Basque Country
The region is composed of three provinces. The capital of the Bizkaia province is Bilbao (Bilbo), a great seaport and an industrial and financial center. Since 1997 it is the home of the spectacular Guggenheim Bilbao Museum, "the building of the century." San Sebastián, called Donostia in Basque, is the principal city of Gipuzkoa province, and it extends like a string of pearls around the Bay of Biscay. It is a sophisticated city of great beauty and elegance with a cultural, social and gastronomic importance far in excess of its size. And Vitoria-Gasteiz in Álava is the inland apex of the Basque triangle, the region´s political and administrative capital and seat of the Basque government.
The regions cities are a rich mixture of tradition and modernism and each has its own unique character. Within the Basque region you can do just about anything including play golf, surf, go to a bullfight, ride horses in open countryside or even laze on the beach.
Bilbao is now a significant Northern Spanish property hotspot offering everything from top end luxury apartments to traditional and ancient dwellings in the old quarter. The city is continuing to benefit from significant financial investment designed to raise its profile as both a main business centre player and an interesting city break destination, it is well serviced in terms of local accessibility and international travel links, it is beautifully located in one of the most stunning regions of Northern Spain and culturally it has a lot going for it.
The Basque Country is one of the wealthiest regions in Spain, with GDP per capita being 20.6% higher than that of the European Union average in 2004
