuters wander through this otherworldly gloom while families recline on glowing benches and, way overhead, swimmers float in a glass-bottomed rooftop pool. It’s an oddity that somehow finds a natural home in Bilbao.

The building was once an enormous wine warehouse. This makes sense.

Sooner or later, everything in Bilbao comes back to food and drink. I later learn that the local couple I’d seen having their photos taken on the riverside were about to embark on a banquet of what can only be described as Basque proportions: a traditional seven-course wedding feast lasting several hours. It’s no wonder they were looking so happy.