There are two cathedrals in Bilbao: the Catholic one and San Mamés, the football stadium. Athletic Bilbao signs Basque players only [a unique case in European football]. I don’t like football but I like the club’s values: work with your people, try your best, respect others, be loyal. People say it’s a pity you can’t hire Ronaldo or Messi, but I say, no, it’s a pity for them they can’t join Athletic.

Ivan Jimenez Aira

I have clear childhood memories of Bilbao: I didn’t like it. It was a grey place: the river was polluted and the streets black. Now, with its 19th-century facades renovated, the Gran Via could be a street in Vienna and there are more green spaces here than any other city in Spain.

Industrial recession hit us hard in the early 1980s. But then the government built the technology park, making the city a centre for research and development. This was followed by the Guggenheim, promenades, the underground, and the renovation of the Casco Viejo. We were all so excited. I’ve lived in and around the city all my life and seen the evolution year by year. It’s incredible.

Michelin-starred Mina

Twenty years ago, it was impossible to walk through Bilbao la Vieja, on the left bank of the river Nervión; it was full of drug addicts. Now there is a Michelin-starred restaurant, Restaurante Mina, among many good places to eat, and a mix of cultures from all over the world.

We have our own mapa mundi, our take on the medieval mappae mundi, that puts Bilbao at the centre of the world. It’s the second most popular picture in bars after the Athletic team. It’s very funny. Pride keeps our language and culture alive. We are a country of only two million (if you don’t count the folk to the south), but we like being special.

Bilbao has been renovated and revitalised. Photograph: Alamy

I love the Alhóndiga, the cultural centre designed by Philippe Starck. The rooftop pool has a glass floor, so you can stand below and watch people swim. When Bilbao ran for World Design Capital, it made a video of its most important new buildings, and most were by foreign architects. People asked, why are there no Basque architects? But although Frank Gehry designed the Guggenheim, it was built by Basques – the same with Norman Foster’s underground, and so on. We accept the combining of international architects with local engineers.

I’ve been to the Guggenheim six or seven times. I like the building very much but the art is not accessible. Most of it looks like something my kids could have done. I prefer the Museo de Bellas Artes; the art is more accessible.

The Alhóndiga. Photograph: Alamy

As a child, taking the funicular railway from downtown to Mount Artxanda was magical, going from sad Bilbao to the middle of nature. Now the city’s all green, the change isn’t so startling, but it’s still a special place to go for not very adventurous trekking, places for children to play, good views of the city, and Txakoli Artxanda, a good pintxo place.

Going for pintxos is not just about eating, but socialising with your kuadrilla. The kuadrilla is a really Basque thing, a group of friends who, regardless of your path in life, status or background, you stay with, always.

The Guggenheim museum. Photograph: Alamy

Food is a religion in Bilbao and throughout the Basque country. Every summer festival holds its own gastronomic competition. Even in my little village of Mungia, on the first Sunday of July, 300 teams of between 10 and 20 people compete to make the best beef stew – sukalki. It’s friendly ... but it’s very important to do well.

The art in the Guggenheim is not accessible. Most of it looks like something my kids could have done

In the Basque country, we call gastronomic societies txokos. They usually comprise a private cooking and dining area at the back of a building, with members who share the running costs. They used to be for men only but women are allowed now, though the men still handle the cooking. We book a table, some of us shop, and we share all the expenses. Within the group there’s always someone who’s lazy, who will tell you how to prepare the table, cut up some cheese, sit down and demand a glass of txakoli (traditional Basque wine). That’s accepted, it’s not a competition. There’s one I’ve never seen cooking, but he’s a very funny guy, so it doesn’t matter.

Pintxos at Peso Neto

When I get a call to say my kuadrilla has txoko on Saturday, I’m so happy. Usually four of us go with our kids, (four men and 11 daughters – incredible) to Mercado de la Ribera to buy fish, then to the old town for pintxos and txakoli. It’s not politically correct to have pintxos with children, but at Bar Zuga and La Olla they play in the square while we cook and talk. The women usually arrive just as everything’s ready. I love it.

• Ivan Jimenez Aira is director-general of Bizkaia Talent, a non-profit group for nurturing, attracting and retaining talented people in the Basque Country