Meet your skipper at the quay of the Bilbao Maritime Museum, where you’ll board a sailboat seating a max of five passengers. Begin your 2-hour cruise in the Bilbao Estuary, or R□a de Bilbao, a 10-mile-long (16-km-long) tidal mouth for the Nervion, Ibaizabal and Cadagua rivers that empties into the Bay of Biscay.

After decades of economic struggle, Bilbao has transformed into a booming city again, largely due to development along the banks of its estuary. As your boat snakes its way north toward the bay, marvel at the urban regeneration you see along the way. Your skipper points out old shipyards and Zorrozaurre, an artificial peninsula created during the 1950s and 60s that failed to promote industry. What used to be an abandoned strip of decaying factories is now prime real estate planned for redevelopment.

Pass by buildings designed by famous architects and an array of bridges, including the well-known Vizcaya Bridge, an iron bridge built in 1893 that is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Near Vizcaya Bridge, admire views of two lovely neighborhoods in the district of Getxo, Neguri and Las Arenas, home to well-heeled Basque bourgeoisie.

End the cruise on a high note with a glass of Rioja wine as you return to the maritime museum, where your tour ends.