The Palacio Euskalduna, its restaurant and the Azkuna Zentroa earn the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence

The website TripAdvisor, an international benchmark in the tourist field, has awarded its Certificate of Excellence to two of Bilbao’s cultural facilities: The Palacio de Congresos y de la Música Euskalduna and the Azkuna Zentroa-Alhóndiga Bilbao. The Etxanobe restaurant run by Fernando Canales in the Palacio de Congresos itself has also earned this distinction. TripAdvisor is a website for travellers that gets over 150 million comments and ratings of four million things all over the world every year. The Certificate of Excellence is based precisely on these posts and recognises the establishments that have earned consistently high ratings from travellers and tourists. 2015 is the fourth year in which these certificates have been awarded. Azkuna Zentroa Alhóndiga Bilbao is a ground-breaking arts and leisure space taking up 43,000 m2 of floor space in one of the city’s landmark buildings. A former wine warehouse transformed by the designer Philippe Starck to host exhibitions, concerts, conferences, children’s workshops and sports, with a reading area, cafés, restaurants, shops, cinemas and more. The Palacio de Congresos y de la Música Euskalduna is also a distinctive building. Built on the site of a former shipyard, its design recalls the large vessels built there. The Euskalduna hosts congresses, professional events, concerts and an opera season. Its restaurant stands out for being in the select group of the most innovative establishments in the Basque Country, as well as for its proven capacity to cater for large groups like those that come together at the events taking place at the centre.