Fodor's Expert Review Teatro Campos Elíseos Antzokia

If you've come from Barcelona, this extraordinary facade built in 1901 by architects Alfredo Acebal and Jean Baptiste Darroquy may look familiar. The wild Moderniste excitement of the intensely ornate circular arch is a marked contrast to the more sober Bilbao interpretation of the turn-of-the-20th-century Art Nouveau euphoria. The theater is called Campos Elíseos after Paris's Champs-Élysées (a brief spasm of Francophilia in a town of Anglophiles), as this area of town was a favorite for early-20th-century promenades. During most of the 20th century, Bilbao's theatrical life had two poles: the Casco Viejo's Teatro Arriaga and El Ensanche's Campos Elíseos. The elegant venue offers varied programs of theater, dance, and more.