Vitoria-Gasteiz is the capital of the Basque Country and the quiet one of its three big cities: smaller and less visited than Bilbao or San Sebastián, with a beautifully kept medieval old town, a cathedral you can tour while it is being restored, green space everywhere and a pintxo scene locals will happily defend against San Sebastián's. It is an easy day trip from Bilbao, but it rewards a night.
The medieval old town
The old town (Casco Viejo, or Alde Zaharra in Basque) sits on a small hill, and its streets curve around it in rings, which gives it the almond shape you see on every map. The streets still carry the names of the medieval trades that worked them, such as Cuchillería (knife-makers) and Herrería (blacksmiths). The hill is steep in places, but covered moving ramps on some of the side streets (the *cantones*) and a lift do much of the climbing for you, when they are not out of service.
At the bottom, the Plaza de la Virgen Blanca is the city's living room, with glassed-in balconies all round and a monument to the Battle of Vitoria of 1813, when the Duke of Wellington's army defeated Napoleon's forces just outside the city. Higher up are the Renaissance palaces, the medieval wall and the cathedral.
Santa María cathedral: Open for Works
The Gothic cathedral of Santa María is famous less for what it looks like than for how you visit it. Structural problems closed it in the 1990s, and the restoration became a guided tour called "Open for Works" (Abierto por obras): you walk through scaffolding, the foundations and the old walls in a hard hat while guides explain how the building was put together and why it nearly fell. The restoration fed into Ken Follett's novel *World Without End*, which he presented in the cathedral, and a bronze statue of him stands nearby.
The visit is always guided and must be booked in advance; there are also visits to the tower and the medieval wall. Prices and times change, so check and book on the Santa María Cathedral Foundation site. Tourism Euskadi also lists the visit.
The Green Capital
Vitoria-Gasteiz was named European Green Capital for 2012, largely thanks to the Green Ring (Anillo Verde), a chain of parks, woods and wetlands that circles the city, with a full loop of roughly 30 km, joined by paths and cycle lanes. The easiest piece to visit is Salburua, a wetland on the east side with boardwalks, bird hides and the Ataria interpretation centre.
Museums
- Artium, the Basque museum of contemporary art, close to the centre.
- Bibat, which joins the archaeology museum and the Fournier playing-card museum, in a Renaissance palace with a modern extension.
- The Museum of Fine Arts, in the Augusti palace, with strong Basque and Spanish painting.
Pintxos
Vitoria takes its pintxos seriously, with bars that win the Basque competitions year after year. The Tourism Euskadi pintxo feature is a good starting point. Bars that appear again and again in guides and with locals include:
- Sagartoki, on Calle Prado, known for its egg-and-potato pintxo and its tortilla, a repeat winner in Basque and Spanish tortilla championships.
- Toloño, on the Cuesta de San Francisco by Plaza de la Virgen Blanca, award-winning and known for its gilda.
- PerretxiCo, on Calle San Antonio in the centre, with many competition prizes.
Pintxos are eaten standing at the bar, one or two per place, with a small glass of wine (a *crianza* from nearby Rioja Alavesa is the local choice). On Thursday evenings many bars join the *pintxo-pote*, a drink and a pintxo at a set low price; the tradition started in Vitoria on Calle Gorbea.
When to go and festivals
Late spring to early autumn is the best time; winters are colder than on the coast, as the city stands on a high inland plain. The big fiesta is La Virgen Blanca, from 4 to 9 August, which opens with the "descent of Celedón", a figure who slides down a cable from the bell tower of San Miguel church over the packed square. The city's long-running jazz festival takes place in mid-July.
Getting there
- From Bilbao: buses run by La Unión leave Bilbao's Intermodal station roughly every hour or more often and take about an hour. See La Unión for times.
- From San Sebastián: direct buses take roughly 1 to 1.5 hours; check current operators and times at the bus station.
- From Madrid: Renfe trains run to Vitoria's station near the centre; check current times and journey length on Renfe.
- By air: Bilbao airport is the usual choice from the UK (see our Bilbao airport guide). Vitoria's own airport at Foronda, just outside the city, has few passenger flights.
The centre is compact and walkable, and a tram line runs along the edge of the old town to other parts of the city. Pair the trip with a few days in Bilbao.
Staying connected
You will be booking cathedral slots, checking bus times back to Bilbao and finding pintxo bars on a map, so mobile data helps from the first hour. A data eSIM for Spain gives you local data as soon as you arrive, without removing your own SIM; see how to install it and how much data you need.